In ear/ear bud hearing protection reccomendations and an ear pro question

[Rodney65]

I would like some in-ear/ear bud electronic (sound amplifying) hearing protection to use instead of my muffs when not shooting a lot of rounds or in enclosed areas.

My only real criteria are that they be tethered together and have hooks over the ears as I find I often knock ear buds out of my ears. Battery life and durability is also important.


Also regarding hearing protection I understand muffs reduce vibrations that carry sound to your ear and that plugs alone aren't as good.

That said on a scale of 1 to 10, with zero being no hearing protection, one being cigarette butts or 9mm cases, and ten being foam plugs jammed right into your ear canals combined with gel cup muffs how good are ear bud type plugs alone?

 

[ut755ln]

I would like some in-ear/ear bud electronic (sound amplifying) hearing protection to use instead of my muffs when not shooting a lot of rounds or in enclosed areas.

My only real criteria are that they be tethered together and have hooks over the ears as I find I often knock ear buds out of my ears. Battery life and durability is also important.


Also regarding hearing protection I understand muffs reduce vibrations that carry sound to your ear and that plugs alone aren't as good.

That said on a scale of 1 to 10, with zero being no hearing protection, one being cigarette butts or 9mm cases, and ten being foam plugs jammed right into your ear canals combined with gel cup muffs how good are ear bud type plugs alone?

There are a bunch of threads on the forum about this but as someone who has tried them, I will take a stab at this. I absolutely know people who have managed to make various 2 to 4 hundred dollar options work (like Otto). I am not one of them and I have had horrible luck. For the in ear options to work they need to have a really good fit to your ear canal. The only thing that has worked for me is the custom molded ear pro and it is expensive and even then over long periods of time I found them lacking.

It is not what you are asking but I would recommend investing in something like Comtac Vs with gel cups.

 

[264win]

I’m going to slightly side track as well, apologies in advance.
This question is a bit like asking what boots to buy or car to purchase. There are a lot of variables and it depends a lot on the user and purpose.
I settled on the 3m tep 200s about 5 yrs ago and have been very happy with them. Choosing the correct ear ( canal ) tip is important. For me they are 95% as effective as good as foamies, or muffs if the muffs have a perfect seal. That is key imo. There are so many things that interfere with the muffs seal that they just aren’t practical for me.
Any kind of glasses, hat, hair and muffs are compromised.

 

[_Windrider_]

Go to a hearing aid center and have molds made

 

[Rodney65]

There are a bunch of threads on the forum about this but as someone who has tried them, I will take a stab at this. I absolutely know people who have managed to make various 2 to 4 hundred dollar options work (like Otto). I am not one of them and I have had horrible luck. For the in ear options to work they need to have a really good fit to your ear canal. The only thing that has worked for me is the custom molded ear pro and it is expensive and even then over long periods of time I found them lacking.

It is not what you are asking but I would recommend investing in something like Comtac Vs with gel cups.

I appreciate the reply. Sorry I did try to search for threads on the topic and didn't find much. I had seen some people at the range with them that seemed to like them.

These were going to be for hunting and shooting .22 where I don't need the highest level of hearing protection but if it's just going to an expensive exercise in frustration I might just pass and stick with muffs.