Overall, my hearing is probably better than expected after 40-some years of competitive shooting and two tours in Nam riding shotgun as a UH-1 crewchief but I do have a significant loss in the higher frequency ranges...like I don't hear that squeaky 'beep' sound used in a lot of alarms and timers at all.
I've been using a pair of custom-molded ear plugs for 30-some years...back when I was shooting conventional pistol, a shooting buddy's daughter, a clinical audiologist, made them up for our whole team. For handgun (except for my TC Contenders I very rarely shoot anything the might considered 'Magnum'), the plugs alone seem to suffice. For rifle work, I do add a pair of muffs...mostly to block out the lateral blast from the muzzle-brakes.
I'm like charlie b, having shot center-fire rifle since my early teens and, except for an original Colt HBAR I had years ago, never owned a rifle with a brake, I don't see why they've become so indespensible today...'specially on something like an AR that has no appreciable recoil, anyway.
Bill