Ear Protection - What's Best in Competition?

[Tom Goodrick]

I am thinking of buying my own ear protection instead of using whatever is available when I get there. As a musician, my hearing is important. I have not shot competitively before. Are their aspects of competitive shooting that would favor one type of ear protection over another?

Many years ago I used the fancy plugs that closed only for a blast but let you hear twigs breaking in the woods otherwise. Lately I have been using the non-powered muffs that are great at blocking sound but you cannot hear instructions, etc.

 

[OKFC05]

On the action pistol circuit, the better elecronic muffs are popular, including Peltor, Pro Ears, and some others. Brownells has a Pro Ears model they sell under their own brand that is good.
Expect to pay well over $100 for good ones with NRR over 25; NRR 33 is better. Beware the cheap ones that don't turn off and on quickly and have low NRR.

For indoor ranges, or when an RO for an Open Match (compensator blast!), I add ordinary earplugs under the muffs.

If you can afford it, I'd take a serious look at the Pro Ears Gold.

 

[TSQUARED]

I use foam plugs under one of severarl well rated (ca 23db noise reduction) ear muffs. I admit it is not condusive to chit chat amongst fellow competitors but it does work.

 

[Moonman]

Give MSA Sordin PRO-X Supreme a look, these things amplfy better than my hearing aids.
They eliminate the BAD NOISES but stay on and do not briefly completely CUT-OUT all sounds like some muffs.

I got mine at SRS TACTICAL.com

All the range officers at my club like them. They are expensive like the PRO EARS GOLD muffs,
I wish I had something like this DECADES AGO.

REMEMBER, Noise also reverberates the bones in your head/neck and causes hearing damage too.
Many people do not know this fact. Your HEARING NEEDS PROTECTION.

Wearing ear plugs in conjunction with ear muffs is also a good idea for added protection when shooting indoors.

The Sorodin thin style is nice for rifle shooting too. I bought the optional EAR GEL PACKS also, and I absolutely love them.

Electronic Muffs up towards the $300 range discourages some but your hearing is worth the investment.

 

[125JHP]

Electronic Muffs up towards the $300 range discourages some but your hearing is worth the investment.

Especially when hearing aids are going for around $1800 each.

 

[Moonman]

125JHP,

My last set of digital aids were $2650 EACH!!!!!!

 

[trulyapostolic]

I wear plugs and muffs for shooting bullseye.

 

[wheelgun28]

I have the Pro Ears Pro Tac Gold. It takes a while to get used to them but they are really nice. I do often wear plugs with them, it takes some of the bang out of things like 38 super race guns in the next lane. You can adjust the volume and still hear whats going on. I use them with rifles also, they are a touch big but I got used to it. I can shoot 30:06 with out ear plugs no problem.

They werent cheap but I am happy with them. If I were to shoot purely indoor I might look at the next level up of suppression.

 

[125JHP]

125JHP,

My last set of digital aids were $2650 EACH!!!!!!

I hear ya !! heh heh
I think mine listed for something like that but I got them off the internet from a Dr. in Colorado for $1100/pair (resound air) and then had to find a local guy who would do the setup on a flat fee. What a racket, finding the local guy to service something he didn't make the profit on is the hard part.

Back on topic... We recently tried a pair of those howard Leight Impact Sport that everyone is selling and for a low end unit, it isn't too bad. At the local matches they work just fine for hearing RO commands and blocking reports. They are not as good when trying to have a conversation with shots going off in the background as the blanking design also cuts out what others are saying at that moment.

When I go out into the desert to shoot by myself, my hearing is so far gone that I normally don't bother with HP since the noise is not bothersome at all but recently I have been using these muffs anyway and have found I can hear all kinds of distant sounds I wasn't aware of before - like a steer walking up or a pickup coming down the road long before it reaches me.

I'm not yet willing to spend $200-300 for a set of muffs but I would like something better than these and am thinking of trying the $100 Peltor Tac-Sport - which I understand is an upgraded 7S which I also read was better than their 6S.

Any info on these or are they still a comparable waste of $$ ?

thanks

 

[Moonman]

125JHP,

Why not spend $200-$300 on range hearing protections, people spend hundreds on firearms,

then want to place them in cheap holsters or cases, I don't understand that either.

Your hearing like eyesight cannot be replaced, the several hundred dollars spent

on hearing protection is CHEAP INSURANCE.

MAYBE SOMEDAY YOUR GRAND-KIDS WOULD LIKE TO KNOW YOU HEAR THEM!

Like I stated in a previous post, the bones in your head feel the concussion and reverberate also causing

hearing damage and loss, daily sounds are cumulative also. Your shooting, AND the shooting of others

leads to a compounding of your daily noise risk. Indoors, PLEASE double up with PLUGS and EARMUFFS.

GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR CHOICES!

 

[125JHP]

I appreciate the advice, but my hearing has been gone for a long time. What we know now we didn't 40 years ago. Years of motorcycles, loud music and guns is one thing but my hearing loss is also genetic and has been known bad since I was a kid. I gotta wear headphone to watch TV and even then I can't understand a lot of what they mumble. Hearing aids don't do much any more. Been to the Mayo clinic & in my 60's ...no hope is gonna change them cilia. No kids either, so no gran kids to inherit my pile-o-stuff. Sure I can afford em but why spend more than necessary, for me they won't save what ain't there.

 

[Glenn H]

Hearing protection all the time.

When I go out into the desert to shoot by myself, my hearing is so far gone that I normally don't bother with HP since the noise is not bothersome at all


Actually you're still doing damage to your remaining hearing. You might not notice but you're still killing off those little hairs in your ear.

I wear good protection when using the lawn mower, the tile saw, riding my motorcycle, shooting and any other time I'm exposed to high noise.

I wear hearing aids (USN, who knew working in a steel room with turbines and boilers was bad for your ears ) and don't want to get any worse

 

[We The People]

I have significant hearing loss in my left ear from my time in the Army. They stress using hearing protection daily, but when your kicking in doors you need to be able to communicate with your battle buddy. If im not 100% aware of whats going on I could easily get myself or a member of my squad killed, and that was a risk I was not willing to take.

Now that those days have passed I would like to get a set of ear pro that covers the entire ear, instead of shoving neon foam into my ear canal. Ive shopped around but im not sure what brands are reputable so I was hoping someone could give me some advice on whats best in the $80-$120 price range. I dont have ma deuces firing in my AO anymore so i dont think i need electronic ones. Any advice is appreciated, thank you.

 

[125JHP]

Now my wife can hear the neighbor whispering 12 acres away - no lie. Her hearing is that good. She had a hard time with any muff we tried and had resorted to turning the electronic off and using foam plugs under the muffs but didn't like that either ( I guess she could hear conversations only about 4 acres away ). Then we took the foam out of one set of muffs and layered it over her current set and man what a difference it made. She can now shoot without it hurting and still hear with the electronics turned on.

After looking at several of the electronic innards and comparing to plain muffs I noticed the difference in the foam. They put in thinner foam due to space limitations. Also the density of the foam is different in some. So we selected a dense type from an old pair that was thin enough to put into the cup, in addition to the factory foam.

I also did this to an old cheap pair I had laying around and all of a sudden they were rejuvenated into something usable for garage power tools. Might try that with yours.

 

[jat4]

I've got a pair of custom-molded ear plugs that I use combined with muffs when I'm shooting pistol and by themselves when shooting rifle. They're made by DefendEar and I had them fitted and ordered through an audiologist, cost me about $175. I think they were a bargain at that price, I wish someone had given me this advice when I started shooting when I was 20 years old. (and I've always used off-the-rack hearing protection.) These have an attenuating filter that you can stick in if you still need to hear outside voices, e.g., range commands, etc. I am very pleased with them. Here's a link:

DefendEar Personal

Pretty sure mine are the 'musicians' style, I pretty much went with what the audiologist recommended.

 

[We The People]

good to know thank you. ive always wondered why every handgun ive shot always seems much louder than my larger caliber rifles. Like the pistols have a very high pitch that makes my ears ring for a day or two solid. Never had that issue with my M90 31 even with no ear pro.

 

[We The People]

I've got a pair of custom-molded ear plugs that I use combined with muffs when I'm shooting pistol and by themselves when shooting rifle. They're made by DefendEar and I had them fitted and ordered through an audiologist, cost me about $175. I think they were a bargain at that price, I wish someone had given me this advice when I started shooting when I was 20 years old. (and I've always used off-the-rack hearing protection.) These have an attenuating filter that you can stick in if you still need to hear outside voices, e.g., range commands, etc. I am very pleased with them. Here's a link:

DefendEar Personal

Pretty sure mine are the 'musicians' style, I pretty much went with what the audiologist recommended.

wow these DefendEar products are much more high tech than anything ive seen. I didnt even know stuff like this existed. So they deaden the louder sounds that a firearm would make but they improve hearing say your dog or a shooting partner while hunting? at the same time?

 

[mkk41]

On the indoor range , I use the disposable foam plugs (free from work) under a comfortable set of earmuffs.

TIP: the foamies go in much better if ya pop 'em in yer mouth and wet 'em a bit.

 

[We The People]

All electronic ear pro do this, some better than others.

insane. i was unaware

 

[jat4]

wow these DefendEar products are much more high tech than anything ive seen. I didnt even know stuff like this existed. So they deaden the louder sounds that a firearm would make but they improve hearing say your dog or a shooting partner while hunting? at the same time?

they don't amplify the sound, but allow the normal level of sound to come through while you're wearing them. I've got the 25 db, and I can hear conversation pretty well while leaving the earplugs in. Haven't tried them for hunting, I imagine they would work fairly well for that.