[FR Baseball]

I have a little pair of Silencio (sp?) plugs, but they become quite uncomfortable after a while. Can somebody recommend a good set of plugs that won't bother me after an hour of shooting?

[hso]

Are they foam or are the preformed?

[mp510]

Maybe the Muff type ear protection is a better choice. Peltor offers some good choices, with varying noise reduction ratings. Other brands are good too, check out what your local gun shop, sporting goods store, or hardware store.

[cuervo]

Classic yellow foam plugs
http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/yhst-38637167768280_1931_5958278

plus either

Radians muffs
http://img.shopping.com/cctool/PrdImg/images/pr/177X150/00/01/fa/6f/69/33189737.JPG

or

Walker Range Ears
http://www.walkersgameear.com/images/rangeears-bsm.jpg

[hso]

cuervo's given the best description of what everyone should be wearing, but I'm still curious what is being worn.

[kludge]

probably these
http://www.silencio.com/graphics/products/sdi101.jpg

I have a couple sets of these, bought them for my kids, won't fit in their ears.

I agree they are not very comfortable, but I have no problem with them for long shooting periods. I wear them for silhouette matches for the convenience, and I hate wearing muffs over glasses (required at my range).

When will these people figure out that ear canals are oval not round?

[antagonist22]

Anyone tried/owned one of those electric earmuffs that block out noise over a certain dB but not anything under that limit?

[jrfoxx]

antagonist22-I have a pair of the electronic muffs.My wife got them for me from Cabela's a couple years ago.I think they were only like $40 or so.I forget the brand.I really like them.I have always REALLY disliked not being able to hear whats going on around me when using "regular" hearing protection, so these are great.You can actually hear better when wearing them (with the volume all the way up), but they seem to block out loud noises just as well as standard muffs.I would HAPPILY wear these when hunting for the added hearing ability, and the protection (used to only wear 1 ear plug when hunting so I could still hear, not real smart I know, but it was better than nothing).I'll try to find out the brand when I get home from work and edit it in.

[Trebor]

I also reccomend muffs if you shoot alot. The hearing protection is better and they tend to be more comfortable.

If you really want plugs only though, I like the Silenco cylinderical plugs someone else mentioned and the MAX brand plugs. They are both farily highly rated and comfortable when inserted properly.

[cuervo]

The Radians pictured above are electronic and will compress sounds above 80dB. They are not as high-end as Peltors (or expensive), but the do a nice job for me.

They use 3AAA batteries on each side and each side can be adjusted independently. This model has only one mike on each side, some have two.

I don't remember if I got them from CDNN or Cabelas or somewhere else, but they are pretty common. They are also fairly low-profile making them good for rifle/shotgun shooting.

They don't completely enclose my ears like the Walkers do, but they completely cover it. I don't remember what their NRR is but it was typical for muffs.

[Robert Hairless]

I try to stash a pair of plugs in each of my outerwear jackets, range bags, and anything else I might be using if I have to shoot or even if I'm visiting an exceptionally noisy location. The plugs are whatever I happened to buy when I needed some plugs. Among those I prefer are the "military" kind: yellow at one end, black at the other.

But I don't like using any of them and I have them for use only when I don't happen to have electronic earmuffs accessible. They're uncomfortable during long sessions too, but there are a couple of easy ways to reduce the discomfort.

A pair of cloth earmuff covers helps a lot when the earmuffs are in use. Brownells sells its own brand for $5.62 a pair. They keep my ears warmer in cold weather and cooler in hot weather, and they reduce annoying perspiration.

http://www.brownells.com/Images/Products/084000227.jpg (http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/ProductDetail.aspx?p=22128&title=DELUXE+CLOTH+EAR+MUFF+COVERS)

Of course the other way to cut down the discomfort of wearing earmuffs is to remove them whenever there's a prolonged lull in the noise. They're a nuisance to carry, though, so I've found that a belt hanger for them helps. It's a molded plastic gadget that slides onto the belt. Brownells sells them as an Ear Protector Belt Keeper for $2.95. Just hook the muff onto the hanger. It's a bit awkward but it does work.

http://www.brownells.com/Images/Products/727331310.jpg (http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/ProductDetail.aspx?p=6047&title=EAR+PROTECTOR+BELT+KEEPER)

[Technosavant]

For range shooting, I went to Home Depot and bought a huge pack of the foam disposable earplugs (in the tool department). They work very well and are very inexpensive. I'll double up with some muffs if I'm shooting something really loud, but that usually doesn't give much additional attenuation.

For skeet, I have a pair of electronic earbuds I picked up from Wal-Mart that work fine. They aren't good enough for a range booth with handguns and rifles, but in an open area with shotguns, they are quite nice.

[OLD DOMENION]

Have you tried discussing your problem with:
www.solencio.com

[USMC - Retired]

You got the right company (Silencio) just the wrong plug. I use these gel plugs Silencio (http://www.silencio.com/htfiles/earplugs.html) puts out and they form to the ear and feel fine all day.

http://www.silencio.com/graphics/products/ssp.jpg

[ProguninTN]

Another vote for foam and muffs.

[ogivemeplat]

Very comfortable plugs, I sleep with them in every night and they don't hurt my ears. Nor when out in potentially high noise environment and wearing them for eight hours or so at a time. Cheap too, $23ish for 500 pairs.
34dBA rating.

MSA Sordin Supreme Pro electronic 'muffs.
Haven't used them all that much, but they seem to be good quality.
Not the most comfortable cups, still really fond of my old Peltors.
Not a good choice if you have large ears.
They don't have the best noise rating, (19dBA I think), but they do cut off at a decently low level.
Put some plugs under them and you have an excellent combo.
Can turn the volume up a little, to compensate for the plugs, and you end up with twice the protection with normal conversation possible.

[Barn Dog]

I give to you the best earplugs in the world - I am not kidding.

http://www.earplugsonline.com/index.html

[Chuck R.]

Do any of you plugs & muff guys have trouble hearing a timer?

I've just changed over to a pair of Peltor "Tactical Pro" electronic muffs (27DB) because with my standard muffs I couldn't here the buzzer at pistol matches and it was costing me time. I have a bad case of tinnitus from guns, music and 155mm howitzers and the "tones" all seem to mix together. I have the same problems during hearing tests, I can hear the tones, but there's just to many.

I'd like to wear plugs and the muffs, but would still like to hear the buzzer!

Chuck

[terry264]

See my post in custom ear plugs, this forum, lol.