What do you use for hearing protection?

[tazman]

Much of my hearing is gone due to 40+ years in a loud factory. Even a good set of muffs or plugs would not silence the drop hammers in the next room or the belt grinders right next to me.

For shooting, I use both plugs and muffs. The plugs are rated at 28db and the muffs are rated 27db.
You would think I wouldn't be able to hear much with all that, but it doesn't kill all the blast.

Indoors is the worst. I fired a couple of full magnum loads from my 6" 686 a few days ago and unloaded the rest of the cylinder without firing them.
38 special and 45acp are not bad.
Outdoors, the rifles with the muzzle brakes on the next table are still very loud even with the double protection. I can't imagine trying to shoot near one without the double protection.

What do you use and recommend for hearing protection?

[Outpost75]

I have custom-molded ear plugs from my audiologist and wear amplified muffs over them so that I can hear range commands. I worked in factories too and was also a cannon cocker.

[Conditor22]

I use Howard Leight by Honeywell Quiet Band Shooting Earplugs (so does Hickok45 )

https://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-Sho...9432488&sr=8-5

[tazman]

I hope the guy on the right doesn't flinch and pull the trigger when his buddy shoots.

[Thumbcocker]

Sometimes it seems heartless but its just nature's way of thinning the herd.

[CastingFool]

If I am target practicing by myself, I use my peltors, rated at 29dba. At a range, ir hunting, I use my Howard Leight Impact Sport electronic muffs. Rated at 22dba, I think, but they amplify range commands, normal speaking voices and natural sounds. I normally wear hearing aids and my audiologist recommended I wear the electronic muffs, without the hearing aids.

[Froogal]

I use common, ordinary foam ear plugs. Works just fine for me.

[lefty o]

especially around stuff that really barks, plugs alone are not enough. anyone who has ever had more than a rudimentary hearing test knows full well that sound is also transmitted through the skull around the ears, not just what gets in the ears, and plugs dont help you there.

[JBinMN]

I worked on the flight line at MCAS(H) New River, ( Next to Camp Geiger & near Lejuene,NC) as well as flew as a crew chief/aerial gunner on CH46 helos. Plenty of noise for a few years. Mostly used "mickey mouse ears" on the flight line, and a helmet when flying, since those little squishy ones have FOD(Foreign Object Damage ) potential if they come out, so they were frowned upon on the flight line, although some wore them inside the mickey mouse ears.

As a "field expedient" measure, I have even used old cigarette butts on occasion, like when I was on the KD course at Camp LeJuene, NC & forgot to bring my earplugs that day. They worked fine for the day, anyway.

After I got out I was working construction & was around all sorts of equipment that makes noise & most of the time no ear protection, or extremely rarely used them.

Plus, hunting/shooting since I was a lad & did not wear hearing protection.

I have suffer loss from all of that, but not what I call severe. Enough though that I would prolly qualify at the Vets, but I have not requested that. There are more folks who need way more help than I do with their service connected issues than my hearing loss. That is the way I felt for a long time, anyway, although I know others who have got 10% disability for their loss.

Anyway, what I use now when shooting is either those little squishy ones that ya put in your ears, the squishy ones on a head piece, or once again, Mickey mouse ears( Muffs). Mostly the muffs when I remember tto bring them, but I keep the squishy ones in the vehicles in case I forget the muffs. I have not yet felt the need to use the little ones & the muffs together. Prolly would not help me now anyway, I reckon.

Using both is what I would recommend to my grandkids though. That is what I told my sons when they were growing up too.
"Both together for hearing protection is better than just one, so don't do like your Dad/Pappy did & not use them until it was too late.".

" An ounce of prevention is worth the pound of cure.", it is said.
Likely applies quite well to protecting ones hearing, if you aren't stubborn & not use them for a long time like I didn't.

Feel the same way about knee pads, now that my knees are shot. Too late.
Hindsight is 20/20.

[Hossfly]

Sometimes I use both, but mostly carry the electronic ones all time in the truck, so I don’t forget to round them up. Shot a lot 106 MM recoiless rifle in the Army, had ear plugs and self provided Mickey Mouse muffs, was still very loud tho. I like the electronic muffs, you can hear better with them and they seem to shunt out the big noises.

[engineer401]

I use foam ear plugs for outdoor use. I use ear plugs and ear muffs while shooting indoors.

[Reverend Al]

I use a pair of Walker electronic muffs and like them a lot ...

[375supermag]

Electronic Caldwell muffs...
They seem to do the job.

[dbosman]

Inexpensive plugs and muffs together.
I had to get my hearing tested, to please my family. Despite growing up on a farm, trap shooting, and working in a mill, I tested as fine for my age. The apparent cause of my hearing "loss" was due to not paying attention to my wife and kids. I just told them to get my attention before speaking to me. That cured 95% of my hearing loss.

[Minerat]

I have a set if custom fit plugs and wear muffs over them for shooting at range. The plugs when hunting, mowing, cutting wood or power washing. Even wore the plugs to a Fleetwood Mac concert a couple of years ago.

[redriverhunter]

foam ear plugs and ear muff over.

[avogunner]

…..As a "field expedient" measure, I have even used old cigarette butts on occasion, like when I was on the KD course at Camp LeJuene, NC & forgot to bring my earplugs that day. They worked fine for the day, anyway......

Ha, ha, ha.....I did the same thing a few times. I was a smoker for most of my career and the filters from cigarettes did ok (better than nuthin'). Good times!!

[megasupermagnum]

I feel a person has to worry less about the numbers and just be more aware of what is going on around them. Shooting is obviously too loud without hearing protection. I've tried most styles on the market, and the only mainstay is muffs and foam ear plugs. Using both together is fine, just take them off when you aren't shooting. One instance that sticks out is a guy who went down to put up targets, and left his muffs on. Nothing dangerous happened, but he had forgot his targets. Two of us screaming from less than 50 yards away and the guy didn't have a clue. If this had been a dangerous instance, it wouldn't have been good. Plugs and electric muffs is a fantastic way to go. Myself, I normally only use foam plugs alone. I only break out the muffs if there is someone else shooting next to me. I never shoot indoors. Even my ear splitter 327 federal handguns (which really are not that loud), are no problem with foam ear plugs. It brings the sound down to about a loud clap.

Far more important is to realize other dangers. I'm still young, I show near perfect scores, with 0 hearing loss. I'm tested every year at work. Everyone knows the loud machinery is bad. I'd be willing to bet 1/2 of hearing loss is caused elsewhere. Loud radios, power tools, lawn mower. I always catch myself with the angle grinder. It will only take a minute I say. That ringing in my ears is telling me something. A particularly bad example was an Avenged Sevenfold concert. Everything was muffled the next day. Maybe I look like a geek, but you can hear concerts just as well with ear plugs, and it doesn't hurt so bad the next day.

[str8wal]

I have hard ear wax issues so can't use ear plugs. I use muffs and they work well enough.

[alamogunr]

I've never shot very much w/o protection. Years ago I purchased Peltor muffs. They seemed to work OK so I bought 2 additional pair so I would have some for family. A couple of times I needed at least one more pair. The Peltor muffs I bought aren't particularly costly but they seem to do a good job. I don't think that the shooting I do really tests them.

I'm in the market for a pair of electronic muffs. It is very inconvenient and irritating to have to remove muffs in order to hear anything. I had my hearing tested a couple of weeks ago because of echoing in my left ear and what sounded like reverberation from the car or truck engine. The results indicated I had lost some hearing especially at high frequencies. The Dr. and audiologist said that from the test most of my loss was age related. They also recommended I always use protection and endorsed the plan to get electronic muffs.