I'm not messing around, price is no object - best hearing protection

I use molded ear and a good over the ear muffs,lots of ppl look at me like I'm over doing it, but my ears can't handle noise with disease I had of the inner ear,It works well only problem is a public range with ppl right beside you shooting their High PF loads,

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Let's not forget that not all of that noise enters through your outer ear canal. Your mouth and nostrils don't have any hearing protection on them. Also, some amount of noise will vibrate your skull and/or through your skull.

Furthermore, none of the muffs make a perfect seal around your ear no matter how good they are. Arguably, where the muffs make contact with your hair also reduces their effectiveness. A combination of silencer, ear plugs and ear muffs should get the db's down pretty low, but it's not going to be anywhere near "silent".
 
Let's not forget that not all of that noise enters through your outer ear canal. Your mouth and nostrils don't have any hearing protection on them. Also, some amount of noise will vibrate your skull and/or through your skull.

Furthermore, none of the muffs make a perfect seal around your ear no matter how good they are. Arguably, where the muffs make contact with your hair also reduces their effectiveness. A combination of silencer, ear plugs and ear muffs should get the db's down pretty low, but it's not going to be anywhere near "silent".
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So get a full faced helmet? :p
 
I don't think you'll ever eradicate personal noise pollution when shooting even with the best , high tech devices,,,
You could always get yourself an Xbox one or PS4 and play "Call of duty" ( or the like ) and mute your TV 's volume,,,, ;) .
Couldn't resist,,,,sorry ....:D
 
I found a free app on my "smarter than me" phone that records decibels. I may have to try it out on the range and see just how loud things are out there and at what distance. Should be good for a couple of arguments...uh, I mean "discussions". :D
 
Skans said:
Furthermore, none of the muffs make a perfect seal around your ear no matter how good they are. Arguably, where the muffs make contact with your hair also reduces their effectiveness. A combination of silencer, ear plugs and ear muffs should get the db's down pretty low, but it's not going to be anywhere near "silent".
Click to expand...
In reality, it won't even be "pretty low."

I was at the range yesterday and I looked at the muffs they sell. The highest dB rating of the several brands and models offered was 30 dB. Some were in the low to mid twenties. In an earlier post, someone mentioned buying 34-dB rated muffs at Harbor Freight Tools. I don't think I've ever seen muffs rated at 34 dB, and certainly not at Harbor Freight. Maybe 24, but not 34.

So let's say 30 dB is the best muff available. But we wear them over shooting glasses, and that instantly creates a sound leak. So the best muffs you can but don't provide a 30 dB reduction under real world conditions.

Foam or molded ear plugs aren't affected by shooting glasses. So let's say we get 25 dB from our 30-dB muffs, and maybe another 25 dB from plugs. If we're shooting a big handgun that produces 150 dB of sound pressure, and we reduce it by 50, we're still left with 100 decibels of sound pressure. That's not "pretty low" -- that's significant.

http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist2/projects/sixer/loud.pdf

http://trace.wisc.edu/docs/2004-About-dB/
 
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Aguila Blanca said:
In reality, it won't even be "pretty low."

I was at the range yesterday and I looked at the muffs they sell. The highest dB rating of the several brands and models offered was 30 dB. Some were in the low to mid twenties. In an earlier post, someone mentioned buying 34-dB rated muffs at Harbor Freight Tools. I don't think I've ever seen muffs rated at 34 dB, and certainly not at Harbor Freight. Maybe 24, but not 34.

So let's say 30 dB is the best muff available. But we wear them over shooting glasses, and that instantly creates a sound leak. So the best muffs you can but don't provide a 30 dB reduction under real world conditions.

Foam or molded ear plugs aren't affected by shooting glasses. So let's say we get 25 dB from our 30-dB muffs, and maybe another 25 dB from plugs. If we're shooting a big handgun that produces 150 dB of sound pressure, and we reduce it by 50, we're still left with 100 decibels of sound pressure. That's not "pretty low" -- that's significant.
Click to expand...

Adding two dB ratings like that is not how it works.

http://www.coopersafety.com/noisereduction.aspx
 
Rancid said:
I found a free app on my "smarter than me" phone that records decibels. I may have to try it out on the range and see just how loud things are out there and at what distance. Should be good for a couple of arguments...uh, I mean "discussions".
Click to expand...

It is my understanding that those apps on smartphones and even the cheaper handheld detectors are not good enough for the sound levels generated by firearms, especially the pulse type sounds.
 
NavyVet1959 said:
Adding two dB ratings like that is not how it works.
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True. And I did know that, although I had forgotten that the combined reduction was so much less than adding the numbers.

Shame on me for over-simplifying.

It just goes to show that "like a mouse walking on cotton" is not nearly obtainable when dealing with unsuppressed firearms.
 
My electronic muffs that I've had for a few years started to eat batteries recently so I decided to replace them. Sadly, I'm not in the same financial strata & price was a BIG consideration for me; I'd set an absolute ceiling at $250.

The gunshop attached to the indoor range I shoot at is very accomodating to members, and they let me try out several different sets of muffs, including some they had just taken delivery on & hadn't even tried yet.

The new protectors were Walker Razor X's, completely new design. Instead of large, over the ear cups, these are ear buds, with the electronics, mics, volume control etc. contained in a "U" shaped device worn around your neck.

At around $100. and bizarre looking, of course I had to try them...and be blown away by their performance. These are the best ear protectors I've ever used. They have a 31db reduction level, completely static and "hiss" free, and the mics seem to be high quality; conversations, instructions from the range officer, etc. are very clear with excellent fidelity. They come with a variety of different sized tips to get a good fit in your ear, and because they're ear buds, nothing is in the way of getting a proper cheek weld on a rifle stock.

The cords on the ear buds retract on some sort of internal reel; to use them you just pull the buds out as far as you need and they lock at that length. I really like that I can wear them for long periods without discomfort from heat or the band pressing them down on my head too hard. You do notice an increase in the felt muzzleblast from someone shooting beside you, I assume because the entire side of your head is exposed instead of being half covered by muffs.

For the price, they seem quite well made. The only thing that concerns me a bit is how well the reels and the cables will stand up in prolonged use. They work so well, though that if the wires or leads (or both) break, I'll take them in and have braided audio cable put on them.

From what I can find, they only released these a couple of months ago, but they really nailed the concept; they work amazingly well.

Heck of a post for my first, huh? No, I don't work for Walker...I did just give them some money though. I'm looking forward to participating here and taking advantage of some of the knowledge you're willing to share!
 
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