Hearing Protection: Ear Plugs vs. Muffs
Rob PincusDescription
Protect your hearing during live-fire range training and practice. Rob Pincus shows a variety of hearing protection and compares ear plugs and ear muffs. He explains what the NRR (Noise Reduction Rating) on these products means and what “doubling up” with both ear plugs and muffs results in. Rob also discusses why he believes ear plugs are superior for hearing protection.
I want to talk a little bit about the different types of hearing protection that you might think about using when you're out at the range doing your live fire training. Now, if you notice in almost every video that you'll see at Personal Defense Network, I'm wearing earplugs and not earmuffs, but in our student scenes, when you actually see us teaching classes, you'll see that there's a mix. Generally speaking, I recommend earplugs. Now, first and foremost we have to remember that the reason you're wearing hearing protection is to protect your hearing. And what a lot of people don't know is that earplugs are actually higher rated in protection in almost every case than the earmuffs. And all you have to do is go to your local gun shop, go to your sporting goods store, take a look at the protection ratings. You're looking for the NRR, the noise reduction ratings, and take a look. Now, certainly you can find earmuffs that are rated higher than some of the earplugs, but in almost every case that I can think of, every gun shop, every sporting goods store I've been to, even hardware stores, places where they sell hearing protection for working with power tools and things like that, you're going to see that the noise reduction ratings are going to be higher on these earplugs than they are on the muffs. If you are looking for the most protection, earplugs are the way to go. Now you can double them up. You can go ahead and take the earplugs, put them in and put the earmuffs over them. But it's important to understand that you're not really doubling the protection. Of course, you're going to be more protected, but you aren't literally taking the exponential number of the noise reduction rating and doubling it. And what I mean by an exponential number is that much like some other numbers you may be familiar with like Richter scale, when you go up from 28, in this case for example, to 32, you're not just adding four points, you're actually adding an exponential increase. And in fact, when you go from 32 to 33, with this plug to this plug, you may not think that that's a very big difference but in fact it is very significant. So even a change in one number is significant. And that's why the difference between typical earplugs that are rated at like a 32 rating are going to be much, much better than a 26 in this case, what do we got here, a 23, going all the way down to a 23 for these earmuffs. And in this case where we have a package that includes plugs and muffs as well as eye protection obviously, you're going from a 27 to a 31. And what's important to understand is that a lot of people will, for example, recommend electronic hearing protection. Well the electronic hearing protection is going to make it easier for a range officer or for an instructor, someone who's out on the range actually teaching, or for two people who are working together to communicate. It makes it easier for you to hear. And then you count on the fact that the electronic hearing protection will cut off and the muff will provide hearing protection during your actual live fire session. But it's important to remember that in most cases, that is a lower number than you're going to get from the earplugs. So personally, I'm a fan of going with earplugs and just talking a little louder, being very clear on the range, being very clear in your commands, being very clear in your requests and your conversations with other people, knowing that the range is cold, taking the earplug out. If you combine the earplugs with the electronic earmuffs if you are hard of hearing or if it's a windy day, a noisy day, you have a large group of people that you're trying to communicate with, that may be the best bet for both protection and hearing. But I would caution you not to rely on the earmuffs for the best protection out on the range. You also get compromised when you put a stock up against your cheek sometimes where it'll open the seal on the earmuffs which can be very dangerous. And even just wearing glasses because most glasses with the earpieces are not made to take into account the fact that you need a good seal 360 degrees around the ear, and that can also compromise your safety. So for my money, definitely go with the earplugs. A little bit harder to take in and out, a little bit more time, effort, and energy, but they're definitely gonna protect your hearing at a higher level than the muffs on a live fire shooting range.
I never thought there was a difference, I was using a pair of plugs like the US military uses but when I got electronic muffs. I thhought the electronic muffs were better hearing protection.
Muffs work better for me because I don't get a good seal with ear plugs, regardless of their rating.
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To me the best hearing protection is custom molded electronic hearing protection. The 2nd best is custom molded hearing protection. While it is true that ear plugs are generally better than ear muffs, the important point to get the rated NRR is that they are inserted properly. I have seen far too many cases of people who do not put them in correctly. Custom molded hearing protection will always be inserted correctly because they are molded to your ears. I have been an active shooter since I was 14 years old and a hearing protection provider for products from E.A.R. inc. for about 20 years, so I have seen it all! Regards, Dom
Now I feel like a novice again. I have been shooting for 35+ years and generally switch to contact lenses when I shoot with a pair of safety glasses, this was mostly to protect my prescription glasses. I was born deaf and have had three surgeries to get decent hearing. I often wear ear plugs under ear muffs. I have considered getting a set of electronic muffs and dropping the plugs. I never thought about the safety glasses effecting the seal of the muffs. Thanks.
After wearing electronic hearing protection for about 20 years ( average year about 200,000 rounds fired in close proximity I found my hearing tests were better than when I started in my position. To say one is better than the other is personal choice. I never would say which is better but the electronics performed exceptional in my case. I did find that slim line electronics did not work as great in an indoor range setting. Doubling up unfortunately hurt more so I discontinued that and went back to full size protectors. The biggest thing is wear hearing protection. You are no good if you can’t hear at a critical incident
I don't need to wear hearing protection. I can't hear the gunshot over the ringing in my ears anyway. Seriously though, I do wear both plugs and muffs. I've had both muffs and plugs shift, thus not providing adequate protection by themselves. Doubling up just lessons that chance. I keep saying that I am going to ;look in to the molded plugs. I think about it when I shoot, or mow the lawn, but it quickly slips my mind. It seems that my memory and my hearing seems to have slipped away from me as I get older.
While I agree that Ear Plugs when inserted properly offer superior protection to ear muffs. But the key is "when inserted properly". I have seen way too many people who do not put ear plugs in properly and are actually getting little or no protection. That is why I have always been a fan and recommend custom molded hearing protection (passive or active). The ones I use have a 33db NRR and they go in the same every time. You can also get active electronic custom molded hearing protection with the same NRR. We use and recommend products from E.A.R. Inc
Rob, you're still young. At 64, in a rock band in my youth and now with tinnitus, I wish I had known then what I know now. I am also a former Occupational Health and Safety Consultant and hearing loss is a major issue for our profession. Unless you're shooting in a situation where you must hear every word, I highly recommend shooters to wear both methods together. Get a very good seal on your plugs by proper insertion and then cover up with quality muffs. You'll never regret it.
One very important thing to remember is how to properly insert ear plugs. Reach over your head with the opposite hand and gently lift the top of the ear that your are inserting the plug into. Repeat on the other side. Don't believe this greatly improves the effectiveness of the plug? Place one in like this and the other by just rolling the plug and inserting it without lifting the top of the ear. You'll be amazed at the difference.