avoiding ear damage with powerful rifles

New forum member here. Very interesting thread. In a former life, for around 30 years I was a bass player for a boatload of blues, classic rock & country bands - and I usually stood on stage with the drummer's snare drum to my good ear (I'm deaf in my left ear). So my hearing isn't so hot to start with...

When I shoot any of my 9mm's at the range, I just use my Peltor ears with (I think) 32 dB NRR. But when I take my .223/.5.56 AR-15 with 16" barrel, I double up my protection. I just use the orange cylinder-shaped things from Ace Hardware - made of stiff foam. I just roll it with my thumb & fingers into a little stick and cram it into my ear canal, put on my Peltors, and I'm good to go. By the time I'm ready to take my first shot, the orange things have expanded to fill my ear canal. The combination works extremely well.

 

One thing to note when looking at long term hearing conservation is dependent upon where you shoot. If you have your own range and do the vast majority of your shooting there then that’s optimal. Build a table to cradle a plastic 55 gallon drum, use a hole saw to cut a big enough hole for gun barrel and to clearly see through optics. That will capture a huge amount of flash, blast, and noise.

 

Quite a few posts to sort through, but I've been thinking about getting electronic ear muff like the 3M Peltor Tactical to use when hunting. It would be an alternative to only wearing one ear plug while waiting for a deer to come by, then having to fiddle to get the other one in. What's the general consensus on these?

 

Don't take my word for it; I'm the new guy on this forum. But the 3M Peltor Tactical stays in my range bag. Electronic ear muffs are the way to go. The way they work is this... the only sound suppression they give you is from the anatomy of the earcups and the quality of the seal around your ear - in other words, they work EXACTLY the same way as the older, "passive" ear muffs. The electronic part is just there to provide hearing aids... all they do is pick up the ambient sound and amplify it, the same as hearing aids do. But when you take a shot, the special circuitry responds in a matter of a few nanoseconds to immediately shut down the amplification. Electronic earmuffs are made for people who want to be able to hear a normal conversation or the range officer at an indoor shooting range. You can wear them and hear everything until a loud sound happens, and the amplification shuts down INSTANTLY.
Big hint - you're still looking for the highest NRR value when you buy earmuffs.

 

If it recoils like a 450 Ackley Magnum Cartridge loaded with 96 grains H4895 topped with a Hornady 500 grain RNSP, kicking out at 2590 fps, clocked out over my Oehler 35 P Chronograph, I'D say MAYBE 3 ROUNDS!!!! I'm talking FIRST HAND experience here!! Jacklope 1

 

Just getting my first medium calibre rifle (7,62x39, vz 58) and peaked in this topic, fast reading last few pages i caught vibe that just typical ear muffs isnt enough to protect your hearing for longer term, is that correct?

 

That seems to be the consensus. I have tinnitus and it really sucks. I ignore it because I’m so used to it, but I wish I’d used the little roll up foam things under my electronic muffs all along.

 

Thanks, i really didnt think about that much till i find this topic, but i will get some additional plugs - obviously its worth that little bit of discomfort

 

Times 1,000

 

Honestly guys.. i use the same harbor freight ear muffs that i got for my landscaping business. Theyre just el cheapo ones. And tbh i can barely hear anything when i have em on. I cant hear people talking to me either. I always have to lift a muff off and go what ???

My hearing isnt that great to begin with and i have tinnitus.. due to ear infections as a kid.. and my left ear is the worst due to an abusive step dad when i was a kid who perm damaged my hearing from a guitar and sp3aker he put in my face when i was sleeping... yea crappy huh ?

But i always wear dar protection even when using a regular lawn mower.. you dont need it with them.. but i still use it.

 

That's why you get the active electronic muffs, which solve those problems of passive muffs.

 

Ya my gf would talk to me from behind when im shooting.. i turn my head and go what ???? And she keeps talking.. then i lift an ear off and someonr shoots and i gave ringing in it..

Its annoying lol told her to talk to me after the range officer halts shooting to collect targets.

But those cheapo muffs work pretty well besides that

 

I double up at the indoor range. Problem is, the muffs interfere with my shooting of my .22 rifle Bc it has iron sights. Can’t get my cheek down where it needs to be without the muff being pushed aside.

plugs alone would be fine for the .22 but there’s always someone next to me with an AR15. I can feel the pressure on my face.

 

I hear ya. Been there done that. Just yesterday, in fact. Was shooting a couple of my .22 target pistols with just foam ear plugs and having a fine time when another guy set up on the next bench and started shooting a .45 semi-auto. At that point I had to put on my active muffs. Well, what can you do? It's all part of the fun, I suppose.

 

I have those all over the shop. The thing about the harbor freight is they fully pivot so they will go down on the back of your neck and still stay on when you’re wearing a shield grinding hats and such. They can be made even better by simply cutting a tightly fitting diskof soft foam from anywhere and sticking them inside filling up the void. It costs about zero and is a noticeably quieter muff.

 

Ear Damage? Most of my ear damage came from home! At the range I wear ear protection.

 

At the range I always use "puffs" and muffs. Hunting I keep a pair of electronic muffs in my backpack and almost always have them on during any shot. It's improved my field shooting as I don't find myself as a fan of muzzle blast.

 

I’m always amazed at how anyone could ever shoot any centerfire without hearing protection, especially indoors. Yet in movies they do it all the time. Before I was a shooter I didn’t notice it. Now every shootout in a movie my main thought is how all the participants would be deaf.

like in Quigley Down Under, dude breaks out his big rifle and casually shoots it in a long distance demonstration and I’m only thinking of his eardrums.

 

The body is an amazing thing. When you're in a fight or flight situation, adrenaline rushes, and your body shuts down non-essential things that are not related to the situation at hand. Sometimes hearing damage does not occur, sometimes it does, just one of those weird things.