Ear Plugs

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I wear plugs and muffs, even wear earmuffs when I operate power tools or a vacuum cleaner. I use the plastic plugs with flanges, work fine, clean them with laundry soap when they need it. I have gotten away with firing a 22 pistol with just plugs when I was on an indoor range by myself, and once I fired a 270 Winchester on an outdoor range with just plugs, sighting it in, no rapid fire, I was fine.
 
Simple enough, what ear plugs do you use and why?
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These. They work (outside). They're comfortable, and it's the best price I ever saw for plugs. They even come in this big nifty dispensing box. Keep it on top of the safe or something and stick a few pairs in your range box on the way out.
 
Low profile shotgunner muffs over foam plugs provide the most protection for someone that has problems with the stock hitting the cup of the muff. Remember that muffs wear out and loose their value over time and you have to replace the pads to keep them working at full protection. Also, plugs have to be properly inserted so that the little "dog leg" in the outer ear canal is blocked. Just stuffing them in the ear without out sealing off as much of the ear canal as possible won't do you much good.

You can use a good set of NRR 25-30 permanent plugs under muffs as well and they're easier to insert properly than foam plugs.

If I were purchasing muffs now I'd buy the Leight Impact electronic muffs. I use the Surefire plugs under my Peltors but also have the yellow/green combat plugs and a mess of various NRR 30 foam plugs around.
 
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Thanks for all the input guys. Styrkervet, I think you hit the nail on the head.

Strykervet said:
If you can shoot shotguns comfortably with no ear pro, you might be getting comfortable. If you have a job in a factory or other noisy area, this can make it seem like the shotgun isn't loud
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I have been around constant loud noise since I began working. Growing up nobody used ear plugs, and that was with shotguns, .22's, and even the SKS. So when I started shooting my shotgun on a regular basis the report was nothing, I never had any ringing so I didn't think much about it. Now that I belong to a club where it is required, as well as necessary with the bigger calibers on the line, it's a habit I will be changing.

So no, not new to shooting. Just new to hearing protection. Thanks for all the information, I have lots of google-ing to do tomorrow. I appreciate the info and the High Road attitude towards my not so smart previous habit.
 
No, it isn't a matter of getting "comfortable". You may be used to noise, though. Much like someone gets used to many small injuries as they spend a life at hard labor. Eventually those little injuries add up and result in debilitating problems.

Get a good set of low profile electronics and a good set of plugs under them and you'll be amazed how much they improve your shooting experience, and safety.
 
Wear plug with low profile electronic muffs. I use Howard Leight Sport muffs and they work great.

Using nothing will require you to wear aids in later years, how do I know? I wear them, and they're no inexpensive, mine are over $2000.00 per ear, thats more that $4000.00 sitting on my head and even then I need to sleep with a fan running to drown the hissing so I can sleep.

Not pleasant at all.

At our range, no eye protection, no hearing protection, you're escorted from the firing line and not allowed back to it till your wearing the same. It is for your own good after all.
 
I use those yellow EAR brand foam plugs and buy the Harbor Freight muffs when they're on sale. Use both at once. I even use the muffs when I'm mowing my lawn.
 
PLEASE USE EARPLUGS
I'm only 21 and suffer hearing damage it is very frustrating talking with friends and contantly having to say "what" or just stand there and nod your head and say yep I was never really taught about ear protection I just figured it was normal for your ears to ring a few days after you go shooting
 
I use Howard Leight Max or Max Lite foam plugs. I couldn't stand the flanged rubber ear plugs, and I used to wear these for many hours while working on a very loud printing press. The max plugs have a 33 dB noise reduction rating and the lite have a 30 dB rating, which was equal to or better than the best muffs i could find.
 
For everyone who doesn't know it, plugs and muffs attenuate different frequency ranges with different efficiencies. This means that you get the most protection from wearing both not just in reduction of "loudness" but broad even coverage of frequencies. Look at a little table at audiocheck showing that you get a wide range of attenuation efficiencies across the hearing spectrum. The same table for muffs would be "reversed" showing their efficiency changing in the opposite sense.
 
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EAR foam plugs, purchased in bulk from Grainger.

A box lasts about 1 year.

They are about as good as you can get, and way better than most muffs or fancier plugs.
 
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OP: there are slim profile earmuffs for rifle and shotgun. Might work for you, might not.

There are "low-pass filter" earplugs (the ones with the small holes), which are supposed to reduce sound, especially high-frequency noise. I use them for .22s outdoors, and non-dangerous hunting.

I use electronic active muffs (only) when teaching. Otherwise, I'll double-up, use standard (bulk) soft-foam plugs AND non-active muffs for any .22 shooting indoors or under a roof, and all higher caliber shooting.

Use of "double-up" protection is especially important for kids.

The only times I've fired without protection has been by mistake, or when hunting dangerous game.
 
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Have any of you had any issues with your muffs hitting your buttstock?
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No, I usually wear them on my head. :neener:

Seriously, I don't like ear plugs alone, I always wear muffs with the highest NRR (Noise Reduction Rating) I can find. The extra cushioning helps with the vibration through my skull bones. :uhoh: I find this especially helpful when shooting at indoor ranges. Interestingly - at least the last time I looked - the electronic muffs don't offer as high a NRR as the best conventional muffs.
 
I use empty 9mm casings. They are free and work better than any ear plugs I have used. You first have to pull your ear up then back to straigthen the ear canal then plug them with the 9mm casings. Gunnie uses them and he seems to like them too.
 
I use empty 9mm casings. They are free and work better than any ear plugs I have used. You first have to pull your ear up then back to straigthen the ear canal then plug them with the 9mm casings. Gunnie uses them and he seems to like them too.
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What?

Can you repeat that slower and louder.
 
No affiliation, but I had a good experience with them, if you like plugs, try this:

Earplug Store

They offer sample packs for an affordable price where you can test fit them to your ears to see which are comfortable, etc. then you can buy them in bulk.

Your welcome. ;)
 
I use empty 9mm casings. They are free and work better than any ear plugs I have used.
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You forgot the smiley to indicate that you were joking, but since no reasonable person would take such an idea seriously you probably don't really need it. Everyone knows you have to use the casing with the bullet in it to get any benefit. :neener:
 
In my younger days when I ran the sandhills hunting blue quail and tromped the woods deer hunting I never wore anything. Same for prairiedog shooting. Now I say "huh" a lot. I'm surprised I can hear anything. No one used hearing protection and I doubt that many even thought about it.

Now I wear plugs and prefer the plastic ones mounted on a cord. They seem to do a better job than the foam ones and are easy to keep up with when I take a break when I'm shooting by myself. Anyone else at the range and I leave them in. Someone brings out a loud boomer and I add a pair of Howard Leight amplified muffs but even as thin as they are they get in my way. I also double up with my M4 and anything larger. The muzzle brake/flash hider on the M4 is fixing to go away in favor of a straight tube to get the noise down range instead of around me. A 223 doesn't need any help in the recoil department and I'm not worried about anyone shooting back.
 
Elvex Quattro rubber plugs (NRR 25) under Pro Ear muffs (NRR 33) always when shooting, using a lawnmower, chainsaw, circular saw, etc., or receiving correction from my wife.

Didn't use them when I was young, couldn't use them in Vietnam, and I paid for it. Trying to keep what I have left.

Tinpig
 
FWIW, hearing loss is a function of noise level/time . Chronic exposure to even slightly elevated noise levels - like a "noisy" workplace, can impact your hearing over time. Acute exposure to very high noise levels - like a jet engine, explosion, muzzle blast - can also have serious effects upon hearing acuity. And therein lies the key. Its not so much the "level" of hearing loss, but the frequency range(s) response you lose ! Loss at the lower end of the spectrum or the higher end is, IMO, less important than loss in the "midrange" - where telephonic communication takes place - for example ! IOW, missing the "killer bass line" in a rock CD won't kill you. Just as losing the ability to hear dog whistles won't......But not being able to make sense of normal speaking voice frequency ranges, telephone conversations, and even normal traffic signals will !!

BTW, mine is a "first person" perspective hard earned by decades of working in high noise level environments ! "Eh? and Whaa?, have become part of my vocabulary of late ! >MW
 
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