Are custom molded ear plugs better?

Jim Watson said:

I wear foam plugs for rifle and shotgun, never found a muff that the comb of the stock would not dislodge. Guess my head is shaped wrong.

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That is very common. Same for me. But I use the lowest profile (orange) type from Howard Leight and push them up high enough on the strong side so the stock doesn’t touch. Basically I am using the plugs for protection and the muffs for speech amplification. So it doesn’t matter if one side doesn’t cover the ear. Also you need more protection on the weak side and this method still allows the plug/muff combo there.

rpenmanparker said:

I am using the plugs for protection and the muffs for speech amplification.

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As time goes on, I find I care less about speech while shooting.
I will spend some time with a novice today and will take my HL Pro amplifiers for her to wear while I tell her what to do.

Jim Watson said:

As time goes on, I find I care less about speech while shooting.
I will spend some time with a novice today and will take my HL Pro amplifiers for her to wear while I tell her what to do.

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That’s really where the electronic muffs shine. Helping novices hear instructions.

I have been using the "standard" military issue plugs for many years with no issues.
However, I wasn't able to hear range commands, conversations very well.
I bought a set of Howard Leights and use them over a set of foam plugs.
Excellent suppression, and am able to hear lower level sounds great.

rb288 said:

I have been using the "standard" military issue plugs for many years with no issues.
However, I wasn't able to hear range commands, conversations very well.
I bought a set of Howard Leights and use them over a set of foam plugs.
Excellent suppression, and am able to hear lower level sounds great.

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Yes, I think that is the most effective and also cost-effective solution.

I have custom plugs as well as big over-the-ear muffs with sound amplification. I bought the plugs after I had the muffs, figuring I'd only use the plugs. But I have ended up using both, depending on the situation.

As others have said, if I'm with someone and want to talk then it's the muffs. I've found I can use them with long guns.....but I have to be sure they ride kind of high on my ear in order to not hit the stock too much.

If alone or when I don't need to talk with anyone I GREATLY prefer the custom molded plugs. They're so comfortable that, even when alone when I need to go down range, I just leave them in. I find the expanding foam plugs way to uncomfortable to leave in for extended periods of time. But the customs I could wear all day long. And their sound reduction is fabulous.

MihiT said:

I have found custom plugs to be an advantage, in comfort alone, but I'm sure they also have greater dB ratings than mass-produced ones.

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None of the ones that I found had any higher of a rating than the decent foam plugs.

This is similar to holster or boot questions. The answer is going to vary wildly depending on the individual. For me, the squishy foam plugs work great. That has nothing to do with whether they'll work well for another person with different shaped ear canals.

bearcreek said:

None of the ones that I found had any higher of a rating than the decent foam plugs.

This is similar to holster or boot questions. The answer is going to vary wildly depending on the individual. For me, the squishy foam plugs work great. That has nothing to do with whether they'll work well for another person with different shaped ear canals.

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Right. There are no readily available choices for ear muffs or plugs that outperform in noise reduction the best of the foam plugs. In fact the electronic devices are generally inferior in noise reduction to the foam plugs. Comfort may be another matter. For me the plugs are perfectly comfortable. YMMV