Ear Protection

Fountain · #1 01-30-2011, 10:12 AM

Earmuff-type ear protection is painful for my wife, and she can't wear it.

Is there an earplug that will provide adequate protection?

Thanx,

s&wchad · #2 01-30-2011, 10:18 AM

The Ear brand plugs work well when properly inserted.

Earinc/Insta-Mold - Foam Earplugs

Rangerpat · #3 01-30-2011, 10:29 AM

I bought a pair at a gun show from a man who custom fits ear plugs for each ear. He makes a mold of the inside of your ear by coating the ear with petroleum jelly and then fillling the ear with silicone rubber. You let it set up for about five minutes and then he takes them out and lets them cure. So, you end up with custom fit ear plugs for each ear. They work great, I use them shooting guns and also for running power saws.

Ranger98 · #4 01-30-2011, 11:52 AM

I have been using the rubber ear plugs that S&W sells for the past year or so.$4.45 on their website..

JamesArthur60 · #5 01-30-2011, 12:25 PM

I know my son had a pair made like Rangerpat described for riding his motorcycle. He loves them, but hasn't tried them for shooting. If you have a military store nearby, you can use the rubber plugs issued to the troops. I use them (the same style issued for working around airplane noise), but also the muffs as added protection. My guess is if you shoot outdoors any quality ear plug will do. If indoors with other guns going off, I'd look into special form fitting styles.

Jswiney9 · #6 01-30-2011, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ranger98

I have been using the rubber ear plugs that S&W sells for the past year or so.$4.45 on their website..

$4.45? ouch...... you can get them much much much cheaper.

there are lots of adequate earplugs out there. just try em out and see which ones dont hurt her ears. I recommend the EAR soft FX plugs, we used to have those at my work and they were great. 10 hours of comfort.

Moonman · #7 01-30-2011, 02:25 PM

You should look into Custom Made hearing protection for your wife or yourself. You should not take the cheap road when dealing with someone else's or your own hearing. You may hear many things on the internet but you need professional help for your hearing. We had a doctor come to our shooting club and he cut us a deal of $50 each (15 of us) to be custom fitted. He had a choice of colors, the right ear piece is marked with a red piece as they are tied together ( I guess you could separate them should you so desire), and a carrying case. I like mine and I also have expensive electronic earmuffs which I use with foam ear plugs together. I can still hear the Range Officers commands which have been amplified though.

tomhenry · #8 01-30-2011, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moonman

You should not take the cheap road when dealing with someone else's or your own hearing.

Definitely.

Quote:

The way you actually hear something is that ganglia (small hairs in your inner ear) vibrate from the result of moving air hitting them, transmitting a message to your brain. When the ganglion are assaulted by an extremely loud stimulus (e.g. crash, jet engine, gun shot), they get "pushed down" a little. They never "stand back up" to their full extension. People lose their hearing as they get older as a result of continued assaults upon the ganglion, pushing them down more and more each time. This results in hearing loss, the ganglion are no longer able to effectively transmit a given message. The loss of frequency (pitch) recognition can be segments of the full spectrum, all hertz between low and high.

Facts on noise levels:
1. Decibels measure sound pressure and are logarithmic. That means that only a 3db increase almost doubles sound pressure, a 6db increase quadruples sound pressure, etc.
2. Gradual hearing loss may occur after prolonged exposure to 90 decibels or above.
3. Exposure to 100 decibels for more than 15 minutes can cause hearing loss.
4. Exposure to 110 decibels for more than a minute can cause permanent hearing loss.
5. At 140 dBA noise causes immediate injury to almost any unprotected ear.
6. There is also the more extreme ‘acoustic trauma’, which is an immediate loss of hearing after a sudden, exceptionally loud noise such as an explosion.

Comparative noise levels and length of time exposed to cause permanent damage
Jet engine taking off 140 dB Instant damage
Thunder/Ambulance siren 119 dB 3 minutes
Hammer drill 113 dB 15 minutes
Chain saw/Earphones/Concert 110 dB 30 minutes
Bull Dozer 105 dB 1 hour
Tractor/Power tools 96 dB 4 hour
Hairdryer/lawnmower 90 dB 8 hours

Noise levels of firearms:
.22 caliber rifle 130dB
.223, 55GR. Commercial load 18" barrel 155.5dB
.243 in 22" barrel 155.9dB
.30-30 in 20" barrel 156.0dB.
7mm Magnum in 20" barrel 157.5dB.
.308 in 24" barrel 156.2dB.
.30-06 in 24" barrel 158.5dB. In 18" barrel 163.2dB.
.375 18" barrel with muzzle brake 170 dB.
.410 Bore 28" barrel 150dB. 26" barrel 150.25dB. 18" barrel 156.30dB.
20 Gauge 28" barrel 152.50dB. 22" barrel 154.75dB.
12 Gauge 28" barrel 151.50dB. 26" barrel 156.10dB. 18" barrel 161.50dB.
.25 ACP 155.0 dB.
.32 LONG 152.4 dB.
.32 ACP 153.5 dB.
.380 157.7 dB.
9mm 159.8 dB.
.38 S&W 153.5 dB.
.38 Spl 156.3 dB.
.357 Magnum 164.3 dB.
.41 Magnum 163.2 dB.
.44 Spl 155.9 dB.
.45 ACP 157.0 dB.
.45 COLT 154.7 dB.

Properly fitted earplugs or muffs reduce noise 15 to 30 dB. The better earplugs and muffs are approximately equal in sound reductions, although earplugs are better for low frequency noise and earmuffs for high frequency noise.

Using muffs and plugs together: Take the higher of the two and add 5 dB. 30 plug with 20 muff gives an effective NRR of 35.

If you are shooting by yourself, with plugs and muffs on, you get to shoot up to a thousand rounds without damage (louder ammo/gun and the allowable drops by a factor of 5). Shoot with other people and you have to add all the rounds shot cumulatively (10 people shoot 100 rounds and everybody's done for the day; toss a handcannon or 30 cal rifle in and you're back down to 200 rounds cumulative). If you shoot on an indoor range then all the rounds fired while you are on the range go into your total. So you can see that it doesn't take very long on a range to have a thousand rounds popped off around you.

Don't forget about bone conduction of concusive sound waves. The mastoid bone will transmit the sound vibrations directly to your inner ear where the cochela and the hearing nerves resides. Constant exposure to this kind of concusive sound wave, (e.g. 50 BMG, industrial heavy machinery) will result in the degradation of your hearing quality. Even with ear muffs, bone conduction is a big factor in hearing.

Moonman · #9 01-30-2011, 02:39 PM

tomhenry,
Great hearing info to keep posted.
Thanks.
Moonman

Ranger98 · #10 01-30-2011, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jswiney9

$4.45? ouch...... you can get them much much much cheaper.

there are lots of adequate earplugs out there. just try em out and see which ones dont hurt her ears. I recommend the EAR soft FX plugs, we used to have those at my work and they were great. 10 hours of comfort.

That's true,but these have the "Cool" factor of the S&W logo on the case ...

Fountain · #11 01-30-2011, 08:12 PM

Thanx to everyone.

Now it's trial-and-error time.

I'm sure there's something out there that will let my wife shoot in comfort and safety.

Now if I can just find a short, lightweight, 38 special or .357 magnum snubnose revolver with "zero" recoil...

Rule3 · #12 01-30-2011, 09:14 PM

Go to Wal Mart in the Pharmacy section they sell foam ear plugs in a bulk container. They are rated 33 NRR. Roll them in your fingers until thin place in ear and they expand.

The best I found for cheapest price.

Flents Quiet Time. 50 pair

Harrison · #13 01-30-2011, 09:19 PM

According to my ear doctor, the custom fit plugs are best, followed by wax earplugs. Best of all is to wear both earplugs and earmuffs if you do alot of shooting or shoot the more powerful rifles/pistols.

I was already half deaf when I retired from the Army, nowdays I try to wear custom plugs with muffs on top. I need to protect what little I have left.

Dusty Miller · #14 01-31-2011, 03:41 AM

The best way to go is to have custom ear plugs made. They COST but your hearing will never recover once it is lost.