Hearing protection: Active vs passive, buds vs muffs, and all around suggestions
Looking into hearing protection and possibly looking for something active. Are earmuffs too cumbersome and heavy? Any suggestions?
Posted Sep 8, 2014, 2:23 AM UTC
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Howard Leight Impact Sports Electronic muffs. ~$50, amplifies sounds, but cuts off gun shots. Best bang for your buck. I'd wager that 50% of practical pistol shooters own them.
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The real problem with muffs IMO is comfort in warm weather. A tremendous amount of cooling takes place via the ears, and muffs prevent that. I'd look at in-ear models if I wanted to go back to active ear pro.
The amplification of activity from other bays can get distracting when shooting matches or practicing.
I've personally settled on the Surefire EP-7 plugs.
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Everyone's ears are different of course, but here's my take.
We got electronic muffs and they are great I think - except we should have got the low-profile ones, as I've ended up doing shotgun (where they've been literally blown off my head!).
Due to doing shotgun, I wanted to try buds and I've just not found any that cut out enough noise, but still let me hear conversations. In fact most of the buds don't cut enough noise at all for my liking, and some were just plain uncomfortable. The soft cone shaped ones seem really ineffectual for my ear shape - the soft cylindrical ones are better but I can't seem to find them anymore - the hard 'ear worm' ones hurt and ineffectual for me.
So I use muffs for every other discipline, except when I go up to the stand to shoot shotgun, where I've found a soft disposable bud that cuts out the most noise (but still not great).
I never had tinnitus before starting shooting just under a year ago, and now I do - so do spend the money getting something that really works for you.
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You're almost certainly wearing the ear plugs wrong. They are significantly better at cutting noise than ear muffs.
Decibels are measured on a logarithmic scale. The difference between 30dB and 25dB is huge.
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I wish I knew what I was doing wrong! Do you mean the hard plastic ear plugs, or the soft squishy disposable ones?
A number of guys at the range have the moulded ones (i.e. moulded to their just-inside-the-ear shape) but they don't feel they're worth getting (when I asked for recommendations).
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The little round soft foam plugs are the best possible plugs, short of the custom-molded ear buds that cost $400+ and it's debatable if they're actually better than something that costs 99 cents.
Either barrel shaped or tapered, doesn't matter.
Watch this video to learn proper use: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPNPZJingZA
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Thank you so much for that link! I do prefer the cylindrical plugs over the cone shaped ones, but based on the video I haven't been squishing/inserting correctly at all.
I wish I'd seen this prior to going to the range today, but I'm back at the range tomorrow so I'll try it then. Thank you!
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This is sort of accurate. Yes, certain plugs inserted correctly have a higher NRR.
But its documented that muffs block high frequency better and plugs block low frequency better.
And pretty much nobody can honestly argue that with decent muffs on, standing next to someone running an open gun or AR with a muzzle break is more comfortable with plugs. Its not, muffs are better.
And muffs on top of plugs are best.
I use digital in ear plugs and have the browning 37nrr muffs over top...
I don't believe they are really 37 nrr, seems impossible, but they are comfortable and block noise really well.
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I love the Howard Leight muffs for pistol at the range, but I can't get a good cheek weld when shotgun hunting with them and hate wearing them over a hat. I tried the cheap Walker game ear, but found the ear plug got dirty quickly and is expensive to replace every time. Plus they really don't work well in wind. I now use the Peltor Combat Arms passive earplugs and like them a lot. I want to try the similar Surefire Defender line. I think the passive work fine except in an echoey metal duck blind right up next to a buddy. I will get some custom molded in-ear electronic ones once the price reaches $499.
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I use Howard Leight Impact Sport electronic muffs when shooting outdoors with pistols. Indoors, or outdoors with rifles, I double up with foam plugs underneath.
During competition shooting I actually prefer the electronics as it lets me hear the actual RO Commands better. Even when doubled up with foam plugs, the electronic boost allows me to hear very nicely.
The Howard Leights are low profile enough to not really intrude when I shoot shotgun.
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Foamies block out the most noise but they make it difficult to hear the RO score targets when I'm scorekeeping, and taking them in and out all the time is a pain.
I've settled on the Surefire earplugs because they let me hear what I need to hear while satisfactorily blocking gunshot noise. I don't like earmuffs or I would probably get the same electronic assisted ones as everyone else.
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I have been doing this a couple years and then finally got a set of custom molded digital plugs.
If I was starting over, this is literally the first thing I would go back and buy. I would buy it before a reloading setup, before guns and belts and all the other crap.
Fitted in the ear digital compression plugs like esp america...there are many options, some considerably less expensive.
I still put muffs over when shooting the really loud stuff, 38 super comp, ar15, stuff like that.
They completely change your experience when you are at a match for the better, and you will never be without protection...
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I have a pair of Leight Fusion earplugs in my pocket at all times, so that's what I use the majority of the time. If I need to add muffs, I have a pair of Leightning L2 muffs that when both are used together give me an estimated NRR of around 37-38.
I shoot about once a quarter/4 months, so I really don't need to spend a lot of money on fancy hearing protection.
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I run doubled up most of the time....
I tried the surefire ep7's and while they work, my foamies (my good foamies) work better at cutting noise.
I run Pro Ears Gold on top of that.. With them turned on and turned up I can still hear/have a conversation without ending up yelling.
If I end up getting too hot, I can take off the pro-ears and the foamies alone is enough when I'm not the one shooting AND I'm not next to someone who is..
I also wear a shemagh that I keep swapping out with a 2nd one that I have in cold water in the cooler. At the minimum I put it around my neck to keep me cool. That alone usually makes it so I don't need to pull my ear muffs to cool off..
The Pro Ears gold work great for pistol and "some" rifle shooting but they are pretty big so the stock on some of my guns get in the way and I can't get a good cheek weld with the pro ears on all my guns.
how did you get into wearing the shemagh? some of the more 'tactical' guys wear one at my local matches...
does it actually help?
do most people soak them before wearing? i think everyone around me is wearing them dry.
I found out about them from one of my Brothers friends who wears one in Winter to keep cool/cold air off his neck and wears it cold/wet in the summer.. He is folically challenged which is why I think he started to wear it in summer...
Back to me... I used to wear a coolibar protective sun drape... I would wear it loose to let air flow. It was very good at keeping me from getting sun burned but I would have to take it off every 30 minutes or so (and get into the shade) or I would get too hot.
I was at a surplus store in town looking for some knee pads this last spring (was already well over 100F here by then) and I saw the shemagh. I figured, what the heck, and bought it....
I threw it in my cooler with my 5 liters of frozen water bottles and 1/2 gallon of water in the bottom of the cooler. I would just wring out the shemagh, and wear it over my head and wrap it around my neck. OMG did it make a difference. Even though the shemagh never had a chance to get cold when I re-wet it (I would do it between each stage) it still worked well... Now I bring 2 of them so one is always in the cooler, getting cold/wet. I can swap them must faster now too... I change how I'm wearing them depending on the direction of the sun but most times it is at least over my head AND around my neck... Around my neck alone leads to a sunburned face...
I don't wear it over my mouth when wet though.. I don't want to waterboard myself.... I have worn it that way dry when I was 4 wheeling in the desert with blowing wind... It was much nicer having that on blocking the sand from my face/mouth/nose. It didn't do much to keep me cool, but it didn't make me hotter either..
Hopefully all that rambling answers your questions...
oh yea, I'm not one of those tactical people.... I more or less stand out at matches... I wear bright green Salomon speedcross shoes and even my shemaghs (primary ones) are green... Not exactly a tactical look...