5 Things to Know Before Buying Custom Ear Protection Shooting

As a shooter, choosing the right hearing protection is one of the most important decisions you will ever make. You only have one set of ears and if you damage your hearing, there's no going back.

Contact us to discuss your requirements of Custom Ear Protection Shooting. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.

Why is Ear Protection Important?

One of the very few downsides of shooting is that it puts you at risk for hearing loss - if your ears aren't protected, just one gunshot can lead to immediate and permanent damage.

First, it's important to understand just how loud firearms can get. While a standard conversation is about 60 dB, an unsuppressed gunshot can reach 140-190 dB. If you're shooting a rifle with a muzzle break or a ported gun, those numbers can get even higher. Sounds as low as 78db can cause hearing loss over time, so there's absolutely no excuse for not wearing ear protection.

The Occupation Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) categorizes 140 dB as painful sound, which means you are at risk when shooting any type of gun and caliber.

What is Noise Reduction Rating?

Simply put, Noise Reduction Rating is measurement that's used to determine the effectiveness or maximum sound reduction of hearing protection. The higher the NRR number, the greater the noise reduction. When you're shopping for ear protection, always make sure you take a look at the NRR rating to make sure it's high enough to protect you in the atmosphere you'll be shooting in.

What NRR Do You Need?

The short answer is: The more, the better. Most electronic ear protection is rated from 22dB to 33dB, and anything in this range will give you some amount of protection.

There are no absolute standards for how high the NRR number should be because it depends on where and what you're shooting. If you are mostly shooting indoors, shooting high-caliber rifles, or spending a lot of time on the range, selecting the highest NRR rating possible will provide you with the most protection.

If you've already suffered hearing damage or in a really loud environment, you may even want to consider "double plugging", which is using both in-ear and over the ear headphones at the same time to get maximum noise reduction.

Hearing Protection Options

There are two main types of hearing protection: In-Ear and Over-the-Ear. To break them down further:

Ear Plugs - This is the type that you shove inside your ear. Foam plugs, plastic corded plugs and custom molded in-ear plugs are all part of this category. They can be super cheap (foam style) to expensive (custom molded). If you're going to use the inexpensive, foam-style plugs, make sure you're using them correctly and getting them all the way inside your ear.

The upside of using in-ear protection is that they're easy to transport and can be very inexpensive. The downsides are the discomfort of having something inside your ear and the fact that they muffle all sounds, so it can be hard to hear range instructions and other noises around you when you're wearing them.

Over-the-Ear Hearing Protection

These are the headphone style of hearing protection that you see many shooters wear. A lot of people prefer them because they're generally more comfortable than in-ear plugs and some types offer extra features that make spending a day at the range even more enjoyable.

Passive Ear Muffs - these block sound using foam and ear cups that press against your head. Passive means that they are not amplified in any way, so you may have issues hearing range commands or other noises around you.

Electronic Ear Muffs -These are often considered the best of both worlds. They offer the same comfort as passive ear muffs, but they have integrated microphones that amplify noises and help you hear better when you're on the range. They also have a feature where they block loud sounds or "cut off" the volume of high dB noises, which further protects your ears. Some electronic ear muffs even include a jack so you can plug in your music player of choice.

If you're using ear muffs, make sure they fit right! They should press firmly, but comfortably against your head and they shouldn't gap anywhere.

Regardless of what you're shooting or how often, don't ever go without ear protection. Taking a few minutes to select the right type of ear protection can go a long way toward preventing hearing damage and making sure you'll be shooting for a very long time. If you have questions about any of the hearing protection products on our website, please feel free to call our customer service department.

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A 9mm handgun has a 160-decibel report, which is loud enough to cause permanent damage without hearing protection. That&#;s why there are three things you need to bring to every gun range: hearing protection, eye protection, and common sense. I&#;ve been testing the best shooting ear protection over the past month to see, which offers the best comfort and decibel reduction. Here are my top picks. 

How I Evaluated the Best Hearing Protection

The best shooting ear pro was tested under real-world conditions. Nick Setting

Testing the best hearing protection involved shooting, hunting, and wearing them for long periods. While doing those tests, I judged each pair on the following criteria: 

Comfort

I&#;ve shot USPA events that go all day, and with bad ear pro, you end up with a headache after wearing them for six or more hours. Comfortable ear protection makes a huge difference, and I&#;m a stickler for any pressure points or discomfort felt after an hour of wearing the ear pro. 

Noise Reduction

Testing Decibullz ear plugs.

Shooting ear protection needs to protect your ears, and they do that by effectively blocking sounds higher than 100 dB. I tested this by wearing the ear pro at the range and while cutting grass with my very-loud mower. 

Fit

Hearing protection must fit the user for comfort and protection. I evaluated how flexible each pair of ear pro was on shooters of different sizes. 

Best Shooting Ear Protection: Reviews and Recommendations

Key Features

• Decibel Reduction: 26 dB
• Bluetooth
• Uses two AA batteries 
• Ear cups have cut-outs for use with long guns
• Adjustable headband

Pros

• Comfortable
• Easily connects to your
• Easy volume adjustment 

Cons

• Creates a pressure point on the top of the head after a few hours use

 

The Peltor Sport Tactical 500 in testing. Nick Setting

I&#;ve been wearing the Peltor Sport Tactical 500 for shooting and cutting grass for long stretches to test comfort and noise protection. The muffs have a nice seal on them, and they effectively reduce noise, even in loud indoor ranges. I like that electronic ear protection allows you to hear conversations at a normal level. It&#;s a great feature if you want to hear people talking around you, but I always end up in a bay next to loud talkers that I&#;d prefer to drown out. The Sport Tactical 500 have a feature just for such an occasion. There are two large arrows on the muff that control the volume of sounds that enter the internal speaker. With the volume down, voices are reduced to a low rumble. If you want to drown out the world around you even more, you can connect the ear protection to your via Bluetooth. Podcasts and music are great to listen to, but I especially like the Bluetooth feature for using a shot timer app I have on my . A standard shot timer won&#;t work at an indoor range, and using the par timer on my PACT is obtrusive around other shooters. So, instead I set the par timer on my shot timer app, and the sound feeds directly into my ears only. 

The cups that come on the Sport Tactical are comfortable and nearly as good as the best gel cups I&#;ve used. I don&#;t think you&#;ll have to upgrade the cups unless you want maximum comfort. One area that does need improvement is the headband. After a few hours, the top of the band creates a pain point right at the top of my head. A cushioned band like the one on the Sordin Supreme Pro, would be ideal. 

Best In-Ear

Walker&#;s Silencer BT 2.0

Walker&#;s

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Key Features

• Noise Reduction Rating: 26 decibels 
• Rechargeable 
• Bluetooth
• Voice prompts
• Connects with Walker&#;s Link app for custom settings 

Pros

• Comfortable
• Good sound suppression
• Carrying case recharges the ear buds

Cons

• Left and right ear bud will occasionally lose synch 
• Too large to double under over-ear muffs

Over-the-ear hearing protection does a great job at providing maximum hearing protection, especially when paired with foam ear plugs. But, that style comes up short in comfort and it can get in the way of a proper cheek weld on some shotguns and rifles. That&#;s why a lot of shooters prefer in-ear hearing protection. In that category you can spend a few cents for foam plugs or more than $400 for Axil ear buds. While both of those extremes have their place, I think the Walker&#;s Silencer 2.0s strike a great balance of price, performance, and features. Like all electronic hearing protection, the Walker&#;s Silencer 2.0s allow you to hear what&#;s going on around you while dampening loud noises. They also connect to your like any bluetooth earbuds. So you can listen to music while you shoot and even take calls. They pair to the Walker&#;s app which has volume control, custom auto-off settings, and four sound settings with variable sound suppression and boosting. 

Tyler Freel was able to listen to safely music on the range with the Walker&#;s Silencer BT 2.0. Scott Einsmann

OL staff writer, Tyler Freel, tested the Silencer 2.0s during our annual gun test where he shot thousands of rounds through rifles and pistols. Freel says the Silencer 2.0s were comfortable and provided great sound suppression even when firing rifles with muzzle brakes. He used the Bluetooth function to listen to music, which worked well, but occasionally the left or right ear bud would lose connection. Also, the earbuds would lose the bluetooth connection occasionally.  He found the ambient sound to be very natural, and that some wind on the mic will remind you that you&#;re wearing ear protection.  

Key Features

• Decibel Reduction: 23dB
• Bluetooth
• Two AAA batteries
• Four hi-gain omnidirectional microphones

Pros

• Excellent situational awareness
• Easy to pack

Cons

• Not the most comfortable

I like to think that I&#;m getting smarter as I get older. During an action-packed deer drive, I had a realization&#;after the smoke cleared and my ears stopped ringing&#;that I didn&#;t need to damage my hearing every time I went on a successful hunt. After that day, I wore ear muffs whenever I hunted with a gun. From deer to upland hunts, I rocked my Walkers Razor Quads every time I pulled the trigger. 

I didn&#;t buy these ear pro specifically for hunting, they&#;re just what I had, but they ended up being a great choice. The reason why I still prefer them for hunting is the omnidirectional microphones. Most electronic hearing protection will allow you to hear just as well as you do with your naked ears, but you lose the ability to pinpoint a sound&#;s directions. You gain some of that ability back with the omnidirectional mics on the Razor Quads. It&#;s still not naked ear precision, but you can at least determine the general direction the sound came from.

The Razor Quads benefit greatly from aftermarket gel cups because without them, you can&#;t wear the ear pro for much longer than an hour without a headache. 

Key Features

• Decibel Reduction: 30 dB
• Padded headband
• Designed for pistol shooters

Pros

• Efficient noise reduction
• Comfortable
• Affordable

Cons

• Not ideal for rifle or shotgun shooting 

Serious shooters invest in Gucci gear like electronic or even custom hearing protection. But, everyone should have at least one pair of Howard Leight Leightning L3s for guest shooters or for times when you forget your primary pair. These muffs are about $30 and offer an impressive 30 dB of sound reduction, and that&#;s a lot of shooting ear protection for the money. 

The downside of these muffs is they are bulky and will interfere with the cheek weld on most shotguns and rifles. But, these are an excellent option for maximum hearing protection, especially helpful for new shooters. 

Key Features

• Decibel Reduction: 23 dB
• Passive hearing protection
• Suitable from ages six months to eight years
• Colors: Coral, Highlighter Yellow, Next Camo, Blue, Green, Orange, Pink

Pros

• A lot of color options
• Designed to fit youth shooters
• Light

Cons

• Most effective when used in conjunction with ear plugs

The Kid&#;s Muff are made to fit youth shooters for comfort and protection Nick Setting

The best rifles for an adult aren&#;t the best for young shooters, and the same goes for hearing protection. That&#;s why these kid-sized muffs are ideal for getting a young shooter started. They&#;ll fit their head for comfort and a good seal. They also come in a wide range of colors, so they&#;ll be psyched to put them on. If you&#;re headed to an indoor range or someone is shooting a braked rifle nearby, it&#;s a good idea to use some foam plugs in addition to the muffs because the muffs alone provide 23 dB of protection. 

Key Features

• Decibel Reduction: 23 dB
• Bluetooth 
• Two AAA batteries 
• Four omnidirectional microphones

Pros

• Comfortable
• Padded headband
• Low profile

Cons

• Batteries die if you forget to turn it off 

The Walker&#;s Razor Slim hearing protection have the same omnidirectional microphones I liked in the Razor Quads. That features is excellent, but they are also comfortable enough to wear all day. 

The padded headband, soft ear cups, and scant weight make these ear pro so comfortable. I also like that the headband can be extended enough that it sits above my enormous head&#;keeping the headband off my head reduces pressure for all-day comfort. They&#;re also so light that I hardly notice I&#;m wearing them. 

Key Features

• Affordable
• Fit many of the best shooting ear protection

Pros

• Comfortable 
• Cooler than foam 

Cons

• Added expense 

A gel cup is the best thing you can add to an ear muff to increase comfort. They are easy to install and cost about $30. Here are some gel cups that fit popular shooting ear protection. 

Key Features

• Decibel Reduction: 26 dB
• Can be used with behind-the-head or helmet mounts
• Uses CR123 batteries, HP-R uses a USB-C rechargeable battery 
• Durable and washable
• Three modes of operation

Pros

• Comfortable
• Long battery life
• Different modes for different activities
• Slim earcups don&#;t interfere with rifle stocks

Cons

• Shooting indoors or with muzzle brakes requires doubling up with plugs

One of the most comfortable sets of ear protection I&#;ve worn is the new Liberator HP 2.0 from Safariland. These muffs are tough, versatile, and designed to be compatible with the overhead strap, behind-the-head harness, and helmet setups. They have three electronic operation modes, which range from full ambient sound amplification with active protection from dangerous sounds, to full sound suppression for very loud environments. 

The standard model uses a CR123 battery, and the HP-R model, which I have, uses a rechargeable battery that replenishes via a USB-C cable. All functions of the headset are controlled by the power and volume buttons, and each ear muff has a front-facing speaker. It&#;s easy to forget that you&#;re wearing ear protection because the sound is good, but direction pinpointing isn&#;t easy. 

The only downside I&#;ve found is that the overall level of sound suppression could be better. It&#;s fine for handgun and general range use, but when using in tight quarters, indoors, or next to someone shooting through a muzzle brake, the impulse is still loud enough to hurt your ears&#;so double up with foam plugs in that case.&#;Tyler Freel

How to Choose the Best Shooting Ear Protection 

The ear pro you choose will depend on your shooting discipline and how they fit your ears. Nick Setting

When you&#;re choosing hearing protection, you&#;ll first have to decide between over-ear and in-ear protection. Here are some pros and cons of each style. 

Ear Plugs

Pros

• Low profile
• Excellent noise protection
• Usually less expensive than muffs

Cons

• No sharing (Need to be sized for your ear canal.)
• Wide quality spectrum
• Can lose seal from sweat and movement

Ear Muffs

Pros

• One size fits most
• Many electronic and bluetooth options

Cons

• Can be uncomfortable
• Can interfere with cheek weld 

If you&#;re shooting in an especially loud environment, like an indoor range, the best shooting ear protection is to use both ear plugs and ear muffs at the same time. 

Active vs. Passive 

Passive hearing protection uses foam or specialized material to create a barrier that protects your ears. Active hearing protection uses both passive and electronic protection. The advantage is that the external microphone and internal speakers allow shooters to hear normally&#;keeping situational awareness&#;while blocking hearing damaging audio levels. 

In-ear pro allows you to achieve a proper cheek weld. Scott Einsmann

Comfort

Some ear pro is comfortable all day, but others cause discomfort after a few hours. The key to comfort is padding used in over-ear and the fit of in-ear protection. Look for ear muffs with gel pads and ear plugs that offer a custom fit. 

Features

Shooting ear protection does more than protect your hearing while you&#;re shooting the best handguns&#;they also can play music and take calls. Bluetooth is just one of the great features of the best hearing protection. Here are a few others to look for: 

• Compatibility with aftermarket gel pads
• Custom fit
• Size

FAQs

Q: Should I look for in shooting ear protection?

The best shooting ear protection is comfortable and has more than 20 dB of protection. 

Q: Are ear muffs better than ear plugs?

Ear muffs are easier to take on and off, and don&#;t require custom fitting. Ear plugs must be fit to your ear canal but offer more comfort and protection than muffs. 

Q: What is the highest dB for ear plugs?

Anything over 25 dB of reduction is excellent performance for ear plugs. 

Q: What decibel shooting ear protection is needed for shooting?

Most firearms produce 160 decibels and you&#;ll need to drop that to under 140 decibels to prevent hearing damage.

Why Trust Outdoor Life?

Since , OL has been a leading authority in testing and reviewing hunting gear, fishing tackle, guns and shooting equipment, and much more. We have more than a century-long history of evaluating products, and we&#;re now bringing that expertise to online reviews. Our editors are experienced outdoorsmen and women, and most importantly, we&#;re trained journalists. We prioritize field testing and objective data when reviewing products. We conduct interviews with gear manufacturers and engineers as well as outdoor experts so that our readers have an understanding of how and why a product works&#;or doesn&#;t.

Advertising does not influence our gear reviews and it never will. While we always focus our coverage on standout products&#;because we want our readers to be aware of the latest and greatest gear&#;we also cover the flaws and quirks of any given product.

Final Thoughts on the Best Shooting Ear Protection

The best shooting ear protection makes a day at the range much more enjoyable. Choose the pair that best suits your needs, and wear them each time you pull a trigger. 

If you want to learn more, please visit our website Active Noise Cancelling Hearing Protection.