ears ringing, need something better Surefire EP's ?

[joshh]

so, i have tried the standard types of ear protection and bought some electronic muffs. they all work ok but still not perfect and not what i want. the ranges have been crowded lately and i like to hear whats going on around me so i have been wearing the electronic muffs. last night, after a couple hours under the roof of the range with 3 ar's, 1 mini-14 & a saiga 7.62, i experience something i havent had happen before. for the 1st time (from shooting) my ears were ringing and it lasted until i fell asleep but woke up fine this am. The muffs are great with pistols but obviously arent sealing well with a rifle so i need to try something else. a while back someone recommended http://www.surefire.com/ep3-sonic-defenders.html. so i am considering them because they say you can hear well and they only block loud noises. they are cheap enough so i think i am gonna order some but does anybody have any suggestions or input on them or something similar that i can buy (without spending hundreds).

[Tinman507]

Use those soft rubber plugs under the muffs.
Hearing damage is cumulative. the ringing is your ears telling you they're being damaged.

[jocko]

what did u say?????

[kb2wji]

HUH!?!? Is someone there?!?!?!?

+1 for what Costanza...ehh, Tinman said. Especially indoors, ALWAYS plugs under the muffs.

Thats what she said.

[Barth]

What?
The phones ringing?
Answer the damn thing!

Your ears ringing does really mean you are damaging them.
I'd forget about hearing whats around you while you are shooting
and focus on protecting your hearing.

Double up on quality earplugs and muffs.
I use Pro Ears Ultra 33 NRR 33 Passive Ear Muffs.

[MW surveyor]

Take it from someone that needs to wear hearing aids. Don't worry too much about hearing what is going on around you. Double up!

[JFootin]

I went with a date to hear John Kay and Steppenwolf at a performance club in Asheville, NC, back in the mid-80s. Their sound system was way, way too powerful for that little club. Plus, the dancing area was right in front of the stage, and the SPEAKERS!!! Duh. I had no earplugs, and my ears definitely got damaged. I have tinnitus to this very day.

[Barth]

I went with a date to hear John Kay and Steppenwolf at a performance club in Asheville, NC, back in the mid-80s. Their sound system was way, way too powerful for that little club. Plus, the dancing area was right in front of the stage, and the SPEAKERS!!! Duh. I had no earplugs, and my ears definately got damaged. I have tinnitus to this very day.

Foghat, mid 70s, at the Aladdin in Las Vegas.
Same thing...

[DeaconKC]

The surefire plugs are extremely comfortable and seemed to work well when I used them at the range. However, I was only shooting mild .38s and .44 Special loads. i would not rely on them for my high powered rifles. Double up, use foam and muffs for long sessions.

[OldLincoln]

HDoc gave me a pair of "Skull Screws" that are better than anything else I've tried. You do actually screw them into your ears and you can hear ambient sound die away as you do. A pair of muffs over that and you won't be affected by the noise.

[GROTMAN]

Use those soft rubber plugs under the muffs.
Hearing damage is cumulative. the ringing is your ears telling you they're being damaged.

+1 on the doubling up..my wife has very good hearing and the muffs alone don't work well for her but when she uses the ear plugs and muffs seems to work well for her.

[MC1911]

Plugs and muffs

I want to add another vote for plugs and muffs.

[wyntrout]

I use disposable plugs with my 30 -dB muffs, but the last box of those things were too had to roll and insert well. I already have too much hearing loss and tinnitus, so I try to use as much protection as possible. Wearing shooting glasses allows a little sound to get in, too.

The thing to remember about sound reduction is that -29dB and -29dB for muff and plugs can only give you at best -32dB total protection in a perfect situation. each 3 dB=2x... protection =2 raised to the power of dB/3. So -30dB should be 2 raised to the 30/3, or 10th power of 2 which is 1,024. Or a reduction to 1/1000 of the sound... supposedly... in a perfect simulation.

Wynn

[LorenzoB]

... but does anybody have any suggestions or input on them or something similar that i can buy (without spending hundreds)....

I have these and the quality is surprisingly good. They are comfortable too, and they were only $45 at Amazon.com
http://www.howardleight.com/ear-muffs/impact-sport

Double up if you are around many other shooters or really big guns. Last range visit I only had cheap earplugs and one lane over was a .50 cal sniper rifle. He was only taking a shot every 5 minutes, but I had to leave.

I have never bought from this company before, but they have a ton of choices and information...
http://www.earplugstore.com/hunting-...ear-plugs.html

Sometimes the foam ones you need to roll up can be hard to fit... they do have them in smaller sizes for smaller ears, so get ones that fit well and they will work better. I prefer reusable ones made from silicone (instead of foam), the ones that look like little trees. They are way more convenient to put in and take out (when you want to hear a conversation), then pop them right back in easily instead of rolling and squishing.

[CJB]

use those soft rubber plugs under the muffs.
Hearing damage is cumulative. The ringing is your ears telling you they're being damaged.

+10,000