What do you use for hearing protection?

[W.R.Buchanan]

I am almost completely deaf in my right ear, and it rings continuously I worked Jet Flight Lines in the AF which started it then Steam Generation Plants which moved it along then rolled my Jeep and clocked my head on the right side and then 20 years later with all my shooting the right ear is almost dead. I sleep mostly on my right side so being deaf on the right side works well, and I sleep like a log, so there is an upside to being deaf.

I am about to go to a hearing aide for my right ear, but I will only use one that is rechargeable as I am not about to fiddle with batteries, and I damn sure aren't going to pay $6 grand for hearing aides which probably won't work any better than the ones on TV for $600.

I use some new Electronic Axil Ear Plugs I got at Front Sight last May. I think they are actually made by Walkers. They are hooked together and amplify well, They seem to work well. They are also rechargeable which is the way just about everything electronic is going nowadays.

My right one won't stay in very well, but I really can't tell when it falls out. Here's a link to them.

https://www.opticsplanet.com/axil-gh...ampaign=google

Also on side note: Harbor Freight has these really neat 10,000 mAh Power Banks made by an outfit called "Armstrong". It will charge my phone in 2 hours and I have yet to run it dry. It is a great back up and is recharged thru a USB Cord from any source. I also charge my earplugs with it since my car doesn't charge anything that fast. All of this stuff is either using a Mini USB plug or a I Phone Plug. If you have both cords you are good to go. Niteize just came out with a little Portable Lantern that also works as a Power Bank. Gonna get one of those too.

Randy

[Ickisrulz]

Interesting data.
I wonder how much real difference there would be with an extra 5-7DB of noise reduction?
With a certain amount of sound coming through the skull rather than the ear canal, I have to wonder where the effectiveness of plugs and muffs starts to fail? Blast as opposed to volume type of sound. Also sound frequencies(high or low pitch).
Perhaps a person should wear a sound proofing helmet of some sort for more effective noise reduction, though that could get inconvenient in many circumstances.
Something to think about.

An increase of 10 dB makes something sound twice as loud. 5-7 dB is a significant change in sound intensity.

[Norske]

I'm a safety officer at an indoor range. I wear EAR plugs (highest rating except for the ones with a lanyard) with a flame pattern inside Walker electronic muffs. That works for anything except the loud, high-pitched crack of a 25-06. But I don't like being around those even outdoors.

[Patrick L]

Foam earplugs for rifle and shotgun. Especially shotgun I can't use muffs, they interfere with a quick mount.

Handgun I generally use plugs AND muffs, especially center fires. Sometimes with a .22 pistol I might use just plugs, especially on hot humid days, but center fire pistol definitely gets double.

[Bill*B]

I've been shooting for over 60 years, and am into my second set of hearing aids now. In my youth, I just used ear plugs. Then I graduated to some slim line muffs. Now that most of my hearing is gone, I am doing what I should have done all along. I put a set of fitted plugs on first (the advantage with these is, that if you lock them in, they won't fall out) and then cover with the best muffs that I can find. If some soul with a 10" barrel .223 and a 30 round magazine opens up on the bench beside me, I pack up and go home. Friends, take it from me - you can AND WILL lose your hearing in this sport, unless you are very careful. Once it is gone, it won't come back. Take care of your ears.

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

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.

It is a survival mechanism. I have 6 kids and if I had to pay attention to everything that was being said just in case someone was saying something to me I would go insane. So I tell them, if you don't say my name before speaking to me I am ignoring you.

[W.R.Buchanan]

It is a survival mechanism. I have 6 kids and if I had to pay attention to everything that was being said just in case someone was saying something to me I would go insane. So I tell them, if you don't say my name before speaking to me I am ignoring you.

I'll try that with my wife, let you know how it goes!

Randy

[samari46]

I try and get the highest DB rating in ear muffs I can find and then I buy at least two sets. When doing brushogging on my tractor I always wear muffs. and just about any gas powered yard tool. chain saw, pole saw, lawn mower, string trimmer and riding power.I lost my hearing through a combination of things, naval gunfire, working in an enging room,generator room and pump room. e4lectric pimp noises, commercial utility generators, and finally gas turbines. Frank

[NBraun]

Plugs for most things, plugs and muffs if it's especially loud.

[MrWolf]

I'll try that with my wife, let you know how it goes!

Randy

Told the girlfriend that I can't hear my Daughter at times depending on how fast she talks, etc.. Said hearing is going in higher register so if I don't hear you, don't get offended

[tazman]

Told the girlfriend that I can't hear my Daughter at times depending on how fast she talks, etc.. Said hearing is going in higher register so if I don't hear you, don't get offended

I tried that on the wife. She didn't believe me even though I had the test results.

[Peregrine]

An increase of 10 dB makes something sound twice as loud. 5-7 dB is a significant change in sound intensity.

That is true, with the key there being perceived loudness.
While you may be aware of this, let me clarify some things for people who may not be.

The decibel scale in a logarithmic scale, not a linear one.
bels are the actual unit we use to measure sound intensity, an an increase in one bel means the sound intensity has increased 10 fold. We use tenths of a bel, or decibels (dB) by convention since one bel covers such a wide range of sound intensities it's easier to work with dB. To be clear i'm going to use the word intensity to refer to how much energy the sound wave actually has.

The human ear/brain, since it has to work with such a wide range of sounds from the scurrying of mice to the roar of thunder, does not perceive "loudness" of sound in a way that maps linearly to it's intensity.
Damage to your ears scale with how much energy the soundwaves have, not how much louder we perceive the sound to be.

So when we're dealing with how we perceive loudness it's important to recognize that neither the scale on which we measure it nor how we perceive loudness is linear.

An increase in sound intensity of 10 decibels will make the sound seem twice as loud to us, but it's actually imparting 10 times more energy onto our ears.
An increase in sound intensity of 20 decibels will make the sound seem four times as loud to us, but now you're imparting 100 times more damage onto your ears.

I wonder how much real difference there would be with an extra 5-7DB of noise reduction?

I'll spare you the math.
An increase in 5dB is an increase in sound intensity of 3.16 times.
An increase in 7dB is an increase in sound intensity of 5.01 times.

So, a huge difference in how much energy you're subjecting your ears to, however not nearly as much of a difference in how much louder/quieter you perceive a sound to be.
Something very important to keep in mind.

[lefty o]

main thing to remember here, is that hearing loss/damage is cumulative. even though you dont think you harmed your hearing today, that small loss over time adds up. in short, if you havent already trashed your ears, take care of them. those of us who have suffered hearing loss and tinitus had best take care of what we have left.

[tazman]

That is true, with the key there being perceived loudness.
While you may be aware of this, let me clarify some things for people who may not be.

The decibel scale in a logarithmic scale, not a linear one.
bels are the actual unit we use to measure sound intensity, an an increase in one bel means the sound intensity has increased 10 fold. We use tenths of a bel, or decibels (dB) by convention since one bel covers such a wide range of sound intensities it's easier to work with dB. To be clear i'm going to use the word intensity to refer to how much energy the sound wave actually has.

The human ear/brain, since it has to work with such a wide range of sounds from the scurrying of mice to the roar of thunder, does not perceive "loudness" of sound in a way that maps linearly to it's intensity.
Damage to your ears scale with how much energy the soundwaves have, not how much louder we perceive the sound to be.

So when we're dealing with how we perceive loudness it's important to recognize that neither the scale on which we measure it nor how we perceive loudness is linear.

An increase in sound intensity of 10 decibels will make the sound seem twice as loud to us, but it's actually imparting 10 times more energy onto our ears.
An increase in sound intensity of 20 decibels will make the sound seem four times as loud to us, but now you're imparting 100 times more damage onto your ears.





I'll spare you the math.
An increase in 5dB is an increase in sound intensity of 3.16 times.
An increase in 7dB is an increase in sound intensity of 5.01 times.

So, a huge difference in how much energy you're subjecting your ears to, however not nearly as much of a difference in how much louder/quieter you perceive a sound to be.
Something very important to keep in mind.

Thank you for posting that. That last explains why I didn't notice a lot of difference between ear muffs even though the ratings were different.
I will have to get the highest rated ones I can get my hands on. I want to keep what hearing I have left.

[alamogunr]

I guess if there is one advantage to starting this hobby later in life it is keeping your hearing. It didn't take me long to get muffs when I started shooting center fire handguns. Because I was cheap and wanted to spend on guns, I got some inexpensive Peltor muffs. I don't think that I have been at a disadvantage with regard to damaging my hearing. A few weeks ago I was at the range firing my .45 auto's and while loading a magazine, I neglected to put my muffs back on. It only took one shot to remind me. Even these inexpensive Peltor's do a very good job of protection.

If I shot high intensity rifles or max loads in magnum handguns, I would be looking for other protection.

[Three44s]

Walker’s passive folding muffs. Non electronic and a NRR of 30.

I shoot on our ranch so no public range shooting experiences. I have a couple of electronics. My best one is by Howard Leigh. The NRR is not as high so if I do not need the electronics I go with the Walker and more protection.

Three44s

[Divil]

Plugs and Muffs for the past 15 years. Before that only plugs. Those 8 years of just plugs may not have attenuated enough decibels. Hard to say if I did any damage. I had bad ear infections as a little kid and my ears have always had some tinnitus so that was not a good barometer for me. After doubling up on the ear protection, my hearing has not seemed to get any worse and at age 45 I know some age contemporaries that have much more in the way of hearing loss than I.

[Walks]

I wear custom molded earplugs and The best "muffs" I can find. I had an eardrum punctured when I was a kid and used nothing but cotton or cigarette filters until I started competing in ATA Jr. TRAP at 12yrs. Then those sonic ear valves. Didn't get into worthwhile hearing protection until I got out of the service.

Now I'm down 50% in the right ear, 20% in the left.

[dogdoc]

I think a lot of hearing loss is natural as we age. I know people who never shot guns or went to loud concerts and did not have loud jobs who can’t hear well at all in their older years. People always try to blame it on this or that but it really is those pesky birthdays.



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[C-dubb]

While in the Army Guard we would use 45 ACP rounds, bullet end stuck in our ears. Actually worked pretty good.