Ear plugs vs Muffs

[C.G.]

I saw the other extreme once. At the range. An man in his 70's sat down at the bench next to me. His form of hearing protection was to remove his hearing aids.

Not uncommon. There are a couple of older guys that do the same at Laguna Seca. Both of them do shoot well, though, look like retired military.

[ligamentum flavum]

If it's wet, it's denser. Besides something's better than nothing.

Just as a cautionary note, water transmits sounds better than air. So be careful to not wet the napkin or tissue too much.

[rkt88edmo]

For concerts and riding bart there is a plug from etymotics, which is also sold by hearos, that does a pretty good job of attenuating both highs and lows evenly and only has around 18dB. I can hear conversations at normal volumes while toning down the racket. I've worn them at a few shows and they worked really well, the sound wasn't muddled like it normally is with the foamy plugs.

[AmericanByGod]

I own a pair of Howard Leight Impact Sport electronic Earmuffs, they are only rated at 22 dB but seem to work pretty good so far around other AR15's & 308's. But it gets in the way by pushing against the buttstock when sighting through my scope. My friend loaned me a pair of his foam ear plugs, but they weren't very effective next to the 308's loud crack & I couldn't get them to stay in. He was wearing a set of Sure Fire ear plugs and seemed pretty happy with them, but the ratings I saw on them weren't that impressive. I'm now looking at a pair of Howard Leight Impact Pro's rated at 30 dB for use with my hand gun. But I like to buy a good pair of ear plugs for use with my AR. For those of you that feel that ear plugs by themselves are the way to go, is there any general consensus on the best ear plugs?

[L84CABO]

One of the reasons you see more muffs is because most ranges supply/rent muffs. I wear muffs because they're electronic. And I also have a hell of a time with plugs in one ear. Just can never get it seated right.

[Merc1138]

I own a pair of Howard Leight Impact Sport electronic Earmuffs, they are only rated at 22 dB but seem to work pretty good so far around other AR15's & 308's. But it gets in the way by pushing against the buttstock when sighting through my scope. My friend loaned me a pair of his foam ear plugs, but they weren't very effective next to the 308's loud crack & I couldn't get them to stay in. He was wearing a set of Sure Fire ear plugs and seemed pretty happy with them, but the ratings I saw on them weren't that impressive. I'm now looking at a pair of Howard Leight Impact Pro's rated at 30 dB for use with my hand gun. But I like to buy a good pair of ear plugs for use with my AR. For those of you that feel that ear plugs by themselves are the way to go, is there any general consensus on the best ear plugs?

If they weren't effective, then either you weren't putting them in your ear correctly(yes, there is a correct way to use earplugs, and most people don't), or you might simply need some different plugs(howard leight makes some low expanding pressure disposables that work pretty well for most people).



edit: Holy crap, 9 year old zombie thread?

[jarhead714]

How does anyone get a good weld wearing ear muffs? I got an A2 or M1A stock jammed so far into my cheek and up against my upper molars my skin prohibits their use. Those little green ribbed ear plugs they have at Wal-Mart are all I need.

[Fishslayer]

Indoors it's plugs + muffs for me.

[aplus1234]

I use both

[Bansh88]

Yet another thread that should specify indoors/outdoors.
Indoor ranges are MUCH louder. Reason #63 why I'll never set foot in one again.

[CGT80]

I posted this about a year ago but it is still pertinant.
Gnote definitely go have your hearing checked, the constant ringing was a factor for me before my last outing without decent protection. The Audiologist chastised me for not coming in sooner and tring to save what I could have.

Repost:
This is an important issue for shooters, hearing NEVER comes back.

Due to some unprotected outdoor shooting, industrial noises from various shops I visited as part of my job back when, indoor raquetball and having the occasion to discharge a .357 in my livingroom I have had low level ringing for several years now.
I recently went shooting with a friend outdoors with cheap pharmacy-style earplugs and got more battered. After a few days of "Huh?" my Wife insisted that I go to an audiologist.
The results are "substantial and signifigant hearing loss in the left ear and signifigant loss in the right." and a recommendation to get a hearing aid for the left. It won't fix the hearing, nothing can, but it may help with clarity. I missed a good portion of the 'spoken word' test. I heard the noise but misinterpreted the words leading to answering questions on an entirely different subject!

The end result of all of this is that at age 38 I have lost the upper register on the right side, most of the upper register and ALL of the mid-range on the left and will be wearing a hearing aid to keep up with conversations.

Wear those plugs and muffs! Wear both!
And pay attention to the other loud noises in your life. I had no idea that indoor raquetball was the aucoustic equivilent of repeated gunshots!

Hearing damage is nerve damage and guess which part of the body cannot grow back...

Thanks for sharing.

I wear howard leight max 33db foam plugs. They have the red, white and blue theme. They are the best I have found and a box of 200 pairs in individual wrappers was not expensive, and has been convenient to keep in my trucks, gun bag, etc.

Over the top of the plugs, I use Pro Ears Pro Mag Gold 33 db electronic muffs. They seem to block sound as well as my HL 33 db passive muffs, but I can turn up the volume and still have conversations.

The pro ears slim muffs don't block nearly as much sound and I have custom plugs with baffles, but they aren't enough on their own.

My hearing has gotten worse as well.

I have had a number of ear infections and issues with wax build up. In high school I ended up with tinnitus after wax blocked my ear canal for a couple weeks. I only heard the ringing at night or when it was very quiet. In my late 20's I noticed some very mild hearing loss. Some sounds were easier heard in one ear than the other.

A few years ago, I got another infection and the tinnitus got worse in my left ear. The general docs tried to clean it out, but had no luck and my ear was blocked for a couple weeks. An ENT was able to clean out the ear and found I had a fungal infection. Some powder in the ear solved that, but the tinnitus stayed and I can hear it over other sounds. The right ear got infected a month or so later, but I went right to the ENT and they cleared it up before the tinnitus got worse.

A year and a half ago, I noticed that my right ear seemed plugged up but I could still hear very high frequencies. It turns out that I have a v notch at about 3k herts, down to 40db. 1k is pretty good, and 6k is back up towards normal, so I just miss out on certain sounds. If they are loud enough I hear them.

When I was a kid, using plugs or muffs wasn't heard of for mowing lawns, running a chain saw, power tools, etc. I used plugs for the very loud sounds like jack hammers and the disc sander I used for work often times.

There are many things in life that are not extremely loud, but not good to be around for any length of time either. Some of the items I was around are:

gas powered airless paint sprayers
lawn equipment
saws, nail guns, orbital sanders
vacuums
concerts
car races
trucks with windows rolled down while on the freeway
shooting with ear pro that wasn't as good as it should have been
headphones/earphones-they say that they don't even have to be very loud to do damage due to how close they are to the ears, and long periods of time at mid levels can be bad.
loud exhaust systems on cars/trucks

Some people seem to get away with all of these things and some don't. I guess I didn't.

I also have hyperacusis which is sensitivity to sounds that don't bother most people. I have always been sensitive to sound, but it is worse now. I can't be near a barking dog, AR 15 brakes a very hard on my ears, even when doubled up. The sound of a shop vac is too much for me. Those sounds are bad for everyone's ears but many people can tolerate it, where I can't, any longer.

Kes,

Did you get a hearing aid/s? If so, was it worth while? At least the technology has gotten better and the aids smaller. People have said that some people will notice a person wears hearing aids, but everyone will notice if they don't hear a conversation properly.

[aplus1234]

Take care of your ears. Once the ringing starts it never stops. I have tinnitus. Take it from me...my ears have been ringing since I was 10 when a firecracker blew up in my face. I'm 36 and I still hear the ringing. Docs can't help.

A few bucks can get you a bunch of plugs. Double up

[wpage]

Listen to music with the buds....

[Midtown]

Muffs > Plugs for indoor. Not sure if I just didn't get a good seal but I only wore plugs once to the indoor range, did not seem to provide as good of protection as my cheap ear muffs. Only downside is, muffs make my face sweat a lot.

Plugs for outdoor shooting seem fine. Outdoor shooting in general seems healthier IMO.

[mcbr]

Good conversation here. My wife and I had been just using foam plugs for shooting 22lr out in the desert and figured it was fine, but as we recently got a 223 decided we'd rather be safe than sorry and bought some muffs to double up. I'm sure I already have some amount of hearing loss thanks to power tools and concerts, and figure I don't need to loose any more.

Now I just need to get in the habit of using them for things in addition to shooting. Some of the lists posted here are good reminders. Thanks!