Earmuffs versus ear plugs

T

tpcollins

New member
When I'm bench shooting, my earmuffs get in the way of getting down close to the stock so I opt for wearing ear plugs instead. The other day I had my 6 year old grandson at the range and the youth Protector model ear muffs I had gotten him seemed to get in the way also so I switched him over to ear plugs as well.

Are the shooting type earmuffs better suited to skeet shooting or am I doing something wrong? Thanks.
 
You need to protect your mastoid area that surrounds the outer part of your ear from severe vibrations as they can get transmitted to the middle and inner ear and do serious damage over time - especially with a young kid because most muffs don't fit well. With metallic I wear both plugs in and muffs over to protect what hearing I still have
 
Trap

Most all trap shooters wear plugs, and no muffs. The muffs do get in the way.

I have seen a few very nice guns with ugly marks on the butt stock due to muffs.

The report of a 12 gauge with a long barrel is not that bad. When I fire my handguns I wear muffs.

If you opt for plugs only, buy some good ones. There are big differences. I make a point of wetting my silicone plugs and make sure they are well inserted.
If you use the disposable foam earplugs make sure to follow the instructions. They to can be quite effective when they are inserted properly. The key is to compress them really well and quickly insert them.
 
Whenever it's practical to do so, I wear both, even when competing in a .22 match. No point subjecting your ears to extra noise, and the double protection helps me focus as well.
 
Muffs give the best protection says my audiologist. In second place are custom moulded ones cast into your ear channel for a perfect fit. Wear both, if you can still hear voices from important safety people near you.

Some muffs have a cutout at the bottom of one side so the stock comb will fit up in it allowing one to easier see through the sights. I've not seen one for years.
 
As usual, I agree with Kraig. I wear both whenever it is practical to do so. The one sin to which I will admit, however, is wearing nothing when hunting. I know I should buy some electronic jobs, or at least have a set to slip on just before a shot, but I don't. Perhaps I can work on that.

Other than the fact that I haven fired my rifle at a deer in the past two seasons :-(
 
I wear both, especially on an indoor range. Outdoors, on an uncovered range with few shooters I have gotten by with just plugs. Covered range, both.
 
I use both, where appropriate. The ear molded plugs. The muffs give greater protection.
Hunting, I am going to say they are not needed. As, you are not going to be doing much shooting.
I don't know if the 'ear people' agree with that, but it seems to be just a few shots isn't too bad. It's the steady noise like the range that does damage.
dc
 
Puzzled why this comes up about once a month. It ain't rocket surgery or brain science.

Hearing is important.

Loud noises and repetitive loud noises are bad for your hearing.

Your hearing ain't gonna heal.

Being deaf, having tinnitus, and vertigo ain't fun.

Protect it. Costs a few dollars on the low end, or $50 on the high end.

Same with eyesight. Eyesight is expensive or impossible to fix.

Protect it. Costs a few dollars to protect it with basic shooting glasses.

Never experienced any eye pro or ear pro that interfered with shooting to the point that I couldn't get a good cheek weld.
 
Depends on what/where I'm shooting.

If it's an unsuppressed .22, I'll just wear a set of electronic ear muffs so I can still talk. But if I'm shooting at an indoor range, I'll double up with both ear plugs and ear muffs.

It only takes one time at an indoor range where you accidentally open a gap between your ear muffs and your ear with the stock, to make you always want to double up on both.
 
I use ear muffs, I really, I mean really hate stuffing anything inside my ears, it irritates me to the point I become angry, and very few things irritate me to that point.
 
Off the shelf plugs vs custom molded...

I find muffs get in the way, always wear non-electronic plugs.

I find that custom molded plugs give the same level of attenuation as the disposable or other non-custom styles. BUT the customs are much more comfortable to wear. I tend to spend hours at the range at a time. The customs sit in there like, well like they were made to fit.

Mine are the $15 mold it yourself kind from Amazon.


Sgt Lumpy
 
This is america! we want it all right so I use both lol

I have the electronic muffs and wear plugs as well, man it is so much nicer, I work in a noisy environment so I'm already concerned about hearing loss, therefor I take a lil more precaution at the range.
 
Muffs if I'm shooting handguns. Custom molded ear plugs shooting long guns where the muffs tend to get in the way.
 
My answer is: it depends. The other day at the range when the sun was beating down, my ear holes almost drowned in the sweat that was pooling in the cups on my electronic muffs. I was afraid they were going to electrocute me! :)

Sometimes plugs alone are fine. I generally double up at the indoor pistol range though for reasons mentioned above.

One bit of advice on plugs: follow the directions. Sounds simple but if you reach behind your head with the opposite hand and pull your ear up and back a bit while inserting, it seats so much better that way and provides maximum sound protection.
 
One bit of advice on plugs: follow the directions. Sounds simple but if you reach behind your head with the opposite hand and pull your ear up and back a bit while inserting, it seats so much better that way and provides maximum sound protection.
Click to expand...

Agreed, I really jam mine in there but I see guys walking around with them hanging most of the way out and wonder how they can be doing any good at all.
 
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