Ear Protection Question

J

jbakerii

Inactive
I am new to a lot of this, and am just buying my first shotgun, a Benelli Nova 12 guage Tactical. I know I need to get some good ear protection, but would like some advice on what to get. I always wear a hat, real hat-not a baseball cap, so the over the head ear muff style will not work for me. I plan on using foam plugs, but am also thinking I would like to double up with some ear muff's. Are there any good ones out there that go behind the head instead of over it? I saw one pair on the Bass Pro web site, but their NRR raiting was only 19, and I think I want better protection than that.

Thanks for your advice!
 
This is cheap but it works great for me.
Winchester soft silicone gel ear plugs from wally world $2.97
They are comfortable, go in easy and stay in. They also provide 26 NRR noise reduction rating. I use these for hand gun and rifle shooting.
 
You may not know this yet, but what you REALLY want is a pair of amplifying muffs that go behind your neck like these: Peltor 6S

Now that I have been way too presumptuous, let me explain. I use these with the volume turned all the way up in conjunction with ear plugs. What that does is allow me to hear all the range commands and conversations (because they are amplified and make it through the ear plugs) but when a gun goes off, the amplification goes quiet and you get the benefits of being double plugged. While, in theory, serial attenuation like this should be completely additive, in practice it isn't completely serial (some of the sound pressure gets to your ears through your bones and connective tissue), so you really only get about 5dB of additional attenuation. Those 5 dB do make a huge difference, though.

Because of this imperfect serial attenuation, you probably won't see much difference between a 30 dB muff and a 19 dB muff IF YOU ARE DOUBLE PLUGGING.

BOTTOM LINE:
Your hearing will be safe shotgunning with only plugs if you install them correctly.
You will have a lot less noise if you double-plug
You will hear commands a LOT better if you double-plug with an amplifying muff like the one above.

Hope that helps,

Saands

ETA: After writing all that, I followed Robert's link above and it was to the same product ... I guess I have to say I agree!
 
You will still absorb some sound through the rest of your anatomy, your goal is not eliminate sound but to make it tolerable, comfortable. I would look into the molded earplug kits, those I know who have used say they are the most satisfactory for outdoor use.
 
SIGSHR: Are you referring to the plugs that are professionally made or the DIY kits?

I REALLY wanted the DIY kits to work for me. I tried them 3 times and only got one of the six ear-moldings to work. I have read similar comments from others, and I have read comments that say they are super easy and work well ... "YMMV" seems to play out in spades on the DIY kits. OTOH, I have heard only wonderful things about the professionally done plugs ... but I have never looked into having them done myself, so I don't even know what they cost. If anyone knows, I'd be interested.

Thanks,

Saands
 
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