hearing protection

[rcasady]

first i was wondering how many of you hunters are wearing some sort of ear protection in blind ? i personally cant stand just sitting there with plugs pretending im hearing things ....but i do try to wear the cheap rubber plugs on strings around my neck so i can pop in if i think im gonna take a shot ....but i forget alot

that got me curious if professional law enforcement or soldiers wear anything when say a clearing a house or building , im assuming your awareness is more important than your hearing , but i wuold never know , im neither but i do know how loud a pistol is inside a building let alone a SBR

last , what are you guys wearing at the range ? electronic ? cheap foamies ? who makes a good slim pair of electronic ear protection

[CEOofEVIL]

Unfortunately, I can only help with the "Normal range" portion of the question. If I'm at the local indoor range I use rubber ear plugs with ear muffs over them. Nothing like the sound of two AR's going off on either side of you in an enclosed space to make you want more than just plugs!

If I'm just shooting in the desert, plugs are adequate enough for the job.

Also, I too have wondered if soldiers have some kind of hearing protection available.

[Texas Dan Mosby]

that got me curious if professional law enforcement or soldiers wear anything when say a clearing a house or building , im assuming your awareness is more important than your hearing , but i wuold never know , im neither but i do know how loud a pistol is inside a building let alone a SBR

The Army was pretty serious about hearing protection since at least 88', which is when I first enlisted. Whether issued triple flange plugs, or the foamies, there was always ear pro available for training, and leadership always enforced its use...well, at least in my organizations.

With the electronic muffs available today, there aren't too many environments that you can't wear ear pro in. However, when operating on foot out in the "country", I opted to go without, simply because the wind would get amplified in the electronic muffs, which irritated the begeezis out of me, coms fed directly into the muffs which made it a pain in the rear to communicate face to face, and when you did hear something hokie, it was a lot harder to identify the direction of the sound. In the bush, most of the time you rely on your hearing due to limited visibility, so plugs don't work out so well.

When doing raids, or operating in vehicles or an urban environment, I plugged up or used muffs because you rely more on your vision. Vehicles and aircraft are loud enough as it is, and when you get hit by an IED, it can rock your world and you stand a better chance of not rupturing an ear drum if you're plugged/muffed up. Raids are going to be loud anyway, so if you wear plugs, you lose some hearing, but you'll lose it anyway if you don't wear them due to charges, bangers, shots, etc, and there is usually so much background noise in urban environments, that plugs aren't that much of a hindrance as they would be in the bush.

last , what are you guys wearing at the range ? electronic ? cheap foamies ? who makes a good slim pair of electronic ear protection

I double up using either foamies / flanged plugs and a set of electronic muffs. It's a good combo IMO as you can crank up the volume on the muffs so you can still hear the RSO pitch a stage or whatever, and you get good protection. For gun hunting, I'd use the same combo.

[longtooth]

Ears always on the range. Hearing is a great part of hunting. One shot. No HP.

[E.Marquez]

electronic ear muffs, best thing since slide bread and the .45 cal pistol round.. I really like my peltors, but there are lots of others out there as well.. Both Passive and audio enhancing designs.

[punkndisorderly]

My experience in the Army (mid-90's) was the opposite. I was issued two pair of "baffle" type plugs in basic and one pair at my duty station. Foam plugs were available at the range.

We neither had, or were encouraged to get protection for the field. Our standard issue plugs were fingers and cigarette butts. BTW, I was in ARTILLERY. Between the 155mm cannon and the vehicle noise (the noise in the back of the ammo tracks was unreal), yeah i'm going to be deaf.

I'm fanatical about ear pro now. Muff and stuff ant the range and wear muffs for yard work.

[jimlongley]

My experience in the Army (mid-90's) was the opposite. I was issued two pair of "baffle" type plugs in basic and one pair at my duty station. Foam plugs were available at the range.

We neither had, or were encouraged to get protection for the field. Our standard issue plugs were fingers and cigarette butts. BTW, I was in ARTILLERY. Between the 155mm cannon and the vehicle noise (the noise in the back of the ammo tracks was unreal), yeah i'm going to be deaf.

I'm fanatical about ear pro now. Muff and stuff ant the range and wear muffs for yard work.

For those of us not man enough to take it, the Navy offered cotton. And since I got out in '70, they have denied that I have suffered any hearing loss as a result of firing 5" guns on down to small arms with nothing more and frequently less.

[10Shooter]

first i was wondering how many of you hunters are wearing some sort of ear protection in blind ? i personally cant stand just sitting there with plugs pretending im hearing things ....but i do try to wear the cheap rubber plugs on strings around my neck so i can pop in if i think im gonna take a shot ....but i forget alot

that got me curious if professional law enforcement or soldiers wear anything when say a clearing a house or building , im assuming your awareness is more important than your hearing , but i wuold never know , im neither but i do know how loud a pistol is inside a building let alone a SBR

last , what are you guys wearing at the range ? electronic ? cheap foamies ? who makes a good slim pair of electronic ear protection

Shot 3 pigs two weekends ago in about 6-8 seconds, (DPMS .308) forgot about hearing protection (had left plugs in the truck), ears rang and rang, thought I really screwed up, ears are fine now.
I use these at the range Howard Leight R-01526 Impact Sport Electronic Earmuff
and used them last weekend, didn't shoot anything but I was ready... :)

[texasmusic]

I bought a pair of these recently. With the yellow side in you can hear OK, kinda like having a foam plug that isn't seated properly. The green side functions as a normal plug. You can see the little hole in the yellow one and there is a valve inside somewhere that is supposed to shut off the channel for loud noises. I've used them a couple times and the green sides work great for shooting outdoors. Haven't had a chance to try the yellow side... I've had them in for hunts but haven't taken a shot yet to try them out.

[Skiprr]

I know of at least one SWAT unit that uses the EAR, Inc. SHS IV. EAR, Inc. has, if I had to guess, a pretty good chunk of the top-end, in-ear market. I know some IDPA and IPSC shooters who use the company's custom-fitted electronic earplugs. I would too, if I felt I had the scratch to invest in a pair. Those puppies run from $1,000 to $2,500 a pair.

My every-day is a pair of ProEars Dimension Plus muffs. A now-discontinued model, it's been a workhorse for about seven years. They take the same CR123 batteries as my flashlights and EOTechs, do an excellent job of noise clamping, and have good independent ear audio enhancement control and directional sound location; but they're bulky, kinda heavy, and even on my too-big head don't clamp as tightly as I'd like: they shift around when you try to run in them. But I trust the brand, and if I were to buy a new pair today I think I'd go with their Pro Slim Gold model.

At the recommendation of the spouse of one of our Forum members, at the TSRA gun show a couple of years ago I picked up a pair of custom-molded, full in-ear plugs from dB Specialties out of Plano (http://www.db-specialties.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;). They're an EAR, Inc. authorized dealer, but I picked up a pair of their plain, silicon rubber, non-electronic plugs. At the show, these were only about $50 for the pair, IIRC. They're very comfortable, and do their job of 29 dB rated protection. The company offers a few different non-electronic models that might be worth checking into.

If I'm on a range where it's vital I be able to hear range commands from a distance (e.g., a training class where there may be one person issuing instructions to a half-dozen students, or instructions that are being issued from 10 or 15 yards away) I go with the Pro Ears only. If the range conditions are such that I only have to worry about clearly audible instructions that are either very loud or that come from just a few feet away, I sometimes go with the dB Specialties plugs only. Indoor ranges or shooting under a sound-reflective structure, I use both the plugs and the Pro Ears. If I jack-up the Pro Ears amplification, having both the plugs and the muffs works fine for indoor IDPA-style shooting.

I agree hearing is a very important topic. Once you lose it, you can go with hearing aids but your natural hearing ain't comin' back. It baffles me to see people at gun ranges trying to get away without decent hearing protection. I guess some of them think it's more macho...

[v-rog]

We used these in Iraq. They were issued to us.

http://www.cabelas.com/hearing-protecti ... adType=pla

[Jumping Frog]

A couple of points to consider. First, many people do not realize the sound is logarithmic. A 3dB change in sound levels means doubling of the sound power. Thus a 6 dB change doubles again, for 4 times the power, another 3 dB doubles it again for 8 times the power, etc.

My problem with most electronic muffs is many have quite low NRR ratings. Some examples include AO Safety Tactical 6-S Electronic Hearing Protector (NRR 19 dB), Peltor 97044 Tactical 6S Active Volume Hearing Protector (NRR 19 dB), or Howard Leight R-01526 Impact Sport Electronic Earmuff (NRR 22 dB),. Notice the 3 dB difference between the Howard Leight and the Peltor means the Howard Leight attenuates double the sound pressure.

The Caldwell is has a NRR of 23 dB, but its circuitry cuts in and out with the noise more annoyingly than other brands I've tried.

I am currently using the Browning Midas Electronic Earmuffs (NRR 28dB) Black . With a NRR of 28, that means it is 9 dB higher than the Peltors, which corresponds to attenuating eight times as much power.

That said, unless I was needing to hear range commands (like an IDPA scenario), I will double up on earplugs and the electronic muffs. Combining both forms of protection definitely provides better hearing protection.

I am curious about (and will purchase soon to try) the new Surefire EP3 Sonic Defenders. They were named safety product of the year at the Shooting Industry awards, and I think anyone will acknowledge that Surefire has a quality brand reputation. Guns magazine also gave them a product of the year award.



I would like to be able to wear both plugs and muffs while still hearing range commands or other ambient noises.

Finally, I would like people to be aware that simply wearing plugs alone does not do the best job of protecting hearing. If you reach behind your ear and feel the hard bony protuberance between your ear and where your hair starts, there is a lot of sound conduction through the bone that can also damage hearing. Muffs do a better job in that they also cover that area and protect against bone conduction.

[speedsix]

...I've worn the Sonic ear valves since the 70s...then Sonic II...first ones had the metal chamber showing...then they wrapped it...then I couldn't find 'em...down to one pair...I will be ordering these...thanks for the link!!!

[teraph]

I use the surefire ep3s for just about everything that i do on ranges. They are phenomenal! They are comfy, provide great sound protection (compared to what I have been issued) and I can still hear ppl speaking across the range. Even on an m240 range they do everything described.
As for cobat zones and raids though.......I know of a few joes who wore nothing, plugs and their personal high end electronic headsets while out. Needless to say some are having some issues hearing right now......

[strider67]

I never use hearing protection while hunting.......I bowhunt!

Anything from a .22 and up, I always use hearing protection. Have always used foam, which has always sufficed, but am investigating the electronic earmuffs now...