Hearing protection

[Georgezilla]

Since the first month of being in this sport I decided to wear both ear plugs and ear muffs during range visits. Up until now I have always used the foam earplugs that you roll up and stick in your ear which are NRR 30dB, the ear muffs are impact sports NRR 22dB. I decided to order some of the multi-chambered rubber ones to give them a try. The rubber ones are NRR 22dB, however they are significantly more comfortable. This leaves me with a question: If I wanted to enjoy decent hearing throughout my shooting career would I be OK using the lower NRR of 22dB on the rubber ones in combination with the ear muffs, OR is MORE always better when it comes to NRR? If it will save my hearing I am willing to keep using the foam ones while I look for better rubber ones.

[bearandoldman]

Since the first month of being in this sport I decided to wear both ear plugs and ear muffs during range visits. Up until now I have always used the foam earplugs that you roll up and stick in your ear which are NRR 30dB, the ear muffs are impact sports NRR 22dB. I decided to order some of the multi-chambered rubber ones to give them a try. The rubber ones are NRR 22dB, however they are significantly more comfortable. This leaves me with a question: If I wanted to enjoy decent hearing throughout my shooting career would I be OK using the lower NRR of 22dB on the rubber ones in combination with the ear muffs, OR is MORE always better when it comes to NRR? If it will save my hearing I am willing to keep using the foam ones while I look for better rubber ones.

Try and find a pair of Peltor Ultimate 10 ear muffs, tey are about 29 or 30 db, I have a pair and they work great, but at the indoor range when someone was shooting a big boomer I more roll up ear plugs also.

[lucam]

Try and find a pair of Peltor Ultimate 10 ear muffs

I used those for years in the wood shop. They are excellent, very comfy, very good sound reduction.

If you are at a range, more is usually better. You don't know what everyone else will be shooting. If you're shooting alone with a small bore rifle or subsonic ammo, you might be okay with less protection.

My 2¢.

[Bullseye]

I have always worn both plugs and muffs. And I don't plan on changing my habits any time soon. My hearing has changed very little over the 30+ years of shooting, and well over 1,000,000 rounds downrange. Like you, I didn't want to be saying, "Huh?" all the time when I got older. Many of the old timers of my youth were doing just that and it had a huge impact on my following hearing safety/conservation precautions.

R,
Bullseye

[bearandoldman]

I have always worn both plugs and muffs. And I don't plan on changing my habits any time soon. My hearing has changed very little over the 30+ years of shooting, and well over 1,000,000 rounds downrange. Like you, I didn't want to be saying, "Huh?" all the time when I got older. Many of the old timers of my youth were doing just that and it had a huge impact on my following hearing safety/conservation precautions.

R,
Bullseye

Don't have any hearing problems as I always did wear hearing protection but I have been told that my attention paying is really rotten.

[Downeaster]

I have significant hearing loss in the high frequencies. Two reasons that I know of:

A portion of my hearing loss is due to inadequate protection in my youth while shooting. It was "the norm" to shoot rimfires and shotguns with NO protection and centerfire handguns and rifles with maybe a cotton ball rolled up and stuck in your ear. Several years driving Dad's tractors on the farm in Michigan with little or no muffling didn't help much either. Really stupid in hindsight.

I have been told that the majority of my hearing loss is due to low but constant noise levels in my line of work. I spent 22 years working in rooms crammed with electronics listening to literally hundreds of bay blowers and equipment fans. It's a common syndrome amongst my peers.

Bottom line: More hearing protection is ALWAYS better.

[toyfj40]

sometimes I (try to) think outside the box...
(but I enjoy playing in the sand, so I usually return quickly)

give some bit of thought as to What, How close, How often
you expose yourself...
meaning... I go to the range and take my precautions...
from time to time there is someone that has a minimum-size
CANNON at the next station...
I'll move down... or go take a break while he makes his shots...

in other words... don't rely on the 'hearing dB ear things'
to do all the work... think and minimize the extreme exposure...

... what? you say something... ?
-- toy

[bearandoldman]

More than one time at the indoor range that I used to belong too would walk off and take a break when the guy with the big bore rifle with the muzzle brake did his thing. Noise was bad enough, but the shock wave off the brake would damn near knock you over.

[greener]

I have some 29-30 dba muffs that do a fine job. Can't take much loud noise. Early in my Artillery career I did firing safety and had to listen, without hearing protection, for primers to fire after misfires. Sure enough the guns went bang. I've had tinnitus since the 70's and about a 30% hearing loss in certain ranges. It's always a good thing to take care of your ears.

I also spent 35 years playing with chemicals. Learned the importance of eye protection very early.

[toyfj40]

I've been 'in' (ie. visited) some fairly noisy "industrial" shops...
( trip hammers, diesel pumps... ad nauseum )
but not "worked there" day after day...

so, the EarMuffs/plugs/etc (even White Noise generators)
will dampen, muffle, suppress the 'sound waves'...
BUT... (?) when it comes to the heavy duty stuff (ie. artillary)
would proximity to the concussion deliver a "physical" shock wave
to your head that could create a hearing loss due to the
"jaw bone conduction" of the noise...
not just the Air-borne shock wave...

is this valid? only in extremes (ie. removing wheel-blocks from fighter jets).

also... 'chemistry'... in Quant-Lab, I accidentally sucked up some
Sulfuric-acid based reagent (sorta weak, but still acid !)
and immediately spit it on the floor as I walked to the "bath" unit.
The janitor was not amused when he tried to mop-up the stain...
and found that THE WAX had been removed to the flooring... !

take care, -- toy

[Bullseye]

The bones will transmit (conduct) sound waves regardless of the amount of hearing protection. Fighter jets at full military power can really throw out some high db noise.

R,
Bullseye

[greener]

I've been 'in' (ie. visited) some fairly noisy "industrial" shops...
( trip hammers, diesel pumps... ad nauseum )
but not "worked there" day after day...

so, the EarMuffs/plugs/etc (even White Noise generators)
will dampen, muffle, suppress the 'sound waves'...
BUT... (?) when it comes to the heavy duty stuff (ie. artillary)
would proximity to the concussion deliver a "physical" shock wave
to your head that could create a hearing loss due to the
"jaw bone conduction" of the noise...
not just the Air-borne shock wave...

is this valid? only in extremes (ie. removing wheel-blocks from fighter jets).

also... 'chemistry'... in Quant-Lab, I accidentally sucked up some
Sulfuric-acid based reagent (sorta weak, but still acid !)
and immediately spit it on the floor as I walked to the "bath" unit.
The janitor was not amused when he tried to mop-up the stain...
and found that THE WAX had been removed to the flooring... !

take care, -- toy

Pipetting by mouth? Chromic acid will leave your teeth feeling gritty for about a month. At least that's what the kid in my lab who tried it said.

[FourCornerm'n]

Glad these things are being made available. Hope youngsters note our experiences. Some additional points. Consistent with what Bullseye noted, a Pro Ears rep at a Colorado match told me good inserts reduce more noise volume than muffs, but only muffs reduce any amount of the sound that transmits through the bones that surround the ears. About half a dozen physicians were among the 200 or so shooters I came up with in the '80s and they all wore personally fitted (poured rubber?) inserts. In a college class on Perception years earlier, we were taught that in medium sized primitive African villages, the women had hearing loss simply from being around lots of kids all day, compared to the men (who were usually away hunting). Seems like combination of good plugs and good muffs is best. I think of myself as having good hearing - listen to a lot of music - but I can hear crickets at night in bed only when laying with my right ear uncovered? Am wondering if it comes from a lifetime of driving with the truck window open?? As a kid I was introduced to high power rifle by a neighbor who'd spent years using empty 30-06 cases for sound protection and admitted, being a classical bassonist, that he knew it hadn't been enough. We should ask that rock 'n roller & celeb shooter what he thinks. His input, if rational (I have no idea), might be useful to the next generations.

[Dwight45]

My thinking is "enough is enough" rather than "more is better." What if you have to communicate with someone at the range or to hear the buzzer at cease-fire? Would you want to be completely deaf? Also, you do shoot for pleasure, and if the foam plugs detract from that pleasure while the rubber plugs do not, the question that remains is: is a 44db reduction enough to protect your ears from hearing loss? I would just use my judgement at the range, and it would depend on what I and everyone around me was shooting at the time. I'd bring along both kinds and be prepared for anything.

[Bud33]

When I started shooting there wasn't much other than ear plugs. Little rubber ones, some sonic things that were suppose to close off with the loud noises etc.. Shortly thereafter we started mooching ear muffs of the jet mechanics (I still have a pair of them) but to little to late!!!
For those of you wondering if it is worth it. . . . Consider the $4K gadgets in my ears now and the cost of a GOOD pair of hearing protectors .
Then you have to wonder about this latest generation when you sit at a stop light and the roof on the car next to you is flexing from the bass boom.