After a decade of serious target shooting using electronic earmuffs, I've finally concluded outdoor shooting in the summer heat of Kansas is a pain I'm not going to endure any longer. I'm ready for something more comfortable than sweat-saturated, plastic-lined muffs. What's out there with in-the-ear plugs that still provide at least a degree of ambient hearing?
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Last edited by SkippySanchez; 06-01-2017 at 07:37 PM.
Outdoors I simply use 3M EAR classics. Indoors I double up with earmuffs over the 3M product.
There's nothing civil about this war.
I find the 3M EAR classics not that good, myself. Last year I got a pair of Elvex ear plugs as a freebie, those have become my favorite plugs. Before those, I used to like SilentEar plugs, but those caused some discomfort when used continuously for a few hours.
There are several high NRR foam plugs sold, too. Personally I don't like foamies since they can be more of a pain in the arse to insert, and when cold the foam takes a long time to expand. Sounds like cold weather use is not an issue for SkippySanchez though.
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IDPA SSP classification: Sharpshooter
F.A.S.T. classification: Intermediate
I use 3M Tek. Too hot and humid here to put things over your ears.
I've used audiologist made custom ear plugs for many years. They probably don't seal quite as well as foam plugs (if you're good with inserting foam plugs), but are very comfortable, easy to insert and remove, easy to clean, and last a long time.
I've become an expert in hearing protection, trust me on this. Why? Because at age 42 I was diagnosed with high-frequency hearing loss (they still have no idea why). I've been wearing and using extremely expensive digital hearing aids since then, now nearly 12 years. So, hearing protection is a very big deal to me.
Foam plugs do work very effectively, but ... you must know how to insert them into you ears properly. The very best on the market are the Howard Leight 33dB plugs, these:
BUT..you must insert them properly. First, you have to roll them on your hand into a tight little cylinder. Use one hand to pull up on your ear to fully open the ear cannel, then place them inside, nice and deep, and hold them in place and allow them to expand. This takes a bit of time, but well worth it.
However, once they do expand, they REALLY block sound, but are very effective. You lose all the benefits of active ear pro though, of course, but if all you want to run is ear plugs, this is the way to go.
If you wear active hearing pro over them, you can crank the volume on the muffs and you can hear fairly well when people are talking, but then you get the benefit of the additional hearing protection of muffs on top of plugs.
I see a lot of folks with foam plugs that aren't properly inserted.
I found these assortments to be a good way to find earplugs that worked for me.
http://www.earplugstore.com/unfoamtrialp.html
Unless you want to learn to like tinnitus man up and wear plugs and muffs. I'm trying to save what's left of my hearing after four decades of shooting, so I wear both even in Florida summers. I met an audiologist over the holidays and it's scary what can happen if you neglect hearing loss once you have it. So really, really try to avoid damaging your hearing.
"Gunfighting is a thinking man's game. So we might want to bring thinking back into it."-MDFA
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I've been really happy with these so far.
http://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-u...2682142&rt=rud
You can get them for a lot less than I paid for them on Amazon right now.
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Surefire in ear jobbies.
Been using for a while, no issues. As long as you get the right size and cover the holes properly you'll be fine.
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