Ear plugs, not muff's

[6fatrat]

If you do a great deal of shooting ,get the custom molded ear plugs or make your own from Gemplers. Then find a pair of good ear muffs, double ear protection is a must for people shooting 3000+ rounds of centerfire a year.
Steve Bair

 

[SG4247]

If you do a great deal of shooting ,get the custom molded ear plugs or make your own from Gemplers. Then find a pair of good ear muffs, double ear protection is a must for people shooting 3000+ rounds of centerfire a year.
Steve Bair

Completely agree! I use custom molded plugs and muffs. This is barely enough.

I get hearing tested once a year, for the last 10 years, and already have some hearing loss. Not taking any more chances...

Highly recommend using both.

 

[chkunz]

Cheek weld is not necessary for accuracy. Getting the Parallax out is. Most Benchrest guys don't touch the stock with their cheeks. You get inconsistent dragging when your cheek touches. I even see guys use baby powder on their cheeks and stocks to help the gun slide. I use extremely high rings and tapered bases to keep my cheek away. If you want good plugs I believe the best are the ones that are custom fitted. Matt

Cheek weld is not necessary in some of the competitive shooting disciplines, but it is in others.

 

[JRS]

I was told that hearing loss can be experienced by loud noises transferring through the mastoid area behind your ears, and that is what makes it necessary to wear earmuffs.

Sound is transferred through the ear canal.

 

[Pappy42]

I was told that hearing loss can be experienced by loud noises transferring through the mastoid area behind your ears, and that is what makes it necessary to wear earmuffs.

Sound is transferred through the ear canal.

Not entirely.

 

[1shot]

I have a set of the custom molded plugs made for me by some woman at Camp Perry at the nationals. They are one step above worthless for meas the sonic crack in the pits hurt my ears using them. It must be just me because I see lots of guys wearing them. I use the yellow 3 section plugs with a string attached to them. They hand them out for free at a lot of industrial shops. I double up with a pair of grey Howard Leight muffs with the wire loop around the back of my neck. The muffs are 33 DB reduction, I'm not sure about the plugs. I'd love to find another source for those plugs as I'm getting short on supply.
Lloyd

 

[MS50]

Sound is conducted through the bones to the middle ear. Sounds such as gunfire, received by the inner ear by whatever path will cause damage. Doubling the protection with plugs and muffs is a good idea in my opinion. I am guilty of using plugs only, when shooting in the open. When under cover, I always double protect. I have work related high frequency hearing loss from sounds that most would feel is not very loud. The damage is cumulative.

 

[BigBlueandGoldie]

I have a set of the custom molded plugs made for me by some woman at Camp Perry at the nationals. They are one step above worthless for meas the sonic crack in the pits hurt my ears using them. It must be just me because I see lots of guys wearing them. I use the yellow 3 section plugs with a string attached to them. They hand them out for free at a lot of industrial shops. I double up with a pair of grey Howard Leight muffs with the wire loop around the back of my neck. The muffs are 33 DB reduction, I'm not sure about the plugs. I'd love to find another source for those plugs as I'm getting short on supply.
Lloyd

I think it's a personal preference thing. I prefer muffs over plugs, but sometimes you can't use muffs. I've never found a disposable ear plug that fits my ears or remains seated. My custom plugs work very well, but still not as good as a pair of muffs. For ~$75, I think custom plugs are a great investment.......much cheaper than buying batteries for future hearing aids.

 

[SDDasher]

I get my batteries for my hearing aid from the VA at no charge. As to hearing protection anyone not using plugs and muffs is just delaying the inevitable. You can make custom with a Radians kit from Cabelas or Bass Pro that work extremely well for under $20.

 

[JRS]

Properly inserted foam plugs fill the ear canal. Doubling up with muffs is wise. The problem with muffs alone is the amount of sound that leaks past the muffs. Hair, sideburns and the temple pieces on glasses allow sound to pass to your ears. For those wearing hearing aids that might not be aware of it, always remove your aids when wearing your muffs.

 

[Baddog0302]

I get my batteries for my hearing aid from the VA at no charge. As to hearing protection anyone not using plugs and muffs is just delaying the inevitable. You can make custom with a Radians kit from Cabelas or Bass Pro that work extremely well for under $20.

[url]http://www.radians.com/radsite/index.php/industrial/industrial-safety-products/hearing-protection/item/radians-custom-molded-earplugs?category_id=8]

I get my batteries for my hearing aid from the VA at no charge. As to hearing protection anyone not using plugs and muffs is just delaying the inevitable. You can make custom with a Radians kit from Cabelas or Bass Pro that work extremely well for under $20.

http://www.radians.com/radsite/inde.../radians-custom-molded-earplugs?category_id=8 The Radian custom plugs look good, except for the low NRR rating

 

[willbas]

I use the http://www.sensgard.com/shop/sensgard-nrr-31 works great for me

 

[Martin52]

Looking for suggestions on good ** ear plugs. I can't get a good cheek weld wearing muff's.
** good as in good at noise reduction / hearing protection

I use Auritech Shoot ear plugs, they are available on amazon.com and I find them better than the Sonic 2 plugs. I use them for prone shooting, they reduce the noise whilst allowing a level of communication eg with the wind coach.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...-keywords=auritech+shoot+&tag=accuratescom-20

Martin

 

[Skeet69]

Mack's Ear Seals are the best I have ever used and still use them. They have a noise reduction level of 27. One thing I do is glue the ear seals to the cord as they fit so well in my ears that the cord will come off unless they are glued.

Bought my last sets at Walgreen's, $2.99
http://www.walgreens.com/store/c/mack's-ear-seals-dual-purpose-earplugs/ID=prod1707479-product

They are also available at Walmart and some gun websites.

THIS THIS THIS... best pair of reusables that I have found, and fit very tightly on me too. Nice idea to glue the cord... going down to my shop to do this right now!
Mike B

 

[BoydAllen]

These hearing protectors are unique in design, and if you put them on according to directions, they work very well. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001IMHSP4/?tag=accuratescom-20
I modified some of the 33 DB Howard Leight foam plugs by running four strands of upholstery thread through them, with a needle, knotting them on the outside, and cutting them so that I have an inch to grab to remove them. This allows me to insert them deeper than I normally would feel confident about being able to remove without a tool and/ or assistance, so that they are below where the SensGards make contact. The combination is eerily quiet, and well above any possible stock comb that I have seen or used. For most applications either is enough, but when I end up next to a muzzle brake I like to use double protection. At matches, I use the plugs in combination with thin 21 db shotgun muffs, that have never been a problem.

 

[jlow]

The custom fitted ear plugs are about the best but they are really only good for most handguns. If you are shooting a centerfire rifle, the custom ear plugs are not enough – if the noise is loud with the plugs in, your ears stands a good chance they will be damaged.

Adequate protection is only possible if you are using both ear plugs and a good set of muffs. I work both as an SO and RO and find that even this combination is sometimes not adequate if someone is shooting a rifle with a compensator or a snub nose handgun next to a barricade or barrel which can reflect the sound back to you.

Take care of your hearing; once they are gone, you are not going to get them back.

 

[M-61]

Sound is transferred through the ear canal.

It is AND the mastoid bone.
A lot has been written on this site about ear protection. If you search member normmatzen he has gone into great detail about protection.

 

[AckleymanII]

Sound is transferred through the ear canal.

Sound is transferred through the skull and ear lobes as well, so the ear plugs and a set of thin Peltor Tac 6 that modify hearing goes a long ways, we learned this spotting for each other shooting p. dogs and chucks.

 

[ChrisNZ]

It is AND the mastoid bone.
...

I'm afraid this is just a big red herring. All the relevant damaging noise reaches the cochlea via air conduction, ie your ear canal. Forget all that bone conduction rubbish unless you're parked beside a huge artillery piece.

Chris-NZ
(Clinical Audiologist)

 

[JRS]

I'm afraid this is just a big red herring. All the relevant damaging noise reaches the cochlea via air conduction, ie your ear canal. Forget all that bone conduction rubbish unless you're parked beside a huge artillery piece.

Chris-NZ
(Clinical Audiologist)

Thank you