hearing protection indoor/outdoor range

[pathman]

Hey guys i picked up a set of the rubber-in ear winchester hearing protectors from wallyworld yesterday for about $4.

they are rated at a 26 decibels noise reduction rating. I am new to shooting so i was wondering if this would be sufficient. I shoot a 20gauge shotgun and i'd prefer to keep all of my hearing! Would over ear protection be a better choice long-term or are these good enough?

thanks!

 

[Oro]

Best yet, use both. Cheap over-ear ones can be found easily had for $12 to $20. Try to find a 30db rated one if you can. If you are seriously on a budget, get some used ones in a pawn shop from a construction site or off Cragislist.

The problem with the in-ear ones is that they rely upon perfect molding to the ear canal, and they usually don't achieve that.

The little plastic-cased "Winchester" ones I have in range bags are the foam type. If yours are the foam type, twist them vigorously between your fingers until they are pencil-thin, then insert them deeply and wait for them to fully expand. Most folks don't use them appropriately. The rubber mushroom type have problems with making regular seals in the canal and are not fool-proof, either.

Indoors, I only shoot with both in-canal plugs and muffs. Remember, hearing damage that kills cells is permanent. The hair cells of the inner ear do not regenerate spontaneously, and if they are damaged to the point of cell death, you have lost that frequency range. You will meet LOTS of older life-long shooters (and soldiers, too) who will tell you they wished they'd used better ear-protection discipline when younger, or had the chance to.

 

[DHJenkins]

I use -36dB in-the-ear foam plugs for outdoor; never shot indoor. I used to work at a concrete plant and they work fantastic (and I have almost a life supply).

 

[hso]

As said already, use both plugs and muffs. Every bit of hearing protection you can get is important since your hearing is precious.

The other thing to keep in mind is that the protective glasses you use should have arms that do not cause the pad on your ear muffs to gap. Stay away from all the fancy cool looking eye wear that leaves a big valley for noise to enter your muffs (and get to your ears).

Failure to protect your hearing won't just result in the annoying loss of hearing, but can leave you with a maddening ringing in your ears that doesn't ever go away.