Opinion on quality doubled-up hearing protection w/ electronic ear pro

[UpSideDown]

I'm looking for some advice on how to best set up an ear pro "system" if you will, that can run either just plugs or muffs, or plugs and muffs together. I hunt, shoot under buildings and will be shooting classes, and I work in manufacturing and I want to take care of my hearing before I get tinnitus. I'd like to have electronic ear pro to help with conversation, but I'm not fixed on needing that. I'd also like something that is comfortable all day long without hating it.

Communication would be cool since we used radios when we hunt, but otherwise I would either remove the mic or tape it out of the way most of the time, I don't use comms outside of hunting.

Compatibility with a rifle stock is a must. There are some great commercial ear muffs out there but I'm thinking the bulk of a lot of them might be an issue?

Compatibility with sunglasses might be a nice feature as well. I've seen some gel cups have a notch for glasses on the outer rim.

I'm willing to pay a fair price for this setup, and I'm looking at something like the Ops-Core AMP's with NFMI as one possible solution. Another option is the Surefire EP-10's that I am currently using, and a set of MSA Sordins or Comtac III's with gel cups. I really like using plugs for comfort but I understand that muffs provide better real protection for your long term hearing. I want to plan for both layers so I'm not walking out of the building when my buddy is shooting his braked 300WM. I'm not looking to be Tactical Timmy with this stuff, but the solutions built for shooters make sense.

I'd like to know what the best solutions are per your guys' experience? I could run electronic plugs, but I'm imagining that running either electronic or standard muffs would nullify or screw up the plugs? Running electronic muffs on their own would be good, are there options as comfortable as plugs? Would you run both plugs and muffs in electronic styles?

 

[Huskydriver]

Uh None.... Get a can you uncivilized barbarian

 

[UpSideDown]

Uh None.... Get a can you uncivilized barbarian

View attachment 7439625

100% agree, but the guys next to me shooting braked rifles aren’t fixed by that. If I’m in a class with 15 shooters and 6 have brakes, or I’m next to my buddy in the woods and he pulls up on an elk with his braked magnum, I need ear pro.

 

[acudaowner]

its all up to you but even with just my moderately cheap electronic walker ear protection , I sat next to a guy firing a 50 cal and it was fine I could still hear people having a conversation behind us and shoot my gun and no loud crack from any of the guns , but if doubling up your ear protection makes you feel safer you got to do what works for you .

 

[UpSideDown]

its all up to you but even with just my moderately cheap electronic walker ear protection , I sat next to a guy firing a 50 cal and it was fine I could still hear people having a conversation behind us and shoot my gun and no loud crack from any of the guns , but if doubling up your ear protection makes you feel safer you got to do what works for you .

Yeah usually one layer has been fine, but I’m consistently having enough experiences where one layer isn’t enough. Inside a range last week it was painful to be in the building with good plugs. I couldn’t stand being there with plugs and my hands over my ears spotting for a friend with a braked 300wm. When I shoot AR’s in open air my ears are ringing at the end of the day with one layer on. I want two layers pretty frequently now.

 

[lash]

100% agree, but the guys next to me shooting braked rifles aren’t fixed by that. If I’m in a class with 15 shooters and 6 have brakes, or I’m next to my buddy in the woods and he pulls up on an elk with his braked magnum, I need ear pro.

For hunting, I’m all for electronic plugs only. For shooting at ranges and matches and under roofs, I’m always wearing a plain plugs and electronic muffs. For years I’ve gotten by with simple Howard Leight Impact Sports with silicone ear cups, but those are getting a bit ragged and I’m considering replacing them with something upgraded. I just don’t know what that would be yet.

Oh, and I always wear glasses. Any replacement for the muffs would have to meet the same criteria as you mention. Low profile to allow a good stock to cheek weld, comfortable, and electronic.

 

[lash]

Yeah usually one layer has been fine, but I’m consistently having enough experiences where one layer isn’t enough. Inside a range last week it was painful to be in the building with good plugs. I couldn’t stand being there with plugs and my hands over my ears spotting for a friend with a braked 300wm. When I shoot AR’s in open air my ears are ringing at the end of the day with one layer on. I want two layers pretty frequently now.

It’s a good idea to do so if you want to protect your ears as much as is possible. Doubling up adds 5db protection to the highest rated Of the two earpro.

 

[UpSideDown]

For hunting, I’m all for electronic plugs only. For shooting at ranges and matches and under roofs, I’m always wearing a plain plugs and electronic muffs. For years I’ve gotten by with simple Howard Leight Impact Sports with silicone ear cups, but those are getting a bit ragged and I’m considering replacing them with something upgraded. I just don’t know what that would be yet.

Oh, and I always wear glasses. Any replacement for the muffs would have to meet the same criteria as you mention. Low profile to allow a good stock to cheek weld, comfortable, and electronic.

I have the Howard Leight’s and they’re just ok. The protection is moderate but they aren’t very comfortable when shooting a competition or other all day wear. I’ve considered the Sordin’s and the Comtac/Defenders as a replacement for them.

 

[MrSmith]

Correctly inserted foam plugs in the ear and electronic muffs. Turn the volume up on the muffs to where you can hear conversation through the plugs. They will still activate and shut out impact noise so you have the double protection when needed but can still hear range commands.

Thank you,
MrSmith

 

[cgobeli]

I an currently running the MSA Supreme Pro-X

Supreme Pro-X Earmuff | MSA Safety | United States

The Supreme Pro-X features high amplification with natural, realistic sound to provide excellent protection in noisy environments.

us.msasafety.com

with Noise Fighters ear pads

Noisefighters | Hearing Protection & Night Vision Accessories

Noisefighters delivers premium hearing protection and night vision accessories to those serving on the front lines.

noisefighters.com

and custom molded plugs from my local hearing place.

This setup has been extremely comfortable and provides a good amount of protection. However, when you a close to some brakes it can still rock your core.

 

[lash]

I have the Howard Leight’s and they’re just ok. The protection is moderate but they aren’t very comfortable when shooting a competition or other all day wear. I’ve considered the Sordin’s and the Comtac/Defenders as a replacement for them.

I agree, but comfort gets a lot better with them when you replace the stock ear pads with silicone pads. Thus why I plan on upgrading when I replace mine. Mine are twelve years old and have seen untold matches and full days at the range, inside and out. They’re just plumb worn out.

I’ve heard and read great things about the Sordins and Comtacs but don’t really know how well each work with the various rifle stocks. So, tagging in for that info.

 

[lash]

I an currently running the MSA Supreme Pro-X

Supreme Pro-X Earmuff | MSA Safety | United States

The Supreme Pro-X features high amplification with natural, realistic sound to provide excellent protection in noisy environments.

us.msasafety.com

with Noise Fighters ear pads

Noisefighters | Hearing Protection & Night Vision Accessories

Noisefighters delivers premium hearing protection and night vision accessories to those serving on the front lines.

noisefighters.com

and custom molded plugs from my local hearing place.

This setup has been extremely comfortable and provides a good amount of protection. However, when you a close to some brakes it can still rock your core.

Even the best earpro cannot dampen the bone conduction experienced from brakes. It’s a real issue that I don’t have an answer for, but that I know affects my hearing negatively.

 

[JBattles]

Sordins are great. Double plug works for me. Much more comfortable with a loud brake

 

[E. Bryant]

Howard Leight with foam earplugs works for me.

I don't have a solution to that slapped-in-the-face feeling from other shooters' brakes

 

[cgobeli]

Even the best earpro cannot dampen the bone conduction experienced from brakes. It’s a real issue that I don’t have an answer for, but that I know affects my hearing negatively.

The only time the brake form another shooter bothers me is when I am spotting. Generally I try to move as soon as I can to mitigate the blast hitting me.

 

[KML7201]

Correctly inserted foam plugs in the ear and electronic muffs. Turn the volume up on the muffs to where you can hear conversation through the plugs. They will still activate and shut out impact noise so you have the double protection when needed but can still hear range commands.

Thank you,
MrSmith

This is what I do when my electronic muffs are not enough.

 

[cgobeli]

This is what I do when my electronic muffs are not enough.

That is what I used to do and still feel that was the best protection, but after a day or two the insides of my ears where the plugs hit started to get irritated. Since I have switched to custom molded plugs I do not have the discomfort from prolonged use.

 

[Changed]

I always wear foamies, under my MSA Sordin Muffs. Honestly, I'd like to find something even more solid than the Foamies.

 

[AIKNOWU]

I'm a big proponent of double-plugging for braked guns; especially at PRS matches. I shoot and RO lots and lots of matches, and have spent as much time within 6ft of a braked rifle as anyone I know.
I've been working on my earpro system for the last few seasons. I've probably given it at least as much thought as most of you nerds have given your "battle belts". After much trial and error, I feel I have finally arrived at a pretty good system.
For the outer muffs, I use the Pro Ears Predator Gold, which has some pretty fancy electronics and a rating of 26NRR. These fit considerably better, compress considerably faster, and offer more protection than the Howard Leights or 3M Peltor 500s I used to use. They've also proven to be more durable.
For plugs, I use Decibulls molded earplugs with the rubber in-ear thingies installed (the multi-tiered rubber like the old orange military plugs). No valve in those; they're rated at 31NRR. They're considerably more comfortable, more effective, and maintain a WAY better seal than the Surefire ones I used to use.

Additionally, I always wear high-coverage sunglasses. This helps keep the blast from entering through the facial bones, and reduces the "slap" that some folks mention. I use some wide Oakleys, which offer good optical performance and good ballistic protection. I've toyed with wearing a face shield for ROing, but I think I'd rather deal with the RO headache than the resultant never-ending ribbing from my buddies.

Finally, I try to keep out of the direct blast path of brake. When ROing, my job is to keep my eyes on the shooter and their action/trigger. Still, I try to do that from an angle that either blocks the blast with a barricade/solid object, or is at least outside the ~45* back blast area.

 

[Woodland_Wolf_M81]

I bought the AMP and the NFMI earplugs a while back with a discount code, but haven't had the chance to try them out yet. Been busy...

Added the AMP and the earplugs in the cart as of writing this post to see if the discount code works, and I am glad to say that it is still active.

 

[Silverjay]

I run Sordins over Otto’s and they work very well together.

 

[Takashi]

Used the code for the amps with the nfmi plugs, have shot two matches with them.
They check all of the boxes for me in providing good attenuation around brakes as well as with eerily good sound reproduction (the nfmi is almost like black magic). Basically, I wanted more noise reduction around braked guns vs my previous sordins + ear defenders.

I haven't noticed a comfort difference from the sordins with gel and frequently find myself wearing them all day at matches.

 

[stefan73]

You guys don't like 3M earplugs

 

[lash]

You guys don't like 3M earplugs

3M Skull Screws are what I use for plugs. I just use muffs overtop. NRR 30 rating. Easy to insert properly and adjustable for comfort.

 

[Huskydriver]

3M Skull Screws are what I use for plugs. I just use muffs overtop. NRR 30 rating. Easy to insert properly and adjustable for comfort.

You clearly missed the OEF OIF 3m lawsuit joke

 

[lash]

Whoosh!

Sure did! I musta missed that discussion.

 

[Rthur]

As mentioned gel sordins over plugs would tame the noise very well.

R

 

[OutThere]

I double plug with foams underneath ProEars Gold.

 

[Jack Master]

Would you run both plugs and muffs in electronic styles?

I like to wear Walker Ear buds under my Howard Leight Impact Sports with silicone ear cup for range days when the breaks are in full force. If I walk 50 feet of the line I can ditch the over ear protection but still have the electronic plugs in. Both sets at the same time give more hearing protection and, surprisingly, make the conversation voices slightly louder.

 

[fx77]

for a while I did the MSA and the plug thing, but cheek weld was a major problem for me

So , and since hearing is impt to you and me both, I took the plunge and got these which I wear alone with no problems
I find them comfortable, effective, and can wear them all day.

I have the Stealth model https://www.espamerica.com/shop/

downside is putting in batteries and having to spend in my AO 60$ for an audiologist to make a custom mold of each ear

but solved all my problems

 

[Loyal2no1]

Avoid the MSA Sordin Supreme Pro X.

I have a pair with gel cups and they are less than impressive - they 'chirp' when the cups are close together, removing batteries is a hassle (essentially you're batch slapping the unit to loosen the batteries) and the build quality is questionable at best. I've already replaced a pair under warranty and that was from about 2 years of infrequent light use. I'm freaking out if the replacement pair I have now will fail as the 5 year warranty has just expired. They also struggle with Nicad batteries (the sound cuts on/off infrequently). Finally the sound reduction is not that crash hot - a 308 suppressed is still pretty loud.

Admittedly the sound quality is half decent and when they work they are pretty good, but overall I'd say they're overrated and overpriced and are best avoided.

 

[clcustom1911]

Correctly inserted foam plugs in the ear and electronic muffs. Turn the volume up on the muffs to where you can hear conversation through the plugs. They will still activate and shut out impact noise so you have the double protection when needed but can still hear range commands.

Thank you,
MrSmith

This is the answer. I've been doing this since I started using electronic ears. Fantastic.

 

[lush_dawg]

I shoot PRS and at my club we have 50 shooters all pretty much lined up in a 25 yard span and we all shoot brakes. Get a set of plugs that you can heat up and mold to your ears, I use decibuls and then throw walk electronic muffs over...like it was mentioned previously, get some silicone replace covers and you’ll be GTG!