Ear Protection
- Thread starter SkinnyGrey
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mikemyers
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Maybe there is a good reason for this that I don't understand. The better ear muffs, such as the ones from Howard Leight, have protection above 30, but the electronic muffs I've found are typically in the low 20's. If the goal is simply to have the best protection from the sound of shooting, why do people prefer products that (according to the numbers) don't seem as effective? .....or maybe I should ask, why buy hearing protection with a number in the low 20's, when for a similar price, you can have products with a number above 30?
Jim Watson
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They are techy and they are cheap and they are light and small.
The popular HL Sport is only 22 dB but it only costs $40 and only weighs 12 oz.
The HL Pro gets you 30 db but costs $60+ and weighs 15+ oz.
I have a pair and they are not real comfortable to wear, my passives get more use.
Costs go up fast after that. The Sordin gets a lot of ink but it is $280 range and rated ony 18 dB NRR; although there is an Internet Expert who will explain that it is really better than that.
The popular HL Sport is only 22 dB but it only costs $40 and only weighs 12 oz.
The HL Pro gets you 30 db but costs $60+ and weighs 15+ oz.
I have a pair and they are not real comfortable to wear, my passives get more use.
Costs go up fast after that. The Sordin gets a lot of ink but it is $280 range and rated ony 18 dB NRR; although there is an Internet Expert who will explain that it is really better than that.
mikemyers
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Found them:
https://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-Amplification-Electronic-Earmuff-R-01902/dp/B007BGSI5U
Not sure why I couldn't find these when I was searching for a good set of electronic muffs.
I'm not interested in techy, cheap, light, and small. I'm very interested in performance. I don't want to lose any more of what hearing I've got left - I'm 72. I already bought a set of the better non-electronic muffs; can you say more about why you prefer that type to these?
(There have been times when I thought that playing background music while trying to hit a bullseye might be beneficial, but maybe that idea is just silly.)
Lost Sheep
Member
I have observed this anomaly (electronic muffs having less NRR than plain muffs), too. I have a plan to cure the problem as well, but not the means to effect it.
There is a second problem as well. I have tried several different examples of electronic muffs and double up on hearing protection (plugs under the muffs) when myu buddy shoots his 500 S&W, especially. The problem is that the electronically transmitted sound through the muffs does not penetrate the plugs, rendering the electronics in the muffs useless.
Here's the solution I have come up with:
Add electronic sound transmission to existing non-electronic high-quality muffs with the electronically carried sound delivered directly into the ear canal UNDER (actually through) the plugs.
A couple of microphones and a sound-limiting amplifier glued (or clipped) to the outside of the muffs with thin wires snaked under the padding delivering the (treated) sound to sound-blocking ear buds.
The only comnponent I cannot find is the circuitry to guarantee clipping of the sound of gunshots.
Small microphones to pick up ambient sound are readily available
Sound amplification circuitry like an LM-386 are readily available
>>> circuitry to add onto or replace the LM-386>>> could anyone help me here?
Sound-blocking earbuds can be found anywhere MP3 players are sold and provide some NRR or could be cannibalized for insertion into foam or custom molded ear plugs for even better NRR.
Thanks for reading.
Lost Sheep
Lost Sheep
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Not at all. Some people find certain sounds do aid concentration. Tibetan singing bowls, Gregorian chants, wind rustling through leaves, ocean surf or babbling brook. Sometimes a recording of one's own voice reciting self-assurance.
I imagine all these have been tried. If not, you have a golden opportunity.
I won my first shooting competition by consciously regulating my breathing and calming myself between shots. Not quite meditation, but close to it, I think.
Lost Sheep
mikemyers
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Gosh, I wouldn't want to pass up a Golden Opportunity!!
I just ordered a pair. I should have a second pair of muffs around anyway, I guess.
The challenge is that there are no counterwave systems that match the rise and fall times of the gunshot noise. That means that there isn't any tech yet for what you want to do (otherwise Howard Leight or MSA would be making muffs that could cancel the noise from a gunshot instead of the hum of machinery). That leaves passive plugs under muffs as the most protective followed by passive plugs under active muffs as the next.
If you wear plugs with muffs, the calculation for effective NRR only adds 5 dB for the "additional" means of protection. That's because the muffs are more effective over a different frequency range than the plugs. Because of that you can't just add 30 to 30 for NRR 30 plugs and NRR 30 muffs. The calculation is more complex than that for stacking hearing PPE, but you get the general picture and that's where the breakdown occurs. Before you throw up your hands in confusion or in desperation remember that the dB is a logarithmic scale and every 5dB difference is a halving (or doubling) of the energy that might damage your hearing. A 5 dB change to effective dB is important protection. So for 30dB plugs under 20 muffs you would only add 5dB for the muffs (then take some more away for the calculation). This is another reason to try to shoot outside, wear plugs under muffs, try to use low noise ammo and use a suppressor if you can.
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mikemyers
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Regarding the Howard Leight Impact Pro ear muffs, does anyone know the proper way to reduce the side pressure? The pair that I got is uncomfortably tight. It's OK at first, but after a while, it's annoying. I don't want to start twisting until I know that's the proper way to do it.
Lost Sheep
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hso, thanks for the reply. I was not thinking of anything as sophisticated as counterwave technology. The electronic amplification components would simply pipe ambient sound under the muffs' ear pads into the ear canal under the sound-isolating ear buds.
When the microphones pick up a high-energy sound source, the amplifier either 1) shuts down momentarily or 2) reduces amplification. The shutdown option would be simpler electronically. I have a pair of electronic muffs (Radians) that do that for only $30. I would rather not cut them up to build my device, but that is an option.
Passive plugs under electronic muffs have not worked for me. The muffs' electronic sound just do not penetrate the plugs at all. I have tried several brands. ProEars (not their most expensive, I admit), Radians, ProSound and a couple others.
The electronics I had in mind is pretty simple. Just getting the sound into the earbuds and cutting off (or reducing amplification) when loud sound is detected. If zener diodes across the inputs or somewhere in the circuits would would work, that would be wonderful, but I imagine the solution is not that simple.
Lost Sheep
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