Hearing Protection Recommendations

[hkuspclem40]

A little history...I wear foam earplugs almost daily at work for a whole bunch of situations that require hearing protection. I have the option of wearing earmuffs but because I work outdoors and in the heat and humidity while performing physical activity, I feel like they're fatiguing, cumbersome, and I feel gritty, sweating with them on.

I prided myself on great hearing in the past but with age and all the loud equipment I've been exposed to (even with hearing protection, I'm a firm believer that it still slowly damages your hearing) my hearing has suffered slightly.

All that being said, I need hearing protection for TDI. I need to be able to receive instruction while obviously protecting my hearing. I'm concerned about being able to hear what I'm being told while shooting or others around me shooting. I don't want to hassle with plugs in and out.

I'm not going to put a price on my hearing but I want to keep my cost reasonable and get the most for my money.

I've never owned earmuffs with the mic. Can you guys recommend some good pairs to look at. Manufacturers names and where to look to purchase them at a reasonable price.

Thanks.

[502ci]

I have two pair of these from Harbor Freight. Never had a problem with them and they work great. I know electronic muffs can run into the hundreds of dollars, I would love to know how much better could those be...I'm sure someone here will let me and you know though...

http://www.harborfreight.com/noise-canc ... 92851.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[AlanM]

Since I was once married to an audiologist/speech pathologist I know of what I speak.
Also, I now have to wear two hearing aids due to 72 db losses at high frequencies.

To protect your hearing against very loud noised you should wear BOTH foam (or specially molded) plugs for your ear canals AND muffs.
The reasons being, the plugs reduce the straight air transmitted energy from getting to the ear drum and from there to the inner ear.
The muffs surround the entire pina (exterior part of the ear) and, if properly fitted, seal against the skull some distance away from the inner ear thus reducing sound energy absorbed and conducted by the bones of the skull.

Note: This fitting process is especially important for children who have smaller skulls than adults.

My wife also suggested keeping you mouth closed while shooting to prevent conduction up through the eustachian tubes. (I have no verification of this.)

Electronic muffs are an excellent idea. The allow you to wear good ear canal plugs and still be able to hear verbal orders clearly because of the amplification during quiet times and still provide full protection of the plugs and muffs when a gun discharges.
Things to consider is the recovery time of the amplifiers AFTER they cutoff a loud noise. Some less expensive muffs have a long recovery time before you can fully hear again.

I hope this helps.

[JustaShooter]

+! for doubling up plugs and muffs.

Also, if the budget allows, go for a good pair of electronic muffs. As I understand it, there are two basic types - those that cut out the audio when a loud noise is detected above a certain level, and those that use compression to bring the volume of a loud noise down to a safe level without cutting out the audio. The compression type are *much* nicer to use on a range when people are shooting while you are trying to hold a conversation or listen to instruction.

[ArmedAviator]

Since I was once married to an audiologist/speech pathologist I know of what I speak.
Also, I now have to wear two hearing aids due to 72 db losses at high frequencies.

To protect your hearing against very loud noised you should wear BOTH foam (or specially molded) plugs for your ear canals AND muffs.
The reasons being, the plugs reduce the straight air transmitted energy from getting to the ear drum and from there to the inner ear.
The muffs surround the entire pina (exterior part of the ear) and, if properly fitted, seal against the skull some distance away from the inner ear thus reducing sound energy absorbed and conducted by the bones of the skull.

Note: This fitting process is especially important for children who have smaller skulls than adults.

My wife also suggested keeping you mouth closed while shooting to prevent conduction up through the eustachian tubes. (I have no verification of this.)

Electronic muffs are an excellent idea. The allow you to wear good ear canal plugs and still be able to hear verbal orders clearly because of the amplification during quiet times and still provide full protection of the plugs and muffs when a gun discharges.
Things to consider is the recovery time of the amplifiers AFTER they cutoff a loud noise. Some less expensive muffs have a long recovery time before you can fully hear again.

I hope this helps.

I've never noticed a difference in volume/percussion between using the foam inserted ear-pro or doubling up. I can definitely say that the foam ear plugs do a superior job of hearing protection versus only earmuff style. If I do an indoor range or a crowded target range, I use only foam plugs. If I am outdoors and shooting myself or one other (without a crazy compensator or muzzle brake), I'm comfortable with the electronic earmuff style.

I also use only foam earplugs for working around jet engines, but that's mostly convenience as they fit in your pocket. They work great, though.

[techmike]

I have a set of THESE. The price is very reasonable, they cut off outside noise above 85 db, yet allow you to clearly hear conversations. They use two AA batteries, which last a long time if you remember to turn the amp off after use. The low profile also allows use with AR type rifles. Had them several years with no issues.

[dl1911]

I've used these for years and are very happy with them. Keep an eye out and you can sometimes find them on sale for $25-30.

https://www.amazon.com/Howard-Leight-Am ... ard+leight" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[hkuspclem40]

Thanks for all the insight and suggestions.

Alan: I was taught that if you used foam plugs with an NPR rating of X, doubling up with muffs would NOT increase hearing protection by cutting out any more noise above what you were already being protected from by plugs alone. Is this a flawed theory?

[eagle45]

I asked a similar question here about a year ago. Got a lot of good advice and opinions.

The posts by TSiWRX were especially helpful.



Link to thread:
http://www.ohioccwforums.org/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=86280" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[AlanM]

Thanks for all the insight and suggestions.

Alan: I was taught that if you used foam plugs with an NPR rating of X, doubling up with muffs would NOT increase hearing protection by cutting out any more noise above what you were already being protected from by plugs alone. Is this a flawed theory?

Yes, it is. As I stated, bone conduction of very loud sounds to the inner ear is a VERY likely possibility and using ear muffs to further isolate the surfaces around the ears definitely reduces long term hearing damage.

[WY_Not]

I've got a pair of Peltor 6S and a pair of the Howard-Leights.

The Peltors are more comfortable but a bit more bulky and can sometimes get in the way when rifle shooting. They cut out once a threshold is reached.

The Howard-Leights aren't quite as comfortable (close but not quite) but they don't stick out from the side of the head as much. They cut out anything over a threshold.

I prefer the Peltors for comfort and the Howard-Leights for shooting rifle and for the way they operate.

When shooting on a line with others I LOVE electronic ear muffs because of the safety factor of being able to hear range commands while protecting my hearing.

[SMMAssociates]

Also, I now have to wear two hearing aids due to 72 db losses at high frequencies.

Alan:

I always thought you just didn't listen....

Seriously, a little more protection, if you just look at the numbers, can be a major help 'cause the scale's logarithmic or something like that. However, if the electronic muffs cut off kinda low, the plugs probably won't do much.

I keep foam in the range bag, just in case. Can't hurt.

Regards,

[TSiWRX]

A little history...I wear foam earplugs almost daily at work for a whole bunch of situations that require hearing protection. I have the option of wearing earmuffs but because I work outdoors and in the heat and humidity while performing physical activity, I feel like they're fatiguing, cumbersome, and I feel gritty, sweating with them on.

...

All that being said, I need hearing protection for TDI. I need to be able to receive instruction while obviously protecting my hearing. I'm concerned about being able to hear what I'm being told while shooting or others around me shooting. I don't want to hassle with plugs in and out.

I'm not going to put a price on my hearing but I want to keep my cost reasonable and get the most for my money.
[/quote]

Define "reasonable." "Most for the money" means getting a bargain for some - versus for others, buying "the best" and crying just that once.

Once you fully cement that subjective as something objective, we can then start looking your choices. If budget is a concern, you'll want to really lock-in a price range (< $100, between $100 to $200, or $200+ [and yes, there's a range for $1K+, but those are typically custom-made in-ear appliances]) before you go any further, as that'll just complicate the decision tree.

Going backwards, in terms of the second concern that I excerpted from your post above, if you're getting serious enough to have booked yourself a slot at TDI, you'll want to take a realistic look at just how much training you plan to do down the road. This is an investment you're making, with earpros, and it'll do you little good to spend $100 now only to realize six months or even a year down the line that you should have just bitten the bullet and bought that $300 set of ProEars, Comtacs, or Sordins - or maybe invested even more and gone with custom in-ear.

Overall, at the level that you're looking at due to your classes, you'll likely want to spend some money and get something that offers compression instead of clipping. It's not that the clipping models won't do, it's just that the compression models will likely make "range/class-life" easier and more pleasurable for you.

And that gets to the first of your concerns: comfort.

Comfort is very subjective, and there's a lot of overlap here also with how the ear-cups seal around your chosen eyepros (with this also being a hearing-safety concern). Generalizing again, however, models using gel-cups are typically much more comfortable.