I've used macks foam earplugs doubled with walkers razor slim muff but the walkers get in the way shooting sometimes with my facial structure. I dont rly care about electronic and hearing voices, just want protection/no sound. is there any earbud type non muff protection worth anything in that 2-300 range or do you need to spend a lot more to actually improve over foam earplugs. seems what i see on amazon has a lot of mixed reviews.
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sub 300$ non muff ear pro? is it all trash?
- Thread starter tacoman69
- Start date
As a poors I would eyeball those custom earplugs they would make for you at the gunshows, where they mix this multicolored goo stuff it in your ear and let it set. well I finally broke down and paid the 50 bux a few years ago. You can't hear shit with those things in and they are comfy.
These come up occasionally in the px.
www.industrialsafetyproducts.com
I've bought a couple pairs and have been very happy. I'd say the only cons I have is 2.
1. After wearing them all day long at a match, your ears can get alittle sore. But not terrible.
2. If you just let them sit for about a month and a half they are normally dead, even of they were fully charged when put up.
Other then that, they seem all good. There my primary ear pro and I've been usin them for almost a year now.
3M EEP-100 PELTOR Electronic Earplug
Industrial Safety Products, where you can find the best products at the best prices. Take advantage of our buy in bulk, free shipping & save big!
www.industrialsafetyproducts.com
I've bought a couple pairs and have been very happy. I'd say the only cons I have is 2.
1. After wearing them all day long at a match, your ears can get alittle sore. But not terrible.
2. If you just let them sit for about a month and a half they are normally dead, even of they were fully charged when put up.
Other then that, they seem all good. There my primary ear pro and I've been usin them for almost a year now.
There's an argument (for double ear-pro) that says you want over the ear to protect against concussion acting external to the ear canal.
Interesting as I never rly shot with a brake before until recently and definitely felt more concussion when the muffs came off. I assumed it was just the foam earplugs weren't in all the way or they didn't offer enough hearing protection
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Sound smacking your skull still transfers to the ear canal without going though the ear canal.
It’s why so many recommend doubling up.
This is the way…BUT replace the tips with Skull Screws for even greater hearing protection and comfort.These come up occasionally in the px.
3M EEP-100 PELTOR Electronic Earplug
Industrial Safety Products, where you can find the best products at the best prices. Take advantage of our buy in bulk, free shipping & save big!
I've bought a couple pairs and have been very happy. I'd say the only cons I have is 2.
1. After wearing them all day long at a match, your ears can get alittle sore. But not terrible.
2. If you just let them sit for about a month and a half they are normally dead, even of they were fully charged when put up.
Other then that, they seem all good. There my primary ear pro and I've been usin them for almost a year now.
3M™ Peltor™/Skull Screw™ Gray Protective Communications
Item Details The 3M™ Peltor™ Tactical Earplug Skull Screw™ Replacement Ear tips Features 3M™ PELTOR™ Skull Screw™ Replacement Ear tips 10 EA/Case Push-to-fit style means no earplug roll-down is required for easy fitting Helps provide protection while enabling the user to hear in noisy...
www.esafetysupplies.com
If you don't care about hearing what's going on around you, I found these work really well:
They have so-called "percussive" earplugs, but I didn't think they worked very well.
They have so-called "percussive" earplugs, but I didn't think they worked very well.
I love using decibulz. Custom fit to your ear at home by boiling them like a football mouth guard. $25-30 at CVS.
I have had and use several different ones, still haven't bit the bullet on custom ones. The peltors are good if they hold up and the Otto are good too but I prefer the peltors.
The deal is, you can't wear them by themselves without shooting suppressed. I only shoot suppressed so they work great for me but I definitely wouldn't rely on any, including custom fit if I wasn't 100% suppressed. As spife said, there is no way to limit the sound like muffs do with in ear devices. I throw on muffs on top of them when I'm around others shooting without suppressors , and the electronic functions on the ear muffs work well with the in ear ones so you can still hear like the bionic man ect, even doubled up.
The deal is, you can't wear them by themselves without shooting suppressed. I only shoot suppressed so they work great for me but I definitely wouldn't rely on any, including custom fit if I wasn't 100% suppressed. As spife said, there is no way to limit the sound like muffs do with in ear devices. I throw on muffs on top of them when I'm around others shooting without suppressors , and the electronic functions on the ear muffs work well with the in ear ones so you can still hear like the bionic man ect, even doubled up.
The highest rated (NRR) plugs are going to be some brands of foam. These from 3M are rated 33 db
www.uline.com
Or these for a lot less
Amazon Mack's Ultra Soft
The absolute most...IME...you will get out of electronic or custom molded silicon plugs is about 27 db
If you really don't want to hear anything...good foam plugs are the way to go, IMO.
3M E.A.Rsoft™ FX™ Earplugs in Stock - ULINE
Uline stocks a wide selection of 3M E.A.Rsoft™ FX™ Earplugs. Order by 6 p.m. for same day shipping. Huge Catalog! 13 Locations across USA, Canada and Mexico for fast delivery of 3M E.A.Rsoft™ FX™ Earplugs.
www.uline.com
Or these for a lot less
Amazon Mack's Ultra Soft
The absolute most...IME...you will get out of electronic or custom molded silicon plugs is about 27 db
If you really don't want to hear anything...good foam plugs are the way to go, IMO.
Doesn't have to be a gun show.
Go to this site, enter your info, and EAR will tell you the closest Insta-mold authorized provider
Are You Looking For A Provider? - EAR Customized Hearing Protection
Thank you for your interest! Please fill out this form below and we will try and locate the best provider who can address your needs and is capable of
earinc.com
Decibullz ear plugs on Amazon are worth the price over regular foam plugs. You mold them to your ear yourself (super easy). Comfortable and fit fairly flush with your ear so that they work comfortably under muffs as well (I double up 99% of the time). Just don't leave them in your pants when you wash them because the dryer will mold them to the insides of your pockets...permanently. Not only do I need to buy another pair of ear plugs, but it also welded the pocket closed on my pants.
Peltors with skull screws are Db rating is low 30s.The highest rated (NRR) plugs are going to be some brands of foam. These from 3M are rated 33 db
3M E.A.Rsoft™ FX™ Earplugs in Stock - ULINE
Uline stocks a wide selection of 3M E.A.Rsoft™ FX™ Earplugs. Order by 6 p.m. for same day shipping. Huge Catalog! 13 Locations across USA, Canada and Mexico for fast delivery of 3M E.A.Rsoft™ FX™ Earplugs.
Or these for a lot less
Amazon Mack's Ultra Soft
The absolute most...IME...you will get out of electronic or custom molded silicon plugs is about 27 db
If you really don't want to hear anything...good foam plugs are the way to go, IMO.
I want to say that I paid around $300 for my tep-300s in the px (or on addicts, whatever). Was wearing them yesterday. YMMV on if this is a pro or a con, but I ran all sorts of two stroke stuff and barely heard it but could hear the bride just fine. I keep the case plugged in in my truck so they're always charged. I use the shit out of those things.
Spife has it exactly correct.
Our hearing is multi-conductive, bone thru our mastoid air-filled bone behind the ear you can feel its prominence, and thru-the-ear canal where sound energy which is transmitted via some membranes and small bones; both sound energy amplitudes impact the auditory section of your brain for interpretation. Simplistically, wearing muffs (electronic filtered or not) diminishes the bone conduction component of sound energy impact, the foam plugs or electronic filters protect the ear canal sound impact.
Budget a ridiculous amount of money to protect against irreversible hearing loss from your gun shooting passion!
That is true.
No plug will ever work as well as an ear muff.
Stick your little finger in your ear. Now with your other hand, reach over and tap on the top and back of your ear.
Now take you hand and cup it over your ear. Then tap on your cupped had. Which was louder?
It's not terribly scientific, but it doesn't need to be.
Recently I was fitted with custom ear mold Starkey Phantoms. Very expensive, retail is $1,600. But I paid about half price thru my audiologist. They come with a 30 day trial period. I'm debating returning them...
My experience has not been what I hoped. They are adequate if you are on an active outdoor range and not shooting. When shooting, pressure from the cheek rest, at least in my case, changes the shape of my ear canal and allows more sound into my right ear. I ended up removing the Phantom from my right ear and used a good foam earplug.
When shooting 9mm pistols on an outdoor range that had concrete walls on both the right and left side of the range, I had to double up and used the Phantoms with a set of electronic ear muffs. There was so much concussion bouncing off the concrete walls that the Phantoms alone were simply not enough.
I think that this will always be the case when using custom ear molds that have a rigid shell. The 3M Peltors with the Skull Screws are less expensive and probably seal better than a custom ear mold.
My experience has not been what I hoped. They are adequate if you are on an active outdoor range and not shooting. When shooting, pressure from the cheek rest, at least in my case, changes the shape of my ear canal and allows more sound into my right ear. I ended up removing the Phantom from my right ear and used a good foam earplug.
When shooting 9mm pistols on an outdoor range that had concrete walls on both the right and left side of the range, I had to double up and used the Phantoms with a set of electronic ear muffs. There was so much concussion bouncing off the concrete walls that the Phantoms alone were simply not enough.
I think that this will always be the case when using custom ear molds that have a rigid shell. The 3M Peltors with the Skull Screws are less expensive and probably seal better than a custom ear mold.
Good call. Tinnitus is worse than hearing loss, believe me. I double up all the time, even suppressed. It pains me to see people shooting suppressed rifles (supersonic) without any earpro. They don't realize the permanent damage they are doing to their hearing.
Tapping my cupped hand is noticeably louder...That is true.
No plug will ever work as well as an ear muff.
Stick your little finger in your ear. Now with your other hand, reach over and tap on the top and back of your ear.
Now take you hand and cup it over your ear. Then tap on your cupped had. Which was louder?
It's not terribly scientific, but it doesn't need to be.
Then you're not cupping enough. Which is why big mickey mouse ones work better than flat sided ones.
I suppose hearing protection is as much an individual choice/decision as any other gear in this discipline.
Custom-molded ear plugs
- I have a pair of custom-molded solid plugs made by a guy whose work was popular with a lot of the special forces people at Fort Bragg (he retired). They are all-day comfortable and so effective that the only time I double up with muffs is on an indoor range with low ceilings. They are NOT dislodged by any cheek weld I've ever done on rifle or shotgun. Given that a favorite pastime along with the shooting sports is my ridiculously expensive stereo located in a dedicated music room, I don't cut corners on protecting my hearing.
- An earlier post mentioned "EAR Customized Hearing Protection" with a link to find local providers. Since my "guy" has retired, if I had to find someone to make a new pair, I'd probably start there.
- I know a few people who ordered kits online to mix the goo, stick it in the ear, and let it set up to make their own custom plugs. Every one of them said it was a futile exercise; some of them said they tried multiple kits to get it right and still failed. Fwiw.
- I rather envy people who can use Peltor and other factory-made plugs, even the top tier ones. My ear canals are so narrow that my first visit with any doctor has always elicited a comment: "I've never seen ear canals that constricted." I've got a pair of Peltor electronic ones purchased from a guy who occasionally sells them here. I use them for rimfire events. No matter which of the selection of rubber or foam inserts I use, the seal fails in pretty short order and is never sufficient that I would use them around anything other than a .22 rifle.
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Muffs
The only thing I have to say here is: if whatever muffs are chosen don't have soft gel ear cups, either buy gel ear cups for the mufss in question of shop elsewhere. I'm satisfied with my bulky, fairly inexpensive Howard Leight muffs upgraded with gel ear cups. I use them for everyday range trips (I use my molded plugs on match days).
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fwiw.
These:
Or these:
1of1custom.com
(If you wait for a holiday or Black Friday they're usually ~20% off.)
Or these:
PRO Impulse Custom Earplugs
FOR FIREARMS AND IMPULSE NOISE The PRO Impulse is designed to protect against gunfire, artillery noise and impulse sounds such as nail guns and riveting. Triggered by impulse sounds, the PRO Impulse compresses impulse noises of 130dB or more while also allowing in ambient sound and conversation...
1of1custom.com
(If you wait for a holiday or Black Friday they're usually ~20% off.)
I prefer the orange, radian brand, foam ear plugs and a suppressor.
For PRS, where shooting braked rifles under a metal roof and through concrete culverts ranges from an expectation to the norm, I add over ear protection.
I’ve never found flanged ear plugs to seal as well as foam ear plugs.
I had a pair of custom molded ear plugs made and liked them quite well, though I eventually lost them. And, I really didn’t think they were as effective as the orange foam plugs. But, they were easier to put in.
The foam plugs are cheap and effective. I can jam a handful in my pockets, leave a trail at the range like Hansel and Grettle, protect my hearing, and not be out but a couple of dollars.
And, small hands make my dick look big… er…
For PRS, where shooting braked rifles under a metal roof and through concrete culverts ranges from an expectation to the norm, I add over ear protection.
I’ve never found flanged ear plugs to seal as well as foam ear plugs.
I had a pair of custom molded ear plugs made and liked them quite well, though I eventually lost them. And, I really didn’t think they were as effective as the orange foam plugs. But, they were easier to put in.
The foam plugs are cheap and effective. I can jam a handful in my pockets, leave a trail at the range like Hansel and Grettle, protect my hearing, and not be out but a couple of dollars.
And, small hands make my dick look big… er…
