Let's talk hearing protection

[Leupold]

I use different solutions.
Outdoor and clay shooting: Mepablue electronic ear muffs with silicone.
Indoor (with modern noise protection walls): also the Mepablue if I shoot handguns up to .38 Special.
Indoor (traditional): Peltor optime 3. If there a need for conversation or listen to timer, I use the Mepablue with aditional foam earplugs.

 

[k31scout]

I use Caldwell muffs with noise cancelling electronics outdoors and add foam plugs if indoors. I used them while hunting last year and they keep my ears warm and they amplify natural noises enough for me to hear deer coming way before my naked ears can. They are slim enough for me to get a natural hold with my rifles without interference.

 

[TNDave]

As a guy with a lot of hearing loss from shooting all I can say is I wish I had worn plugs and muffs both.

 

[agksimon]

I shoot steel challenge and you have to hear the ring of the steel to know you scored a hit and and not hit the stop plate before the other four plates.
I've tried and returned many brands of electronic ear muffs, before settling on a pair of Howard Leight Sport muffs, that only cost $50. They suppress loud sounds without affecting normal conversation.

 

[Electraclyde]

I cannot use the headphone style when shooting any rifle. My "cheekweld" is such that the headphone is knocked off my ear when firing. I use custom made earplugs instead.
I do wear hearing aids when not at the range. Seems that firing .50, M2 maching guns in 1965-66 with no hearing protection at all, as well as a lifetime of travling on a motorcycle (wind noise and somewhere over 300000 miles) (with stock exhaust) also had a very negative effect on my hearing.
HUH!!! What did he say??

 

[Jayhawkhuntclub]

The ones that cut sound the most are the $5 pair I bought at Harbor Frieght. Too sweaty for summer though. When it's warm I wear the rubbery ones with the center post that push in. They work well too.

 

[webfarmer]

I use Peltor Tactical Sport muffs and they work splendidly. I have no intention of wearing foam plugs AND the muffs at the same time. Unneeded in my opinion. The idea of electronic muffs (good ones anyway) is to allow you to hear others talk while you're shooting. The noise cancellation electronics work perfectly at least on mine.

I'd still be wearing my super old Silencio RangeSafe muffs (electronic noise cancelling as well) but the foam battery cover has worked loose permanently. Good luck!

 

[jayman9207]

I really like the Howard Amazon.com: Howard Leight R-01526 Impact Sport Electronic Earmuff: Home Improvement@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41bcSICIjBL.@@AMEPARAM@@41bcSICIjBL. Low profile, lightweight, not too expensive, and they fold up nice and small.

 

[snubbyfan]

I worked at Dulles Airport many years ago. When standing near a 747 revving it's engines, getting ready to taxi out to the runway, others were covering their ears. I had to be cool and tough and just stand there and take it, young and stupid. Now I have frequency hearing loss. When the wife and I go out for dinner it seems the waitresses hit just the right frequency, it sounds like Chinese to me and my wife has to translate.
Working at factories, I always made sure to protect what hearing I had left. When I see a youngster acting "cool and tough" and not wearing his hearing protection, I tell him what to expect in the future.
At the range, I wear the headphone style hearing protection, I guess that since I wore earplugs all day everyday at work, I don't like wearing them outside of work.

 

[Nevada Ed]

+1 on post 8 & 16 ........and the others.

I use foam when outdoors with the 12 Ga. and 38 spl but put
the head set on when I step up to the 357 magnum or rifles.

When at the range foam and head set......never know when a shot will go off and our range has a METAL ROOF!! Need I say more?

 

[Bkreutz]

I use Peltor tactical and sometimes plugs as well, I only have to protect one side since I lost all hearing in my left ear in Vietnam. (no hearing protection there, probably wouldn't have helped anyway since it was a concussive hearing loss. ). My son keeps wanting to upgrade my car stereo and I keep telling him that it doesn't matter since I don't hear in stereo anyway.

 

[jim52]

I shoot mainly at an outdoor range. I find the Howard Leights Impact Sport ear muffs to do a good job of reducing the gun shot sounds while allowing me to hear conversations and other relevant sounds. I also find the silicon ear plugs that came with my Range and Carry M&P9FS kit to do a good job.

 

[hoytpotater]

I mostly use the Surefire Ear Pro outdoors and add muffs for indoor.
EarPro EP3 Sonic Defenders® Earplugs from SureFire

 

[GRB5111]

Howard Leight Impact Pros outdoors for pistol, and if I'm shooting in an indoor range, I double up with Airsoft Blues.

The Impact Pros are rated at 30NRR, the Airsoft Blues are rated at 29NRR. Together they provide approximately 36NRR. Check the numbers on gun shot noise. They average 145-150dB. With a 30NRR, that allows at least 115dB, which can do damage. Ear protection is not something to take lightly.

Howard Leight Impact Sports for rifle shotgun, but I definitely double up as they are rated at only 22NRR. Just turn up the volume to hear conversations.

 

[FF112173]

I am using Pro Ears Ultra 33 Passive Ear Muffs. They are rated up to 33db. I shoot mostly indoors, but after reading all theses comments about doubling up for indoor use I'm beginning to think about some extra protection.

 

[Bullet Bob]

Outdoors shooting standard velocity .22's in rifles, I use foam plugs. Anything bigger outdoor, ear muffs.

Indoors, muffs and plugs.

Outdoors and someone sits at the next bench with a ported .300 magnum, I move

 

[wbraswell]

For the last year, I have been using a pair of inexpensive electronic ones, and I love them. They work amazingly good. I am 60 yrs old, and after many decades of shooting, loud factory work, drag racing motorcycles, and a lot of Rock'n Roll. I want to save every bit of hearing I have left.

 

[Storm40]

I use the Howard Leight by Honeywell R-01902 Impact Pro Electronic Shooting Earmuffs with Noise Reduction Rating (NRR) of 30.

 

[S&WForty]

I went to the range yesterday. As I slipped muffs on, I bumped the foam earlplug I had in left ear. It moved it enough to make it ineffe tive. I was amazed how much louder the shots were to my left ear vs. my right that had double protection. I hurried back out and reinserted the left foam plug before I started to shoot.

My foam plugs are rated 32 dB and my muffs are rated 27 dB.

I used to only wear my ear plugs while weed eating/edging, but now I keep them in when I run my mower, too. And my cordless circular saw, too.

I was photographing drag racing two years ago, and a really loud dragster made a pass. My ear closest to track had a tinny/static sound for a week. I was kicking myself for overlooking hearing protection. Now I'm really cautious.

 

[walkin' trails]

I would suggest that if you're going to go electronic to spend the money and get a GOOD set. I've gone thru three sets - one which did cost some money but tends to not work the best because they've been dropped numerous times on concrete; and a couple pairs of the cheap ones. I won't mention brand names. If you get the cheap ones and shoot a lot, plan on buying replacements periodically.

In my opinion, the best protection is a pair of good foam plugs covered by a good set of muffs. The down side is that you can't hear anything around you. I've been on an indoor range with my better electronic pair when a 50 BMG chambered rifle was fired and double protection is definitely better.