Best Hearing Protection for Shooting Situations

After our sense of sight, hearing is the most important sense for navigating and responding to the world around us. It's one of the ways that humans pass along important communication, and it's a wonderful means of transferring information from "stuff out there" to "stuff in the brain."

As hunters and outdoor enthusiasts, it helps us to hear the call of the game we are chasing. It lets us know when two bucks are sparring and helps us perceive the majestic, almost primitive sound of an elk bugling in the distance. We can study bird calls and learn about the dangers they are telling each other about. If a tree falls in the forest and we are nearby, it will produce a sound that we can hear (jury is still out on if it makes the same sound if nobody is nearby.)

For these and other reasons, protecting your hearing is extremely important. In this guide, we're going to cover some of the science behind sound and hearing. We're going to dig into why we lose our hearing and what is actually going on inside that melon that sits on top of your neck. Finally, we're going to discuss the different types of hearing protection available. So strap yourselves in, and if there is something you don't understand, just ask me to speak up!

You will see the terms passive and active come up quite frequently. Passive means that no electronics are used to block sound; active means that electronics are indeed used to block sound. Usually, this can make quite a difference in price.

Decibels & Other Hearing Definitions to Know

Let's talk about Decibels. I know that you've heard the word and maybe even awkwardly used it yourself on a few occasions to mean "Wow, holy &^*# this is so LOUD!" You're on the right track. It can have a few definitions depending on what you're talking about, but we're talking about sound. For our purposes, we're going to define it like this:

• Decibel - A measure of sound intensity on a logarithmic scale, and the units used are dB. The zero point of the scale is referred to as the Threshold of Hearing.
• Sound Intensity - The power of the sound in the air at a given location. The sound intensity varies by distance from the point of the sound.
• Logarithm - The logarithm of a given number to a base defines the number of times the base must be multiplied to reach the given number. To say it another way, these are exponential functions, so when we say that decibels are logarithmic, it means that a small change in the number of decibels means a huge difference in the sound intensity.
• Threshold of Hearing - The lowest intensity sound perceptible to human hearing, also known as 0dB. (10^-12; Watts/Square Meter.)

Sound Level Equation for Decibels

Let's take a look at how all of these things work together in an equation.

B is the total loudness in decibels, I is equal to the sound intensity (measured in watts per square meter) and Io is equal to the threshold of hearing (also measured in watts per square meter).

So what does it all mean to you, the person with the ears? It means that dB's increase exponentially with each added bit of sound intensity. The loudness that we humans perceive doubles with the increase of just a few decibels.

Ok, that's enough of the science stuff. In the next section, we'll take a look at what all of this means when we're talking about hearing loss.

My grandfather was a United States Naval Officer in World War II. He was on a destroyer fighting in the Marshall Islands, Leyte Gulf, Iwo Jima & Okinawa just to name a few. After the war he worked for a very large American manufacturing company in several of its plants across the world. Because of the wartime shelling and the constant high dB sound of American progress, his hearing suffered tremendously. Into his 80's and 90's, he didn't even need to pretend that he couldn't hear my grandmother yelling at him; he just plain-old couldn't hear her. That, my friends, is the secret to a 57 year marriage.

The Different Types of Hearing Loss

I related the story about my grandfather to give examples of the types of hearing loss that can affect a person. See if you can pick which ones affected him from the list below:

• Conductive - Problems in the ear canal or with the tympanic membrane that prevent sound from reaching the inner ear. This is typically a blockage from ear wax, infection, tumor, or fluid (shower ear)
• Sensorineural -Hearing loss stemming from damage to the hair cells in the inner ear, typically from exposure to loud noise either over a sustained period of time or extremely loud noise all at once.
• Presbycusis - Hearing loss associated with aging. Typically interrupts the ability to perceive higher frequencies.
• Mixed Hearing Loss - A combination of any of the above.

Did you guess Sensorineural and Presbycusis? Did you guess Mixed Hearing Loss? I suppose you would have been correct either way. His hearing did get worse as he aged, but our main focus here is Sensorineural hearing loss, so let's take a closer look at it.

How Loud Is That Thing Anyway?

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), prolonged exposure to noise levels of 85+ dB for 8 hours or more a day over a period of several years can result in gradual, permanent hearing loss. Table saws, chainsaws, lawnmowers, and jackhammers all produce noise at or above the 85 dB level. For this reason, hearing protection is very prevalent in the manufacturing and construction sectors, and fines are frequently levied at employers who fail to provide it. Now, want to take a guess as to what the dB level of a firearm is?

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services states that regular exposure to more than 110 decibels for over a minute can result in permanent hearing loss. At a distance of 1 meter, many rifles produce a BLAMMO! of 140 dB or louder. Shotguns larger than 20 gauge have sound intensity up over 150 dB, as do .45 ACP, .38 Specials, almost all magnum rounds, .30-.30s, .30-06s, 9mm Para Pistols... the list goes on. None of us shoot one round and put the firearm away when we're on the range. In fact, there are usually a few other people there with us, and we're constantly hit with an onslaught of noise over 140 dB. This is why shooting without the use of hearing protection is one of the most damaging things you can do to your hearing.

Hearing Protection and You: A Silent Partnership

Wearing hearing protection on the range is one of the best things you can do to save your hearing. I'm going to throw another definition at you:

• NRR - Stands for Noise Reduction Rating, and it is the number of decibels by which a particular type of hearing protection reduces the noise that can reach your inner ear.

Most hearing protection falls between NRR 21 and NRR 33. That means that if your lawn mower is mowing at 90dB and you put in a pair of NRR 21 earplugs, the noise level that you are being exposed to drops from 90dB to 69dB, which is somewhat louder than a vacuum cleaner. Remember, dBs vary logarithmically and not linearly. You aren't just taking a bit of the noise off of the top; you are in effect cutting the noise level in half about 14 times over.

Insofar as firearms are concerned; remember that most of them "BLAMMO!" at 140dB or higher. While 140-160dB can cause permanent hearing loss after one brief instance, NRR 25 or greater will reduce it to a noise level that is, and this is key, tolerable and not harmful in short bursts. Again, hearing protection is absolutely critical on the range. But which pair is correct for you?

What Type of Hearing Protection Do I Need?

There are tons of different styles and models to pick from. Here at OpticsPlanet, we carry over 500 different hearing protection products to fit any type of need. For the shooter, there are many different shooting situations that require many different hearing protection solutions. You can technically get by with the wrong solution, but you can also technically hammer a nail with a pry bar too. As in all things, better to have the right tool for the job.

Should your hearing protection go in the ear or cup the outside of it? NRR 24 or NRR 26? Electronic or Passive? Bluetooth enabled for music? Corded or un-corded? Filtered or Unfiltered? How about banded or not? What about over the head? How about these behind the neck models? Red or yellow? How come these ones cost $9.99 and these ones cost $279.99? I'll briefly discuss the two basic types of hearing protection, and we'll break them out further.

Standard Disposal Ear Plugs for Shooting

You've seen these. You've held them in your hand and maybe even put them in your ear. They are the little foam orange guys that you scrunch between your thumb and forefinger, stick into your ear, and go deaf to the world around you until you take them out. If you still don't know what I'm talking about, you can check out this pair from Howard Leight. They are your quintessential "stick 'em in, pull 'em out, throw 'em away, new ones tomorrow" earplugs. They don't just come in orange, either. There are plenty of variations of these little guys, but for now, just know that ear plugs go in your ear and "plug up" the ear canal so that sound can't come in very easily. These are particularly good if the user needs to wear any type of head covering, as there need be no pieces connecting the earplug to anything on or around the head.

Standard disposable earplugs are made to be inexpensive, used once, and thrown away. They are made of foam, compress, and expand in the ear. Because of this, they fit tightly and block out a lot of sound. They come in corded and uncorded models.

Standard disposable options are excellent if you are only going to be wearing them for a brief period of time and will not need to put them back in. Also, these are very good for extra loud environments where they need to be worn constantly. Though these are very inexpensive per pair, they often have much higher NRR than some of the other more expensive equipment available. I would not suggest using these if you are going to be taking them out regularly, as they are very good at collecting dirt and grime and are nearly impossible to properly clean. This makes the risk of infection rather high if they are reused.

Non-Disposable Ear Plugs for Shooting

Earplug hearing protection is also available in a non-disposable, or reusable, product design. These are normally made out of plastic or soft rubber rather than foam. They are reusable because they are more resistant to tearing and shredding with repeated use, and they are washable. We carry plenty of 3M reusable ear plugs for example. These are pretty typical designs for non-disposable ear plugs. There are also modern designs like the SureFire EP an Defender series. The design fills the bowl in the outer ear and plugs the ear canal. The noise filtering device is inside the tube that extends into the ear, and a "filter plug" can be inserted as well. This takes the NRR from 11dB when the plug is left out to 24dB when inserted.

Reusable earplugs are best suited to the shooter who is at the range regularly and doesn't need to listen to range commands. In the long run, this is probably a less expensive choice than constantly buying disposable earplugs, and the reusable earplugs can be kept in a 35mm film canister or some other form of easily sealable plastic container. At the end of your range time, just clean and dry the earplugs, throw them into the container, and toss the container into the range bag, and you will be ready to shoot again tomorrow.

Corded & Banded Ear Plugs

Corded earplugs can either be disposable or reusable. They are attached by a thin cord to prevent loss. They can also be draped around the wearer's neck for convenience when not in use (although, you should remember to clean and dry them at the end of the day.) 

Banded earplugs are connected on a rigid band of hard plastic, and one wears them almost like a stethoscope. The advantage offered by the banded earplugs is that they can be set down on a surface, and the plugs never touch that surface, keeping them very clean. These are perfect for environments where hearing protection is used intermittently, such as a one-on-one shooter/coach session. Both persons can take out their hearing protection and lay them on the shooting table during instruction and not worry about picking up stray powder on the plug and putting it into their ear. I would recommend banded plugs if you have storage at the gun range or if your gun range is your backyard. You can set them on a table and prevent them from getting dirty, but the same would not be true if placing them in a range bag. Also, throwing them in a bag could break the plastic that holds these together.

Electronic Ear Plugs

There are also quite a few electronic options for earplugs. Several of these have an 1/8th inch analog audio cable attached, and these are basically a combination earplug/ear bud. Peltor electronic ear plugs are a perfect example. They provide plenty of decibel protection, connect to your smartphone or music device, and produce sound at non-dangerous levels. These are a little odd because they are electronic ear plugs yet they are considered passive. The distinction here is that the electronics are not used to cancel sound, they are merely used to transmit audio to the ear from music, podcasts, etc.

In a shooting situation, I would only recommend audio-enabled hearing protection if you are at an indoor range when you are all by yourself and nobody else can come in or out. At that point, I suppose you can grab your S&W Model 29 .44 Magnum and blast away to the Dirty Harry soundtrack, or put on the James Bond theme song while firing your Walther PPK 7.65. Even then, I can't say I would really recommend it as I feel it takes away too much of your situational awareness and could compromise safety.

Passive Hearing Protection: Shooting Earmuffs 

These are the big foam guys that go over the ear and cup it. The word comes from the Dutch word Mof, meaning an warm covering for the hands. Later, someone invented warm coverings for the ears and called them earmuffs (also known that tangled mess of plastic and pink fur at the bottom of my hall closet). At that point, someone realized that those things block out sound or that a version could be made that would block out sound, and a hearing protection device was born. Ear muff hearing protection cups the ear and muffles the sound trying to get to it with its big, foamy, ear-muffy goodness.

Passive earmuffs have a lot of variety, but most of it is concerned with the industrial world rather than the shooting world. For instance, many designs are built to accommodate helmets. Notice the design connects the cups behind the neck, and the cups themselves have a tapered design that allows them to fit with many military helmets and civilian bump caps. There are also several slotted earmuff cups that are designed to work with slotted bump caps. As you can see, the cups connect directly to the bump cap.

Again, for most recreational shooters, passive earmuff variation isn't going to be a huge issue. If you are in a range situation where a helmet is mandatory, the behind-the-head models will most likely accommodate your needs. The only area that will really be of concern is the fit of the earmuffs. Generally, these are one size fits all, but if your ears are enormous, perhaps consider using flowerpots filled with cotton.

Obviously I'm kidding. Size difference relates more to the size of the head, and there are smaller bands made for women and children. Pro Ears has several shooting muffs designed specifically for younger shooters and smaller heads. Also, there is hearing protection designed specifically for women's head sizes and shapes. Walker's ear protection features several models for women, and even has toddler and infant sizes to protect the whole family at noisy events. Most hearing protection for women comes in pink or red because many manufacturers in the outdoor industry seem to think that all women only enjoy two colors. However, for now, it makes for a quick and easy identification guide.

Active hearing protection is, well, it's active is what it is. It actively listens for sound and then destroys it! And strengthens it! And evens it out... it's just awesome!

Earlier, I said that active hearing protection uses electronics to control the dB level inside the device. These earmuffs, and sometimes earplugs as well, have an external microphone that gathers sound on the outside of the earmuff. The noise is then reproduced inside of the earmuff. Low dBs are amplified, which is useful when listening for game or range commands. When loud and unsafe dBs are in the environment, a couple of different things can happen depending on the sound processing system.

Active Clipping Technology in Ear Protection

With this system, the microphones are actively listening for sound. They are picking up the sound and reproducing it inside the ear protection device. Low dB sounds are reproduced and amplified, but then someone pulls a trigger and "BLAMMO!" However, the only thing audible is the muffled sound of a gun through a standard passive hearing protection device. The active clipping technology shuts down when a sound is too powerful, and therefore, does not reproduce the sound of the gunshot, keeping the person wearing the hearing protection safe. Active clipping technology has one downside, however. Imagine trying to listen to range commands, but the range officer is giving them to you via cell phone while he is in an underground tunnel 80 miles from a cell tower. The cut in / cut out nature of that conversation is what everything sounds like when active clipping technology is being used. This technology is mostly on the way out, and being replaced by...

Noise Compression Technology 

Noise Compression Technology is the next step forward in Active Hearing Protection. This system reacts in a completely different way to loud sounds. Sound compression has been used in music recording and live performance for quite some time and has recently made its way into hearing protection. What it does in music is make the loud sounds quieter, letting the quiet sounds be heard. With hearing protection, it takes the loud gunshot and reproduces it at a much quieter level, rendering it safe inside the earmuff.

Pro Ears is an industry leader in Active Hearing Protection, particularly with noise compression technology. They use gold circuitry and top-of-the-line microphone and sound reproduction technology to cut the compression time to 1.5 milliseconds. That means that you won't even notice that compression is taking place, and instead of "BLAMMO!" the only thing you will hear is a soft thud, and all of the other sound will continue as though you were listening without earmuffs on. Pro Ears takes it a step further and amplifies the softer sounds coming into the earmuff to a baseline of 70dB. This means that when the user is chasing game, all of those soft sounds it makes will be easily heard, giving you that extra bit of advantage.

There are also earplugs made with Active Noise Compression Technology. Pro Ears also designs hearing enhancers. While technically these devices are more for the amplification of quiet nature sounds, when used with earplugs it can greatly reduce loud noises too. Also, it has active noise compression that kicks in at 85dB to lessen the impact of any "BLAMMO!" that you may cause or encounter. 

To Sum it All Up

Just as there are several types of shooters and shooting situations, there are several types of hearing protection to fit each of them. The bottom line is this: When that gun goes "BLAMMO!" you'd better have your ears covered. Hopefully this guide has been insightful, and if you have any questions, feel free to give us a call and we'll be happy to answer them for you! Until Next Time!