Hearing protection...

M

Mokumbear

New member
I have been looking into hearing protection.

It seems that most "earmuff types" don't really reduce dB that much.

I also had a problem when shooting my AK at an indoor range.
My glasses were keeping the "muffs" from making a good seal around my ears.

If any of you watch Hickok45 on YouTube, you will know that
he wears earplugs connected by orange plastic so they don't fall on the ground if you remove them.

Do you think these earplug types are a good choice for an indoor range?
Hickok does all of his shooting outdoors where I would think it isn't as loud.

Anyone know what brand he uses and if replaceable ear pieces are
available for the sake of cleanliness?
 
Thanks for asking our advice

Custom molded plugs or, the very inexpensive foam plugs (squish the air out until they are a long skinny plug , insert in the ear canal and let them expand to fill the canal) seem to be best.

Washing the permanent plugs w/ warm water and mild soap w/ good sterile rinse or discarding the foam plugs takes care of hygiene.

Indoors or w/ loud guns, I double up, plugs and muffs.

$60 for custom plugs and $30-$50 for muffs is cheap compared to a set of $2,000 hearing aids

Good Luck

Lost Sheep
 
The best available protection for an indoor range is to put good quality muffs over plain old ordinary foam plugs; the ones with the connecting strap don't work too well for this, although they're fine for outdoor use. As to the brand H45 uses -- can't help you there.
 
My right ear hearing was damaged during a hunting trip. My fault totally but nonetheless the damage is real and significant.

I recently took up trap shooting and foam plugs and or ear muffs do not work for me so I spent $140 on custom ear plugs.

For me, with hearing damage already present, they were well worth it. Per my audiologist, foam plugs don't work well and do not keep a reliable seal.

For trap, I wear the plugs, for indoor shooting, plugs and muffs. Your hearing is worth the extra cash. Cheaper in the long run too.
 
Yes, the addition of disposable foam ear plugs to "earmuffs" seems
like an excellent idea.

Even if my glasses prevent a good seal for the earmuffs, the foam ear plugs
seem to offer a nice additional layer of hearing protection.
 
Mokumbear said:
Do you think these earplug types are a good choice for an indoor range?
Hickok does all of his shooting outdoors where I would think it isn't as loud.
Click to expand...
Muffs range in noise reduction factor from the low 20s up to about 29 (higher being better). I can't recall ever seeing one in the 30s, but they exist. The ones I usually wear are rated (I think( around 25.

I shoot almost exclusively at an indoor range, and I mostly shoot 1911s in .45 Auto. When those go off between two hard-srface walls less than six feet apart, you've got some noise to attenuate.

I use disposable earplugs AND earmuffs. The muffs alone are not bad (and I have also noticed that they are less effective when the temples of the glasses run under the cushions ... and how else could you wear them?), but the ear plugs alone really don't cut it. However, the plugs do offer enough additional protection to effectively supplement the muffs.
 
I use muffs but replaced the foam seals with gel seals. They were not cheap, but they seal much better--especially with glasses--and are far more comfortable to wear.

I have been known to double up (plugs and muffs) at indoor ranges.
 
I bought me and my son a pair of electronic ear muffs. they seal fantastic over the glasses and we can talk to one another in a normal voice without taking off the muffs. They vary in price, but got ours for about $50 a pair. More than worth the money!! Other option I used to use is foam plugs under the muffs. It is a REAL quiet seal which I still use when shooting trap. Works extremely well as long as you don't need to hear range commands or communicate.
 
"Do you think these earplug types are a good choice for an indoor range?"

No, I don't.

I'm with some others who double up indoors, with muffs and earplugs. Outdoors I just use muffs.
 
Thanks to all for the good advice.

I want to protect my hearing so for the range, muffs plus plugs sounds
like an improvement.

I could also experiment with how the glasses and muffs interact.

I know from my use of earplugs before in the past at work that it's good to change them out regularly. It's too easy to get an ear infection if you don't and you handle them with dirty hands.
 
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