Ear protection: A Question for the Northeastshooter Cogoscenti.

and a top tip, a full hearing test can run $500. However if you join Cosco for $75 and go to their hearing aid department, you can get a test for free. Years of being a hearing protection nut has left me with damn good hearing at 59 years old. You young'uns pay attention here.
 
Picton said:
Anyone else remember these?

View attachment 376296

My wife will tell you they weren't even slightly effective.
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I remember them, I like them and I still use them. Installed correctly and properly fitted for ear canal size they are very effective.

The problems that people have with them is they don't insert them correctly, or they have the incorrect size for their ear, thats why they claim they are ineffective.
 
Uzi2 said:
I remember them, I like them and I still use them. Installed correctly and properly fitted for ear canal size they are very effective.

The problems that people have with them is they don't insert them correctly, or they have the incorrect size for their ear, thats why they claim they are ineffective.
Click to expand...

I know! I always liked them too.
 
rep308 said:
Don't bleep around and get molded ear plugs that fit you and only you. They run $70-$100. When I'm not wearing them I'm a plugs and muff guy, plugs at the car and muffs at the range. Too many times people just blast one off without asking, with at least plugs in you wont get too hurt.

This is the kind of safety protocol you only appreciate when you hit your mid 50's. How many of you wear hearing protection while mowing and snow blowing?
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I'm going to have to agree with this. You can't go wrong, depending on who does it, it does a great job of lowing the risk. Way more comfortable and easier to insert than the cheap foam. Use them all the time for working around the house, machine shop at work, and even have used them on flights.

Of course with any ear plugs, you still need a pair of muffs, specially indoors. Outdoors,.22 I'll go with just the molded plugs.
 
Just bought a pair of Walker’s Rechargeable Electronic Earbuds (NRR 23 dB) they’re on the way but I used to double up with generic earbuds and headphones at rifle ranges and headphones alone at pistols only ranges.
 
nightpoison said:
I'm going to have to agree with this. You can't go wrong, depending on who does it, it does a great job of lowing the risk. Way more comfortable and easier to insert than the cheap foam. Use them all the time for working around the house, machine shop at work, and even have used them on flights.

Of course with any ear plugs, you still need a pair of muffs, specially indoors. Outdoors,.22 I'll go with just the molded plugs.
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I’ve been there and done that and the $10 SureFire EarPros are still better. The provide an adjustable non-electronic selective attenuation system.
 
Hey the highest dB rated earmuffs you can find. Remember; 33dB is DOUBLE the protection than 30dB.

I like these because they’re inexpensive, low profile (great for rifles), great dB rating, fit me well, and are available in many colors so it’s less likely someone will walk away with them by accident.

Pro For Sho 34dB Earmuffs Amazon product ASIN B071VRGNQSView: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071VRGNQS/


And I wear the best earplugs I can find under them if I’m shooting anything more than .22 or shotgun.
 
My ear canals are wider than average and most plugs have to set far to deep to seal right. In fact, I've had a few come close to needing some help in removing.

I had a set of the "gun show" plugs made like 20 years ago that worked well. They stayed put and fit, but I felt they did not reduce noise quite as well as I would have liked, so I would wear them with muffs over.

About 6 years ago, I had an odd case of what is known as SSNHL, or sudden hearing loss, and in the process of recovering, the audiologist I was working with discussed custom plugs. Ultimately, she said that if they didn't fit better and cancel noise better, I would not have to pay.

Well, I now have 2 pair. One are solid and rated at ~30db that I use for most noisy activities, but I got a second pair with "musician" filters which are rated at ~25db and are the perfect thing to wear to places like concerts, shows, etc where the background noise is high, but I still want to hear things naturally. The solids are in the same colors as nautical markers (left is red, right is green) which are really easy to see in low light. The filtered ones are clear/flesh and very hard to tell I have in the ears unless you really look and damn hard to find when you drop them on a gravel path. (^_^)

Shooting or on the motorcycle, mowing, or just running power tools, I have my custom plugs in. They are very comfortable and just work.

For $100, it's worth the effort.
 
Waher said:
Noise cancelling headphones don't offer any protection!
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Just to say it for anyone who doesn’t understand why this is true, noise canceling headphones block sound by introducing additional sound to “cancel” out the sound waves of the noise. You’ll often get fatigue from wearing these headphones for long periods of time as the generated waves aren’t perfect and can actually make things worse at times.
 
For folks who have custom plugs, do you have a recommendation for who to get them made by? I know to go to idoktr when I'm ready to do anything about my eyes, but I've no idea who to go to for my ears
 
Mesatchornug said:
For folks who have custom plugs, do you have a recommendation for who to get them made by? I know to go to idoktr when I'm ready to do anything about my eyes, but I've no idea who to go to for my ears
Click to expand...

Where are you? I used Sound Solutions Audiology in Concord. Barbara is the owner (small shop, 1 appointment at a time) and she was great to work with. She and her family are avid shooters.
 
citoriguy said:
Where are you? I used Sound Solutions Audiology in Concord. Barbara is the owner (small shop, 1 appointment at a time) and she was great to work with. She and her family are avid shooters.
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Medford, but I have a car, I'll travel if it's worth it. Anywhere between home and HSC is perfect.
 
Mesatchornug said:
For folks who have custom plugs, do you have a recommendation for who to get them made by? I know to go to idoktr when I'm ready to do anything about my eyes, but I've no idea who to go to for my ears
Click to expand...

Does anyone remember the name of the ear doc who used to stop by Moto Market in Acton one night a (week? month?) and make custom earplugs? Is he still around? Used to get good reviews from the motorcycle crowd.
 
I will distill 35 years of experience down to a couple of sentences.

1) custom ear plugs - you can wear them all day with no itching or discomfort.
2) Cover them with pretty much any amplified muff. The muff adds to the sound reduction. The amplification allows you to hear normally despite the 2 layers of protection.

If you are shooting .22s outdoors or something similar, and just are wearing the plugs. Cracking the bottom of the plug out 1/8 breaks the seal and allows normal hearing while they are still in.

Foam plugs - very effective. But get itchy and uncomfortable in an all day situation. Always keep a dozen in your bag for guests or if you forget something else.

Low vs full profile - I like low profile becauese I shoot shotguns and rifles. The fact that they protect less isn't a problem because I'm almost always doubled up.

I do this because my life has been perfectly orchestrated for hearing loss. No joke - Dad raced motorcycles from before I was born. Un-muffled 2 strokes in the 70s, shooting since I was 14, hunting without protection, raced motorcycles myself, played drums in a band in HS and college, became a private pilot and flew a plane with an muffled engine.

So . . . my hearing is affected. No tinnitus yet, which can be a real nightmare. Hoping that by being careful I can avoid it.
 
dcmdon said:
I will distill 35 years of experience down to a couple of sentences.

1) custom ear plugs - you can wear them all day with no itching or discomfort.
2) Cover them with pretty much any amplified muff. The muff adds to the sound reduction. The amplification allows you to hear normally despite the 2 layers of protection.

If you are shooting .22s outdoors or something similar, and just are wearing the plugs. Cracking the bottom of the plug out 1/8 breaks the seal and allows normal hearing while they are still in.

Foam plugs - very effective. But get itchy and uncomfortable in an all day situation. Always keep a dozen in your bag for guests or if you forget something else.

Low vs full profile - I like low profile becauese I shoot shotguns and rifles. The fact that they protect less isn't a problem because I'm almost always doubled up.

I do this because my life has been perfectly orchestrated for hearing loss. No joke - Dad raced motorcycles from before I was born. Un-muffled 2 strokes in the 70s, shooting since I was 14, hunting without protection, raced motorcycles myself, played drums in a band in HS and college, became a private pilot and flew a plane with an muffled engine.

So . . . my hearing is affected. No tinnitus yet, which can be a real nightmare. Hoping that by being careful I can avoid it.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I already have tinnitus, so this is what I'm thinking about.
 
I wouldn't agonize over what muffs you get. I'd simply get some custom plugs made for ~$75 and a decent set of electronic muffs.

If you've been doing research you have probably realized that more money doesn't necessarily buy you better sound reduction.

I have a pair of these peltors.

Peltor Tactical Sport Communications Headset MT16H210F-SV, Headband Up to 14% Off w/ Free S&H — 2 models

Though you don't need to spend that much. I'm happy with them despite the cost because they are 10+ years old and still work great. Plus they fold up on themselves and don't take up much space. The way the muffs end up against each other when collapsed, I store my custom plugs inside of them. So everything is in one place.
 
rep308 said:
Don't bleep around and get molded ear plugs that fit you and only you. They run $70-$100. When I'm not wearing them I'm a plugs and muff guy, plugs at the car and muffs at the range. Too many times people just blast one off without asking, with at least plugs in you wont get too hurt.

This is the kind of safety protocol you only appreciate when you hit your mid 50's. How many of you wear hearing protection while mowing and snow blowing?
Click to expand...
I loved my custom molded plugs, Fn Cat stole one and now I cant find it.
I bought these until I find the time to get custom ones again. I like the feel of the custom ones vs these but these work. I double up unless im shooting rifle prone, muffs just hit

View: https://youtu.be/5GhO_qC19G4
Woops wrong link
 
rep308 said:
How many of you wear hearing protection while mowing and snow blowing?
Click to expand...

I guess we agree on a lot. At 52 I'm now a leadophobe as well as a hearing protection nut.

Won't run a snowblower, mower, or chainsaw without hearing protection. Unless I'm using my electric mower on my tiny lawn in MA. But even then, I've outsourced that to my 11 year old daughter. Ha.
 
rep308 said:
This is the kind of safety protocol you only appreciate when you hit your mid 50's. How many of you wear hearing protection while mowing and snow blowing?
Click to expand...

I use earplugs for all lawn equipment (mower, edger, weed whacker, blower) and my snowblower. As I noted earlier, I have very sensitive hearing and would like to keep it that way.
 

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