I’ve had the molded plugs, but no idea where they are currently. I’m only 41 and my hearing is gone. Tinnitus drives me nuts. I’ve been good wearing protection while in Argentina, but the damage has taken its course.

What do you guys use? Ear muffs drive me nuts in the field, but work at the range. Are there good electronic plugs that don’t break the bank? My molded wax plugs were good, but I’m interested in something else.

I am a bit older than you, 68 next month. And my hearing is not so good either.

In the range I use in ear plugs plus earmuffs over them.

In the field I use nothing.

I have tinnitus but not bad.

It depends. On the range, I use the cheap foam plugs with muffs over them. For birds, I use molded ear plugs. When hunting with a rifle, I might use nothing.

I used hearing protection religiously when I was working. Oil rigs are noisy, hearing protection was required. You had to set an example for the "troops".

My dad lost his hearing due to being an aircraft mechanic during WWII.

I never wore hearing protection while shooting when I was growing up. (I never wore protection when mowing the lawn, etc., etc.)

I were muffs when shooting at the range. I do not wear double protection.

In the field, I have never worn hearing protection and never will. Part of hunting is to use all your senses. I want to hear anything in my vicinity, coming towards me, etc. I guess it is the price I pay to hunt.

I'm sure a rifle report does a certain amount of hearing damage, but my perception of noise is quite different in the field. When I'm "wired" even my 375 H&H doesn't sound like much. That doesn't mean it didn't exact a toll. I'm just willing to pay that toll, as opposed to a cape buffalo coming up behind me.

As someone who's hearing is deteriorating rapidly, I hope y'all can learn from my loss to protect yours.
I think most of mine started when I was very young shooting pistols, no one ever heard of hearing protection in the 50s, and your ears were supposed to ring after shooting, weren't they?

Shooting hundreds of thousands of rounds trap and dove shooting, I started off with the usual muffs and then, got smarter and added plugs under the muffs. But by then it was too late.

I urge all shooters to use protection when reasonable. Even plugs when hunting, they can be carried and are readily accessible before shooting a rifle in most cases.

Believe me, saving what hearing you have left is worth the effort. Do it.

In most men, there is a natural progression of hearing loss that comes with age. Don't add to it.

I’m 67 and my hearing is poor, mostly from shooting years ago.
On the range I wear both foam plugs and muffs.
When hunting I wear electronic muffs unless it’s very warm, dove shooting. Then I wear a good over the counter set of plugs.
I wear hearing protection 100% when around noise, including chain saws, lawn mowers, etc

The last few years, I've worn earmuffs at the ranges, but growing up, we never did. I can't even guess how many 22 RFs I've shot, and with others. My hearing is slowly going anyhow, the biggest annoyance is that the music on TV over powers the voices on PBS and Smithsonian channels. I'm wondering if I can make a digital filter to attenuate the music. I don't wear earmuffs antelope hunting, I don't shoot much. Ducks might be another matter.

I have hearing loss due to youth and stupidity. Nothing like having a firecracker go off in your hand next to your ear inside a pickup cab as you're throwing it out the window - mixed with years of pistols and shotguns and rifles without protection.

For those of you who have expressed the viewpoint that protection is optional, I was in your camp until a shotgun blast (just like every other shotgun blast before) rendered me completely deaf for 3 days.

I'm not too smart - but that was an "ah ha" moment. Haven't shot a gun since without plugs, muffs, or a combination.

I have electronic plugs (EAR if memory serves) that do a pretty good job. They are not uncomfortable and amplify my hearing while cutting out high decibel noise above 85. I just bought some Walker muffs to replace my old Radians muffs. The new ones do a great job of amplification - and when the electronics are turned off, all I can hear is my ringing ears and my evil thoughts.

Please don't wait. I used to be 10' tall and bulletproof - but now am just embarrassed when I ask my grandson to repeat himself for the 3rd time...

Thanks for the replies.

I use cheap foam ear plugs plus ear muffs.

I am always surprised to find that the cheap foam ear plugs offere greater protection according to the government score.

I also don’t shoot indoors.

I think excessive shotgunning - Argentina 1000 plus bird shoots would destroy hearing.

I am going to start taking ear plugs into the tree stands with me and to Africa.

I have lost a lot of my sense of smell due to allergies. Don’t want to lose hearing.

Mike

I always try to take the foam ear plugs to our birdboys in Argentina, but very few accept them or wear them.

I don’t shoot much there anymore. I might shoot a case or so after asado, but I do anything from cigarette butts in the ears to muffs if needed.

I still need to find my molded plugs.

My hearing is shot from a lifetime of ear infections... I have semi-permanent tubes placed in each ear drum about every 4-7 years and each time my hearing deteriorates a little more..

I currently wear dual hearing aids (Oticon), but don't wear them while shooting or with my muffs

I have several pairs of electronic muffs... One pair, brand I can't recall at the moment, worked great but ate batteries..

2nd pair, the Walker Alpha Muffs, felt great, comfortable, batteries lasted a long time. but the attachment from the headband to the muff is a weak point and easily broken. You can still get them, they are about $40 on Amazon.

I just got my 3rd pair, picked em up last minute from Cabela's when i broke the pair above.. Walker Razor about $60. just as comfortable as the Alpha muffs, and uses only one battery.

I liked the performance and fit of the Alpha muffs best, despite their inherent design flaw... they have become cheap enough so I'll likely buy a spare pair.

NOTE: the best electronic muffs I have found (at least whats available around here) still only have a rating of 23 db... for those of us with hearing issues, that is not enough and i often wear plugs with my muffs. The electronic amplification is enough to allow me to hear speech, while still protecting what little hearing I have left..

I hope this helps.

I remember a comment in American Rifleman several years ago that stated,"Hearing protection is important if for no other reason than someday you want to hear your grandson".

It's kind of bizarre for me to hear some of you older guys talking about never using hearing protection while shooting as kids. I'm 37 and have never NOT used ear pro while shooting. Good parenting by Dad I guess. Hearing a gunshot go off without protection drives me nuts.

Most of the time, it's my standard Howard Leight L2F muffs. They are the best folding earmuffs I could find, and I appreciate their small form factor. Occasionally, I'll double up with foam plugs underneath them. I've never worn them in the field for the reasons others mentioned about sensory deprivation, but I figure for the handful of shots I've actually taken, any damage hasn't been much. I can still hear perfectly well even with the muffs on.

They put a roof over my outdoor range some years back, which is lovely, but really amplifies the noise when shooting. Someone with a brake or an AR is really loud under there.

In lieu of formal plugs I have used spent cases.Not the best but better than nothing;+ it does work.

I use MSA Sordin Supreme Pro X muffs when waterfowling or at the range. They are comfortable on my head all day and I can still hear to blow a call and figure out from where the birds are coming. They don't amplify the wind like cheaper electronic muffs and I have no complaints. They run around $275 on Amazon and have been worth every penny.

When you consider that hearing loss is permanent,$275.00 seems kinda cheap,does'nt it?

quote:

Originally posted by NormanConquest:
When you consider that hearing loss is permanent,$275.00 seems kinda cheap,does'nt it?

That might depend on marital status!

All joking aside, I’m exploring options.