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Ear protection while shooting

2K views 14 replies 9 participants last post by  Balota 
#1 ·
Hi, my husband is fond of shooting. Earlier, I was not interested. But, after I started living with him, I also started developing an interest in shooting.

I have purchased BTE hearing aids from Toronto in order to protect my ears from the sound while shooting. My husband purchased a new gun. He has planned to do more hunting this year.

I am wondering whether there are any better methods of ear protection without having me to remove my hearing aids. My friend asked to wear earmuffs. I haven't tried ear muffs before. But, I think it is not practical to wear ear muffins along with hearing aids. Also, I fear that I will damage my hearing aids while wearing ear muffs.

My husband asked me to seek help from a hearing instrument specialist in Vaughan. What do you guys think?
 
#2 ·
You definitely want to protect what ever little hearing you have left. I would recommend that you wear two sets of hearing protection. One that goes in side your ear canal like a sponge type, but make sure you roll them tight and than insert in canal and they will expand, and than use the ear muffs as well. You could buy the custom hearing molds and get what you need from a sporting good store, even Walmart.
 
#3 ·
Talk to the provider of your hearing aids. Many modern devices are quite small and would easily fit inside a good set of over ear style muffs. Electronic muffs are available that amplify surrounding sounds, but cut off noise above a certain threshold. So, you can hear normal conversation but the sound of gunfire is reduced to non-damaging levels.

It may be necessary to remove your hearing aids and switch to the electronic muffs during shooting. The reasons are simple. The muffs need to fully seal around your ear and the BTE module may be large enough to interfere with that. And, the muffs must also cover the microphone that picks up the sound for your hearing aid.

Regardless, your remaining hearing levels are your top priority. Do whatever it takes to protect your ears. Double protection as described by Huckleberry is an excellent way to do that. But you will probably have to remove your aids to insert the plugs.
 
#5 ·
We have electronic hearing protectors. I don't remember the name right now.
I too have lot of hearing loss, and the hearing aids cut off at excessive noise level, but were not intended , for gunfire noise.
I have a set of older in the ear canal plugs that you can hear normal but will shut out gun fire. they are in a little blue box but I don't remember the name.
A good guns shop should stock them. You may not hear great without your hearing aids but might handle a gun range.
The Ear muff, for lack of the proper name, electronic hearing protectors we have are cheapie Caldwells from Bass Pro. About 60.00 or so.
They use two batteries and have a rotary switch to adjust so you can hear, but shut out loud gunfire.
They don't amplify though.It has been some time, but I recall some that amplified sound but still shut off for loud sharp noises like gunfire.
This is probably your best type of option not necessarily the brand. Bass Pro had some models , more reined better quality up to about 169.00.
 
#6 ·
https://ads.midwayusa.com/product/6...Ear & Eye Protection-_-Howard Leight-_-671923

These are the ones I have. Available all over the place. There are other models, but Howard Leight is a well know name in ear protection industry. They pick up surrounding sound but cut off sharp sounds above a certain dB level. Only 22 dB NRR, but when you turn the volume up, you can generally hear conversations that you would not hear with just your ears. By the way, properly inserted plugs can achieve something in the 30-35 dB NRR.

Contrary to what some people say, stacking ear pro (muffs plus plugs) DOES provide significant improvement over either of them alone. A 30 dB plug plus a 22 dB muff may not work out to 52 dB reduction, but there is still substantial improvement beyond either alone. The differences would be the result of each having an impact on different sound frequencies.

And there are other benefits. The electronically amplified muffs mitigate one of the potential issues with plugs alone, namely difficulty hearing instructions from trainers, range officers, etc. The amplified muffs make the normal ambient sounds louder than actual inside the muffs, so they are more audible through the plugs. But the muffs cut off the sharp loud sounds, so it works both ways.
 
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#7 ·
I can stop up my ears so I don't hear anthing atall however.
In Nam it was plugs, headphones and helmet. The sound of the engine, gearbox and blades was deafening.
Came in through every bond in your body felt as much as heard.
I found though impractical covering my nose and forehead a bit with my hand helped some.
Sound comes through our sinuses too.
Maybe we need a Starwars trooper helmet. :)...not really
 
#13 ·
Yes strong noise can make your bones vibrate, especially your skull. Since your ears are embedded in your skull, the noise bypasses the headphones and plugs.

And thanks for your service.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Link is unaccessable, ublock, it says. I think I'm interested. It may be that these cheapies function similarly.

What do you know. Put the hearing protectors on went out and cranked up the volume so I could hear the little birds in the field. Shot the .44 and they cut off the sound.
It had never occurred to me to check out the limits or read the manual.
Oh boy. I am getting old.
 
#9 ·
Hazel

I would suggest looking into PELTOR Electronic Ear Muff Protection.
I have used the Peltor Tactical Model for years since I also do a lot of rifle and shotgun shooting. They are electronic so you can hear someone speaking to you very clearly. But they will shut the sound off during gun fire.
You may want to look into the Standard Models if only shooting pistols.But if you are also going to be shooting rifles or shotguns you need to consider the Peltor Tactical Model. The Standard Models will not allow you to get close enough down on the Stock for a good Cheek Weld in order to shot the rifle or shotguns. You actually wear the Tactical Model with the Wire Band behind your head. Also you can wear a Ball Cap very comfortably since the band is not over the top of your head. As mentioned with the Standard Models the Band goes over the top of your head like most other ones made today. And sometimes the band push that little nob on top of your Ball Cap down hard on the top of your head making it uncomfortable! The Tactical Model eliminates that as well.
Glad to hear you are starting to like to shoot as well! Great Fun!

03
 
#14 ·
The gun range I use sells ball caps without the top knob for exactly that reason. ;) :D
 
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