Sound - Ear Protection

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I joined a new club and they have a covered rifle shooting area where one must sit and shoot (blasphemy).

This space is really LOUD,
So I have been looking at better ear muff and ear plugs, YES I double up.

Most of the ear muff Decibel rating comes as an average from low frequencies to high frequencies.

Frequency for gun blast = 100 to 1400 hz

Which ear muffs would you guys suggest for maximum sound protection?
 
I use a 32dB plug stuffed as far as I can and then use an electronic muff to double up. I go to an indoor range that commonly sees AR's in any caliber and it makes it pleasant. With the amplification I can have a normal conversation and then it clamps down on shots. You will still feel the pressure wave which transmits through your bones.

I've always doubled up at indoor ranges and I have better hearing than many children.
 
I saw the amazon ones rates at 37, they don't have the breakdown as to which frequencies are being reduced by 37 decibels. I am kinda suspicious of their claims.
 
I've been getting the foam ones from Walmart, I think 32dB rated, but they don't seem to work as well as they used to. I don't recall my ears ringing in the past when I used them--I roll them up and shove them in, and in years past I was fine. But now they don't work as well.
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I've started wearing them while working around the house, just leave them in, and found that I had no problems holding a proper conversation even with them in. So I'll be curious about this thread.
 
Originally Posted by stockrex
I saw the amazon ones rates at 37, they don't have the breakdown as to which frequencies are being reduced by 37 decibels. I am kinda suspicious of their claims.


Just to clarify, an NRR rating of 37 is not the same as 37 dB noise reduction. There is a formula that allows you to calculate actual dB reduction:

https://www.coopersafety.com/earplugs-noise-reduction

Ear muffs with NRR of 37 would be equivalent to 15 dB noise reduction.
 
I'm the safety guy at work and want to throw this out:

Quote
When hearing protectors are worn in combination (i.e. earplugs AND earmuffs), rather than adding the two NRR numbers together, you simply add five more decibels of protection to the device with the higher NRR. For example, using 3Mâ„¢ E-A-Râ„¢ Classic Earplugs (NRR 29) with 3Mâ„¢ Peltorâ„¢ H7 Deluxe Earmuffs (NRR 27) would provide a Noise Reduction Rating of approximately 34 decibels.


[Linked Image]
 
I wear these. Walmart color codes some of their ear plugs. I worked at an emissions station and used the 36 db plugs. I also have a set of noise cancelling ear muffs as well.
36 db ear plugs
 
Originally Posted by stockrex

Frequency for gun blast = 100 to 1400 hz

Which ear muffs would you guys suggest for maximum sound protection?


If the manufacturer has done the work necessary to provide an NRR, they have a freq response curve that'll say exactly what the suppression is at every frequency. Ask them for that.

All major commercial hearing protectors I happen to have seen suppression curves for do a relatively poor job suppressing low freqs as compared to how well they suppress high freqs.
 
NRR - good point, I forgot about NRR, just scanning at #s one would assume that is the decibel.

https://www.hindawi.com/journals/aav/2018/2057820/
Here is the conclusion from a paper I found online:

Flax-PP as an alternative to the material selection for the ear cups. The material, however, involved a trade-off in acoustical performance at the midfrequencies (510-1090â€Hz) in contrast to a reference earmuff. Three different types of flax fabrics were considered (nonwoven mat, twill weave, and hopsack weave). Due to the differences in their composition, a comparative study to determine the ideal composite earmuff was not considered.

For practicality, the potential of the composite earmuffs was demonstrated by evaluating their acoustical performance under two types of cabin noise encountered in military vehicles (booming noise and firing noise). Results showed an improvement in IL by up to 16.6â€dB within the range of 128-416â€Hz in booming noise and up to 10.3â€dB within the range of 160-360â€Hz in firing noise.




I will swing by wallys and pick up some of the highest rated in ear plugs,

I have the 3m Ear muff. I will check my decibel rating on that.
 
I have a pair of custom-molded plugs ($120 with fitting, they inject a silly-putty-like goop in your ear to make the mold), which come in at an actual 27dB of noise reduction. As mentioned above, NRR and actual dB rating are not a 1:1 ratio. The custom molded, no voice filter plugs are about twice as good as any possible foamie can be due to the material. Then I cover them up with a Howard Leight Sport electronic muffs, and can crank the volume to get the normal voices loud enough to hear.
 
Seeing this thread makes me wonder about loud public events, like concerts, where noise levels can damage people's hearing.

Why isn't it a public health issue that would benefit from some kind of regulation or standard?
 
Originally Posted by ET16
Seeing this thread makes me wonder about loud public events, like concerts, where noise levels can damage people's hearing.

Why isn't it a public health issue that would benefit from some kind of regulation or standard?


What exactly do you think the NRR system is? Just like anything else, there are different qualities and price points. A large majority of people still seem to believe that safety only applies while on the company's clock. Ear plugs ain't gonna fix stupid. Besides, the profits from hearing aids is way higher than those of hearing protection, on a per-user basis. That's why.
 
If you want to spend the extra money, consider an "active" hearing protection earmuff

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-us/all-3m-products/~/Peltor-Sport-Tactical-Sport-Hearing-Protector/?N=5002385+8740615+3293173717&preselect=8709316+8744796&rt=rud

I know people whose career is in testing of weapons and ammunition don't solely depend on passive devices.
 
Active ear muff don't protect any more that passive ones from what I read.

Custom molded in ear plugs - what makes them better at reducing sound that foam ear plugs?
 
Originally Posted by UG_Passat
If you want to spend the extra money, consider an "active" hearing protection earmuff

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-us/all-3m-products/~/Peltor-Sport-Tactical-Sport-Hearing-Protector/?N=5002385+8740615+3293173717&preselect=8709316+8744796&rt=rud

I know people whose career is in testing of weapons and ammunition don't solely depend on passive devices.


Lousy protection NNR 20 regular ear plugs are better than that.
 
Originally Posted by stockrex
Active ear muff don't protect any more that passive ones from what I read.

Custom molded in ear plugs - what makes them better at reducing sound that foam ear plugs?


Every custom-molded ear plug I've come across has a noticeably to significantly lower NRR than the best foam and the best over-the-ear muffs. That's not to say custom-molded _can't_ be very good or even excellent. I just haven't come across any that test as well as the best alternatives.

I would expect comfort to be better from custom-molded, but that's sort of a matter of personal preference.
 
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