Foam vs silicone ear plugs vs muffs?

gifbohane said:

I got a pair of custom molded plugs from my ear Doctor for $ 200. They do NOT work any better than a good set of muffs. I use them both at the range to protect what is left of my hearing. The Doctor said that the plugs were not meant to keep out all sounds. He said a lot of women buy them to block the sound of a snoring husband but they always come back bitching that they do not work, they still hear the snoring.

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My wife and I run a hearing clinic (she is a doctor of audiology) and we do quite a bit of hearing protection both for shooters and for sleepless wives. Even when everything is perfect, plugs are not going to offer as much protection as the best performing muffs - and things are almost never perfect. I have tried most of the OTC plugs and most of the major brands of custom plugs - and have even had representatives of a couple of companies take the impressions themselves - and have never had adequate protection from them. I think they may be adequate for hunting, where you are outdoors and expect only a shot or two, but for practice and training - especially indoors - I believe them to be inadequate for any centerfire cartridge and further believe that they ought to be used only in conjunction with muffs for such work.

<edit> At this point I believe the only advantage of custom plugs over OTC - whether disposable foam or reusable silicone - is comfort and security. I honestly have not experienced, in either the test booth or the real world, significant additional protection with custom plugs vs. OTC. I have saved my wife and I quite a bit of trouble by explaining that to the sleepless wives...

I always wear foam plugs, sometimes I wear muffs over them. It depends on what and for how long I’m shooting.

Hmm. I always wondered what the older guys at my trap range were using for plugs and why they were always sucking on them. It kind of icked me out at first but then I saw that they all used them and they all used their mouths to wet them. I'm guessing it's to soften them up to make them more pliable to fit into the ear.

I have always used muffs for most centerfire rifles and handguns but I find that foam plugs work for me when shooting low brass 12ga at the trap range. Every so often I will jostle a plug free from the recoil and when the next shooter calls and shoots, it's loud but not deafening g like a 30-06. If I'm observing from 50ft away the firing on the trap range isn't as loud as you might expect.

I couldn't continue to use muffs when shooting clays because the stock interferes from the way I mount my shotgun so I use the foam plugs. They are kind of a pita and I'm considering finding out what the fellers on the squad use. I'm guessing they are form fit silicone like mentioned in the OP.

DustyGmt said:

Hmm. I always wondered what the older guys at my trap range were using for plugs and why they were always sucking on them. It kind of icked me out at first but then I saw that they all used them and they all used their mouths to wet them. I'm guessing it's to soften them up to make them more pliable to fit into the ear.

I have always used muffs for most centerfire rifles and handguns but I find that foam plugs work for me when shooting low brass 12ga at the trap range. Every so often I will jostle a plug free from the recoil and when the next shooter calls and shoots, it's loud but not deafening g like a 30-06. If I'm observing from 50ft away the firing on the trap range isn't as loud as you might expect.

I couldn't continue to use muffs when shooting clays because the stock interferes from the way I mount my shotgun so I use the foam plugs. They are kind of a pita and I'm considering finding out what the fellers on the squad use. I'm guessing they are form fit silicone like mentioned in the OP.

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There are actually two kinds of foam plugs. There are the kind that are just, well, foam and which I always found difficult to insert properly. The other kind are also foam, but have a waterproof coating (not sure what it's made of- silicone? dried liquid latex?). The coated ones are preferable and can be made even better by putting a very light coat of Vaseline on them, which makes them easier to insert and more effective by improving the sealing around them; it works better and is much less icky than the "wetting them with saliva" technique. I got this tip many years ago from the American Motorcyclist Association magazine and have used it ever since while riding or shooting. I also double up with muffs. I much prefer muffs with gel ear pads, because they are not only more comfortable but are more effective since they provide a better seal around the ear pieces of safety glasses.

.38 Special said:

My wife and I run a hearing clinic (she is a doctor of audiology) and we do quite a bit of hearing protection both for shooters and for sleepless wives. Even when everything is perfect, plugs are not going to offer as much protection as the best performing muffs - and things are almost never perfect. I think they may be adequate for hunting, where you are outdoors and expect only a shot or two, but for practice and training - especially indoors - I believe them to be inadequate for any centerfire cartridge and further believe that they ought to be used only in conjunction with muffs for such work.

<edit> At this point I believe the only advantage of custom plugs over OTC - whether disposable foam or reusable silicone - is comfort and security. I honestly have not experienced, in either the test booth or the real world, significant additional protection with custom plugs vs. OTC. I have saved my wife and I quite a bit of trouble by explaining that to the sleepless wives...

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THAT is the most useful post I have read in 5 years, and I have read a LOT of useful posts. Wish that I knew this a year ago...

Question- My ear Doctor told me NOT to wear the plugs together with the muffs? Thoughts?

gifbohane said:

THAT is the most useful post I have read in 5 years, and I have read a LOT of useful posts. Wish that I knew this a year ago...

Question- My ear Doctor told me NOT to wear the plugs together with the muffs? Thoughts?

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It may be advisable not to wear electronic plugs with muffs, as certain electronic plugs will try to amplify sounds below a certain volume, which might cause them to act strangely under muffs. (What a combination of electronic plugs and electronic muffs might do, I can't imagine. It would be interesting to hear from anyone who has tried it). And hearing aids under muffs often get grumpy and feed back, so it's normally advisable to remove hearing aids before putting on hearing protection.

With just regular plugs, though, I really don't know why your doctor would advise against them in combination with muffs, unless you have some unique circumstance. I personally double up whenever I go to the indoor range, and recommend the same to our patients.

DustyGmt said:

Hmm. I always wondered what the older guys at my trap range were using for plugs and why they were always sucking on them. It kind of icked me out at first but then I saw that they all used them and they all used their mouths to wet them. I'm guessing it's to soften them up to make them more pliable to fit into the ear.

I couldn't continue to use muffs when shooting clays because the stock interferes from the way I mount my shotgun so I use the foam plugs. They are kind of a pita and I'm considering finding out what the fellers on the squad use. I'm guessing they are form fit silicone like mentioned in the OP.

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Some of our patients will put their plugs or even their hearing aids into their mouths to lubricate them with saliva prior to insertion. I am icked out both by that and by the entirety of that sentence.

I am no kind of wingshooter but do assume, as you have noted, that shotgunners gravitate toward plugs simply because muffs interfere with mounting the gun. I also will note that there is a particular pattern of hearing loss known as "shotgunner's ear". I doubt the relationship is coincidental.

Foam plugs work well if inserted properly. I see people with the yellow plugs hanging out and I know they havent been used correctly.

Roll the plug into a small cylinder; reach over your head with your right arm, grasp your left ear behind the top and pull up and back to straighten the canal. Insert the rolled up plug, and hold with your finger until it expands to close the canal; you'll hear the plug push against the hair in your ears and the outside sound will grow dimmer. Repeat for the other side.

I always put muffs over the yellow plugs. Either standard or electronically amplified. But, first I remove my hearing aides.

When I got my hearing aides, I asked for a duplicate impression to be made. One set off to the hearing aide people, one set to my shooting box. These are perfect seals, they go deeper into my ear and I also wear them with muffs.

Foam are my favorite to wear, custom molded plugs reduce sound the best.

Electronic muffs are my go to for hunting because they allow me to hear better but truncate muzzle blast.

Around really loud stuff molded plugs under electric muffs protect the best while allowing me to hear well enough to communicate range commands.

gifbohane said:

They do NOT work any better than a good set of muffs. The Doctor said that the plugs were not meant to keep out all sounds.

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.38 Special said:

Even when everything is perfect, plugs are not going to offer as much protection as the best performing muffs - and things are almost never perfect.

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gifbohane said:

THAT is the most useful post I have read in 5 years, and I have read a LOT of useful posts. Wish that I knew this a year ago...

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For gifbohane, has anybody indicated custom ear plugs would provide the sound protection of ear muffs? I have never seen anybody suggest that on any forum.

.38 Special wrote
<edit> At this point I believe the only advantage of custom plugs over OTC - whether disposable foam or reusable silicone - is comfort and security. I honestly have not experienced, in either the test booth or the real world, significant additional protection with custom plugs vs. OTC.

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These are the arguments I make for custom plugs. In addition, they are easier to insert, easier to clean, and last longer. They probably don't even provide the sound performance of perfectly inserted foam, but the ease of use is what keeps me using custom plugs.

JTQ said:

has anybody indicated custom ear plugs would provide the sound protection of ear muffs? I have never seen anybody suggest that on any forum.

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You mean, aside from the guy in the post immediately above yours?

What Bwana John said...deaf as a post with mine in as well. I wear them for everything...cutting grass, wood...even riding the Thruxton

Has anybody indicated custom ear plugs would provide the sound protection of ear muffs? I have never seen anybody suggest that on any forum

That is exactly what my experience has been and what I related earlier on this thread. My custom formed EAR inc silicon ear plugs work better at sound protection for me than ANY muffs I have ever tried in 50 years of shooting.

I did not get them until ~15 years ago, they were made at a gun show for ~ $50.
I do have to pull down on my earlobe, start them at a 90° angle off of their final position and twist them in, and lube them (with saliva, ick!) for them to be inserted correctly.

Their main problem is how well they work, I cant hear range commands on a traditional range, and my lack of situational awareness when I am shooting at an informal pit/quarry/cinder cone.