High End Hearing Protection

[STORM2]

My trusty David Clark cans finally gave up the ghost! The kind we use on the ramp for jet engines. They worked for more than 25 years but the years, heat and miles finally got them. The guts crumbled! …so…
The boys have instructed me to get out of the Stone Age and get some high end electronic ears. Years and airplanes swiped a bunch of my hearing so I guess I should make an effort to salvage what’s left.
I’m looking at the Peltor 500 vs the Sordin Pro models. I know there is a wide gap in the price. I’m seeking input from some one who owns a Sordin product. Wish it were SHOT week, I would be all over this project but it’s not and I need to do something soon. I can borrow my wife’s David Clark’s, but they are just as old as mine. They are serviceable….for now so hopefully someone out there can offer help.

[FITASC]

Why not just get another set of what you know and like?

[STORM2]

I need the voice feature

[FITASC]

Peltor and Howard Leight make decent electronic ones

[Mike38]

I bought a set of Peltor electronic ear muffs at a Gander Mountain, or Bass Pro, or some place like that, a couple years ago. Used them for one range session and never used them again. I like being able to hear normal conversations, I hate the noise dampening, or lack thereof. Maybe it's just me, but I can hear the first fraction of a second of the gun shot. Like there's too much of a lag time shutting off the sound. It's not so bad on my own shots, as I know it's coming. But the shots of other people at the range throws off my concentration.

[STORM2]

Mike38: Which Peltor model do you have? Thanks for the input.

[ghbucky]

I did some research a few years ago on ear protection and what I settled with is the following:

For indoor ranges, I use a Peltor 'Ultimate 10' model. It has the highest db protection I could find. It isn't electronic, just heavy duty muffs. I wear molded ear plugs under those.

For outdoor shooting I use Howard Leight Impact Pro electronic muffs. If I'm shooting outdoor I'm usually at an organized handgun shoot so I want to hear what is being said. I've also used those with my AR rifle and had no issues, but they are probably not going to work if you are trying to get a good cheek weld on a traditional rifle stock.

[LeverGunFan]

Originally Posted by Mike38

I bought a set of Peltor electronic ear muffs at a Gander Mountain, or Bass Pro, or some place like that, a couple years ago. Used them for one range session and never used them again. I like being able to hear normal conversations, I hate the noise dampening, or lack thereof. Maybe it's just me, but I can hear the first fraction of a second of the gun shot. Like there's too much of a lag time shutting off the sound. It's not so bad on my own shots, as I know it's coming. But the shots of other people at the range throws off my concentration.

Mike38 raises an important point. All electronic earmuffs have a time delay in cutting off the sound of the shot. The best earmuffs that I have found (Pro Ears) have a 1.5 millisecond reaction time, but the typical run of the mill earmuffs can be three or four times slower to react to the sound, and some cheapies are even slower than that. Most of the low cost electronic earmuffs that I looked at today don't even list their reaction time. Hearing damage is cumulative, so slow reacting earmuffs will result in more hearing damage over thousands of shots - those milliseconds will add up. The best bet as some have noted here is to use passive earmuffs when you can, as they have no delay. Use electronic earmuffs only if you need them to hear range commands, but get the fastest reaction time that you can find or afford.

[zukiphile]

Hearing damage is cumulative, so slow reacting earmuffs will result in more hearing damage over thousands of shots - those milliseconds will add up.

Can't you just control the volume? If you aren't hearing the sound of conversation or gun fire directly, but through a headphone speaker, limiting the ability of the speaker to produce a damaging level of sound should prevent injury.

[STORM2]

I ordered a new David Clark set just like my old ones. This will let me do more research and we can always use spares at the range. Mission for SHOT in Jan. The electronic with BT and boom mike, I like. It seems they stopped making/importing them. Bummer.

[Jim Watson]

Best e-muffs I have tried were Pro Ears Pro Mag Gold. Quiet, comfortable, and quick response, no "half blasts."

The highly touted Sordin is not nearly as quiet.

My present outfit is cheap HL Pro (not the dinky Impact) when I need to hear RO, one or another high NRR passive for solo work with less weight.

[LeverGunFan]

Originally Posted by zukiphile

Can't you just control the volume? If you aren't hearing the sound of conversation or gun fire directly, but through a headphone speaker, limiting the ability of the speaker to produce a damaging level of sound should prevent injury.

Normal voice sounds at the range may be about 70 db, the sound of a gunshot can be 140 to over 160 db. If you turn down the volume -10 db, so that the range commands can still be heard at 60 db (70 - 10) then the sound of the gunshot will be at 130 to over 150 db. That will still cause hearing damage, if you can even turn down the volume that much. Many people who use electronic earmuffs already have hearing damage and need to amplify the range commands, which would also amplify the gunshot sound and cause even more damage. The electronic earmuffs work by shutting the speakers off completely to protect your hearing, just turning down the volume won't work. It's that delay in shutting down the speakers that is important.

Another problem with electronic earmuffs is that some of them have only a 22 db or so noise reduction when the speakers are shut off. The better passive muffs are 28 to 30 db, so the electronic muffs allow a sound pressure level that is four or more times higher than the passive earmuffs. The best bet if you don't need the amplification of the electronic earmuff is to use a good set of passive earmuffs along with a set of earplugs; the addition of the earplugs will cut the sound pressure level in half as compared to the earmuffs alone. If you need the electronic earmuffs, buy a set with the fastest reaction time and the highest noise reduction rating that you can afford.

[ghbucky]

LeverGunFan:

You seem to be pretty knowledgeable on this subject. I did a bit of research, but couldn't find anything on response times. Can you provide any info?

Are there specific products you would recommend?

[LeverGunFan]

Originally Posted by ghbucky

LeverGunFan:

You seem to be pretty knowledgeable on this subject. I did a bit of research, but couldn't find anything on response times. Can you provide any info?

Are there specific products you would recommend?

This topic takes me back to an acoustics class many years ago!

After exposure to jet engines, power tools and shooting, I'm fortunate to have preserved my hearing well enough to not need any amplification. I exclusively use passive muffs and plugs. But if I needed electronic muffs, I'd get them from Pro Ears. There are probably other high end products out there, maybe someone can chime in with some good sources.

I recall that specifications for earmuffs used to commonly list the reaction time, but most of the product information I look at now doesn't have it. Pro Ears is one of the few manufactures that list the reaction time for their earmuffs.

[Jim Watson]

I notice Sordin is now showing SNR which is a more optimistic rating than NRR, 25 dB vs 19. At least the Sordin www shows both, most dealers just give the bigger number for some reason.

Which might take us down the rabbit hole of Trevor Noise Reduction.