What are the best ear muffs I can buy?

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Drjones

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I need new ear protection. I double up with muffs and plugs and need new muffs.

The range had some nice looking ones that had a 31db reduction rating for only $31.

Is that a good deal?

Are there muffs that have a better db rating?

Since someone will bring it up, I do not want the electronic ones because I don't want to spend that kind of money ($100+), unless the protection is that much better.

Besides, its kind of moot to buy those electronic muffs when I double up with plugs. ;)

Thanks!
Drjones
 
31db from the muffs plus 31-33db from the plugs at the range will have you set up at around 62db. Thats pretty darn good!!!! The ones I have are 27 and that was the highest that I was able to find.
 
I have a couple of different muffs.

For mega-cancellation, Howard Leight Leightning

Big-@ss muffs that work

These are great if you don't have to worry about a cheek-weld to stock problem. Forget about using them with a shotgun or rifle, I can't seem to make it work.....ever.

My wife recently got these for me. It's a lot easier to teach if you can hear the student asking questions. I think they're the best thing since sliced bread, although they're a bit pricey:

Dillon HP-1 Electronic Hearing Protector

And of course, they're black! :D

If shooting indoors and the nice person next to me is using a magnum-caliber, I double up with the Howard muffs and these:

Max Ear Plugs
 
Drjones,

I re-read your original post and realized I only answered the question in the subject line. Sorry 'bout that.

To directly answer the question in your latest post:

Not that I'm aware of.

I searched far and wide recently for something better than NRR 31 since I spend so much time at indoor ranges. I looked around at SHOT Show this year. I could not find ANYTHING even close to the big-black Howards.

Sorry... :(
 
Hey, I really appreciate your effort.

Thanks a ton for the link; I'm actually going to buy muffs and plugs from the link you sent me.

33db plugs + 31db muffs = pretty darn good protection, IMO. :)

$24 for a box of 100 plugs doesn't seem too bad to me. I have a pair I got at the range and they are really nice.

The cheapo crapo ones I found around the house wouldn't even stay in my ears the other day.

You truly get what you pay for, even with ear plugs....
 
31db from the muffs plus 31-33db from the plugs at the range will have you set up at around 62db.
Click to expand...

Doesn't work that way. If you got to 40 with the combo, I'd be surprised. Still, that's about the best you're going to get.
 
Doesn't work that way. If you got to 40 with the combo, I'd be surprised. Still, that's about the best you're going to get.
Click to expand...

So how does it work. Most people are under the assumption that when you double up you take the numbers from both. Are most of us wasting our hard earned cash by "doubling up"? Any information would be very appreciated.

It has always been my perception that the noise at the range is severly reduced when I double. :eek:
 
Checkout some of those lawnmower shops. I think there's some out there that have a pretty high db rating, at least 31db. I always double up indoors and just use ear muffs when I'm outside.
 
It has always been my perception that the noise at the range is severly reduced when I double.
Click to expand...
You're right...it is. But the rating for the combination is still in the 37-38 range.

A decibel is a logarithmic function that is proportional to a power with a base of 10. This means that the higher number represent far more energy than the lower numbers.

Take a look at this:
10^0=1
10^1=10
10^2=100
10^3=1000
10^4=10000

The NRR rating is like the 1,2,3,4 in the above. Using the above example, something a rating of 2 combined with something else with a rating of 2, will give a total protection of 200...not 10000. So 2 + 2 would equal 2.3 (the log of 200)

NRR works the same way so 31 + 33 is only around 37 or so.
 
Absolutely right Graystar.

I have noticed that the overall noise level is not significantly reduced by "doubling up".

What is noticably different is the reduction of felt concussion in my inner ears.
 
I used my shooting muffs last time I mowed the lawn. I couldn't believe how much less I minded mowing.
 
Several reasons. You can carry on a full conversation and still keep your hearing. You can also add a throat mic to them. This is what the Military SF and SWAT folks use...


G
 
Recently I gave up on ear muffs and went to 31NR plugs. I wore 29 and 30 muffs for a while and the truth is I was never happy. During summer they can be a real problem, just try shooting a 8 hour IPSC match in 95F and 85% humidity. Not only are they hot, but they also make it hard to clean your foggy glasses, as you do not want to take them off while other people are shooting.

But though the heat made me switch, in retrospective the more critical issue has always been had to muff seal. Most of us wear shooting glasses and the rest should. That means that there is always a break in the seal for the glasses to pass through which at when you move your head can let a lot of noise through. And don't even get me started on having your muffs kicked off by the stock of a rifle and catching an ear full of 5.56 out a 16" AR or the blast of a .308 with a tank style muzzle break. I do own one pair of muffs with built in glasses but the cheap glasses got scrached and beat up. If you want to use high end shooting glasses you are back to the seal problem.

All that being said, my favorite muffs are a pair of Howard Leights Thunder 29, and I am sure that the 31's are also great, as far as muffs go.

YMMV

Loch
 
I've found that my favorites, the Bullseye 10 muffs, seal well around my glasses and are large enough to cover some of the mastoid bone behind my ear. The mastoid process(the bony lump behind the ear is the temporal process IIRC) will conduct sound directly to your inner ear and ruin you just as quick as anything.

I still like the green Remington ear plugs under my muffs. They're comfortable, provide good protection at the range when I wipe the sweat off my muffs, and work well for grass cutting/power tools/nagging, too.

(inset pic of me giving the NRA salute - right hand cupped behind the ear)

John
 
G&R: Thanks for the explanation. You know I was just giving you a hard time. :)



Lochaber: See, when you double up, you can take off your muffs without fear of being unprotected, and if they happen to get knocked off, again, you have nothing to worry about.


JohnBT: Aren't most muffs large enough to cover the mastoid? Mine is literally right behind my ear, and seems that most any muff covers it. :confused:


Thanks all. :)
 
Drjones:
If you want really first class protection, go to your local audiologist and get a pair of custom molded ear plugs. I have had mine for about 4 years. I use them for shooting, driving the tractor and working in my shop. They are better than any muffs I have tried. I paid $65 and it was worth every cent.
 
Yeah, but the thought of having goop poured in my ears really wigs me out. :uhoh::uhoh: :uhoh:
 
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