floydster
Member
What is the best buy on hearing protection while shooting, am on a budget so I can't afford the custom made hearing plugs.
Thanks for any input, Floyd
Thanks for any input, Floyd
Question on hearing protection
- Thread starter floydster
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jgorniak
Member
I use muffs and/or the soft disposable type that expand in the ear canal. My hearing hasn't chabged in at least the last six years according to a physical I took at work last week.
It's about the only thing that's still working right...
It's about the only thing that's still working right...
rxraptor02
Member
use the foam ear plugs and ear muffs.
you can pick up the foam ones for cheap and you can get some muffs for around 20~30 dollars.
you can pick up the foam ones for cheap and you can get some muffs for around 20~30 dollars.
Ske1etor
Member
Go to your local academy and pick up a set of "Silencio Magnums" and call it a day. If you like the foamies just pick up a whole box of them. They aren't hard to find and are quite cheap.
Inexpensive foam plugs under muffs from Home Depot are what I recommend for entry level shooters until they can purchase electronic muffs and EP3s.
I posted a link to some pretty affordable stuff in the bottom of the first post here http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=200083
yhtomit
Member
I can't vouch for them, because I haven't tried them yet, but there are do-it-yourself custom plugs I saw at Walmart for about $15. I definitely want to try them out, but am skeptical -- I have the kind of ears that have a lot of trouble keeping in earbud-style headphones, and it takes a lot of patience to get foam earplugs to stay in my ears, too.
Maybe I could have a small catch machined into my ear canals ...
timothy
mejeepnut
member
Muffs and disposable together work best.Just remember that the insert type need to be clean,the more you take them out the dirtier they get,pollen and other small particals will stick to them and can cause ear infections.I will go threw a few sets of disposable inserts every time I go shooting.They do make re-usable inserts but you need to keep cleaning them and I already bring a enough crap with me when I go shooting.
If you do not put the desposable ones in right they do not work well.You need to gently roll one back and forth between your fingers to make it a smaller diameter.Then reach around behind your head with left hand and pull back on right ear gently while inserting plug into ear canal,don't shove it in all the way untill it wont go in any more,just a little ways.Let go of ear and wait a few moments,It will expand and block out just about everything.If not then try again.Same thing for other ear.Throw them out when they look dirty or have been in and out of your ears a few times.Never set them down on a shooting bench or anything else where the can pick up small particals of whatever.
As far as muffs go read tha packages and get the best rated ones you can afford.When you upgrade in the future you will have an extra set to loan to someone when they need them.
If you do not put the desposable ones in right they do not work well.You need to gently roll one back and forth between your fingers to make it a smaller diameter.Then reach around behind your head with left hand and pull back on right ear gently while inserting plug into ear canal,don't shove it in all the way untill it wont go in any more,just a little ways.Let go of ear and wait a few moments,It will expand and block out just about everything.If not then try again.Same thing for other ear.Throw them out when they look dirty or have been in and out of your ears a few times.Never set them down on a shooting bench or anything else where the can pick up small particals of whatever.
As far as muffs go read tha packages and get the best rated ones you can afford.When you upgrade in the future you will have an extra set to loan to someone when they need them.
32winspl
Member
Floydster, It's been about 10 years since I participated in USPSA shooting in an indoor range, but this is how I did it. When the .45acp and 9mm guys were shooting, I usually just used the foam-cylinder earplugs. When the guys shooting .38 Super (hotted-up enough to make "major") showed up, I covered up my foam-plugged ears with the over-the-head muffs.
Most cylinder-shaped foam plugs have a decibel reduction rating (NRR) of 32 to 36 decibels when inserted properly. Most muffs have a NRR of 25 decibels. As for the plugs, that doesn't mean just rolled up and inserted 1/4 or 1/2 their length into the ear canal. If you look at this type of plug, you'll see that one end is kind'a shiny, and the other end is kind'a dull. To get the full Noise Reduction Rating (NRR) of this type of plug, you GENTLY roll the plug between your thumb and pointer finger until it is small enough to fit COMPLETELY into your ear canal, and you insert it dull end first. You insert it far enough into your ear canal so that it requires you to use your finger and thumbnail to pull it out once it has fully expanded; about 30-45 seconds. You will have to experiment a little. For many people, this will be a little uncomfortable. These are made for the depth of the average ear. If you absolutely can't take it, withdraw it A LITTLE. These, being foam, will fit to your ear. Also, over a short time, your ear will adapt a little to accomodate them. If you wear them less than 'fully inserted', you won't get anywhere near the full noise reduction rating.
For most of my life, I've worked in an extremely loud environment (with 32 to 35 NRR plugs)... shot 200,000 plus rounds of .45 ACP, and maybe 2000 rounds through various rifles, untold lawn-mowings, and 250,000 miles on motorcycles, and who knows how many concerts. If it's gonna be loud, I'm wearing hearing protection. My company tests our hearing annually, and I have lost some hearing in the conversational level in my left ear, but in nearly all other frequencies, I fall into the 0 to 5 decibel range; meaning that I can hear sounds beginning in the 0 to 5 decibel range. The lady that does our testing annually tells me that I have the hearing of a pre-teen.
I know that I have advised you to insert the foamies deeper than previous posters. Sorry Mejeepnut. I'm 50 years old and have a solid baseline regarding my hearing loss or lack thereof.
When you're shooting, use the good foam plugs, inserted as deep as you can handle (and still be able to withdraw them), and cover them with the over-the-ear muffs when you can. The NRR's add up (32 for the foam, and 25 for the muffs equalling 57). Also, something you should know.... every 6 or so increase (or decrease) in decibels equals an approximate doubling of sound volume. The increase is not linear, it's geometric. Example, sound A is 60 decibels (actually very quiet). Sound B is 66 Db. Sound B is not 10% louder than sound A, It's actually twice as loud.
If you're interested, and you must be or you wouldn't have asked about hearing protection, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decibel
Thanks for listening.
Robb
Most cylinder-shaped foam plugs have a decibel reduction rating (NRR) of 32 to 36 decibels when inserted properly. Most muffs have a NRR of 25 decibels. As for the plugs, that doesn't mean just rolled up and inserted 1/4 or 1/2 their length into the ear canal. If you look at this type of plug, you'll see that one end is kind'a shiny, and the other end is kind'a dull. To get the full Noise Reduction Rating (NRR) of this type of plug, you GENTLY roll the plug between your thumb and pointer finger until it is small enough to fit COMPLETELY into your ear canal, and you insert it dull end first. You insert it far enough into your ear canal so that it requires you to use your finger and thumbnail to pull it out once it has fully expanded; about 30-45 seconds. You will have to experiment a little. For many people, this will be a little uncomfortable. These are made for the depth of the average ear. If you absolutely can't take it, withdraw it A LITTLE. These, being foam, will fit to your ear. Also, over a short time, your ear will adapt a little to accomodate them. If you wear them less than 'fully inserted', you won't get anywhere near the full noise reduction rating.
For most of my life, I've worked in an extremely loud environment (with 32 to 35 NRR plugs)... shot 200,000 plus rounds of .45 ACP, and maybe 2000 rounds through various rifles, untold lawn-mowings, and 250,000 miles on motorcycles, and who knows how many concerts. If it's gonna be loud, I'm wearing hearing protection. My company tests our hearing annually, and I have lost some hearing in the conversational level in my left ear, but in nearly all other frequencies, I fall into the 0 to 5 decibel range; meaning that I can hear sounds beginning in the 0 to 5 decibel range. The lady that does our testing annually tells me that I have the hearing of a pre-teen.
I know that I have advised you to insert the foamies deeper than previous posters. Sorry Mejeepnut. I'm 50 years old and have a solid baseline regarding my hearing loss or lack thereof.
When you're shooting, use the good foam plugs, inserted as deep as you can handle (and still be able to withdraw them), and cover them with the over-the-ear muffs when you can. The NRR's add up (32 for the foam, and 25 for the muffs equalling 57). Also, something you should know.... every 6 or so increase (or decrease) in decibels equals an approximate doubling of sound volume. The increase is not linear, it's geometric. Example, sound A is 60 decibels (actually very quiet). Sound B is 66 Db. Sound B is not 10% louder than sound A, It's actually twice as loud.
If you're interested, and you must be or you wouldn't have asked about hearing protection, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decibel
Thanks for listening.
Robb
floydster
Member
Thanks guys for all the input, sure is appreciated, I use the foam plugs all the time on my motorcycle so I am pretty comfortable with them. I will get a good pair of muffs to go with the plugs. I am 72 years old and want to keep what hearing I have left, hehe.
Thanks again, Floydster
Thanks again, Floydster
Lucky
Member
re-useable plugs have a lower noise reduction number. Don't know why people put money into them.
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