Hearing Protection

[71Warhawk]

What type of hearing Protection do you recommend for an indoor range? Been renting ear must at range and have decided to buy some for better protection.

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[farsidefan1]

Front sight required electronic protection. I have some electronic muffs but I went ahead and purchased a pair of Sport Ear which are custom made and also act as hearing aids - I kinda blew out my ears shooting as a kid (Nobody even worried about it back then) and these have 4 settings which are custom designed to compensate for my hearing loss. Setting #1 for normal hearing, #2 is enhanced, #3 is for shooting and #4 is for heightened sensitivity so when in the wilds you have "super hearing". They instantly protect my ears from explosive sounds. It is nice to not have to worry about the muffs when I go shooting now.

 

[BigSlick]

A vote for the electronic muffs. I think I paid around 60 bucks for mine. Not the most expensive ones on the market but not the cheapest either. They are low profile so they don't get in the way that often. The one thing I like about them is they enhance the quieter sounds you normally don't pay attention to. You can even hear your brass hitting the floor. I wear mine when I am out in the woods.
Here's what they look like: Peltor Tactical 6S 97044-00000 Electronic Shooter's Ear Muffs (NRR 19) - Electronic Shooting Ear Muffs

 

[71Warhawk]

These look pretty interesting. I will check these out further

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[CapGun]

Front sight required electronic protection. I have some electronic muffs but I went ahead and purchased a pair of Sport Ear which are custom made and also act as hearing aids - I kinda blew out my ears shooting as a kid (Nobody even worried about it back then) and these have 4 settings which are custom designed to compensate for my hearing loss. Setting #1 for normal hearing, #2 is enhanced, #3 is for shooting and #4 is for heightened sensitivity so when in the wilds you have "super hearing". They instantly protect my ears from explosive sounds. It is nice to not have to worry about the muffs when I go shooting now.

They sound hmmm great! What, if you don't mind, did they set you back?

Electronic for sure is the way to go. Wife and I use Pro Ears Gold. I bought hers in Pink Camo. They are in the $285 range.

 

[wolf_fire]

I double stack (pun intended). I use an insert and then I wear Walker's Electronic Muffs. This way I can hear range commands but I have extra hearing protection too.

Walkers Alpha Power Muffs Electronic Hearing Protection & Enhancement FREE S&H GWP-WREPMBN. Walkers Hearing Enhancers.

Each muff is individual powered and controlled so you can turn down or up depending on your particular situation.

I also use these muffs when hunting. You can hear things much better and has helped me notice a far off deer because I could hear it.

 

[foxytwo]

I lost a lot of hearing from the military and now use in the ear plugs and electronic ear muffs. Most of the electronic muffs are rated at around 22 dec reduction, in the ear plugs are up around 33 dec reduction which would give you about a total of 37 dec reduction. I will do what ever it takes to save what I have left.

 

[farsidefan1]

The sport ear I purchased is one of the higher end units - expensive for ear protection - cheap for hearing aids - cost about $1,200. As I said, they are digitally programmed for my specific hearing loss and custom fitted. It took a couple of weeks for delivery after measurements were taken. I wear them about 60% of the time. My wife loves that the tv volume is set lower and she doesn't have to raise her voice so much to talk to me. On the down side I still have trouble in crowded environments (ie. some restaurants). Usually one of the 4 settings works for where ever I am.
Setting 1 is described as standard shooting mode, it enhances my hearing so wife is happy.
2 is hunting mode. Louder than 1.
3 is Premium hearing enhancement. This is what I use when out in wild listening for wildlife (not bars
4 is called machine gun mode/fast attack. Highest compression setting.

All settings offer protection from normal shooting. Protection kicks in as the sharp sounds hit the sport ear. Seems to work well for me but it is probably overkill unless you need the hearing enhancement full time.

 

[Firefighterchen]

Indoors: Foam plugs always, regular muffs over plugs when shooting.

Outdoors: Just the muffs.

Total spent: $20

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[MikeHinds]

How much do you want to spend? You can get non-electronic ones at Harbor freight for $10-15. The Peltor 6s mentioned above are on sale right now at Amazon for roughly $60. I bought a set of Howard Leight electronic muffs at Amazon several years ago for a class at Tactical Response. I paid $50, and they are still on their first set of batteries. I just ordered another set this week for my wife - they are still under $50.
Link Removed
Comfortable and effective - recommended.
I am 60 and hearing is going, so I turn the stereo mikes all the way up and can hear range commands and my wife, but gunshots are not annoying or painful.

 

[KernelMustard]

I have a pair of SoundGear Electronic Hearing Protection plugs that work well for me. They allow you to hear clearly while offering 25dB of protection. I have never used an indoor range so I can't really say if these would work as well in that setting. My experience is that the batteries (tiny hearing aid style) last a couple of hours. VERY comfortable. Picked these up at a Friends of NRA banquet.

 

[GuamGuy]

After watching my dad turn stone deaf in his mid fifty's from impact noise, I religiously used foam ear plugs minimum doing anything noisy. On the range I've covered them with cheap muffs for years and that does the trick albeit with marginal comfort and convenience. As I've gotten a little more disposal income I stepped up to cheap electronic muffs and they worked better yet. When I started IPSC shooting, I read reviews and checked prices and finally settled on the Pro Ears Gold. A bit expensive but not considering the price of my hearing and being able to hear range commands well. I've been very happy with them. My advice -- do the research and then get the best reviewed muffs you can afford regardless of the price. Watching my dad watch TV with the sound turned off for 35 years convinced me it was worthwhile to spend the time and money.

 

[the pro]

Hi. I recently attended a 4 day defensive handgun course. I noticed that many, if not all, the training staff were wearing an in the ear, hearing aid style of ear protection. I did not get a price quote but I would imagine they were at least $1,500. I was impressed that they were dynamic. They compressed sounds rather than simply clipping off sound at certain frequencies.
Contact Front Sight for info. Firearm Training Courses - Handgun ( Glock, etc.), Shotgun, Rifle, (Sub) Machine Gun - from FrontSight.com.
I currently use a cheap $45 electronic headset. I sort of wish I had given these electronic ears seeing as how my work around aircraft has left me with a partial hearing loss. The manufacturer made the claim that they were much less expensive than going to an audiologist for hearing aids, because they were sold as sporting equipment and not a medical device.
the pro

 

[r1derbike]

Indoors, electronic muffs (turned off) 'n' plugs. Outdoors, electronic muffs turned way down. Usually adjust each ear so that I may barely hear myself say "testing" through them. I don't hunt any more, otherwise, I'd turn them up louder, and man, you may hear everything with them turned-up a bit. Incredible high frequency response.