Hearing loss? best ear plugs?

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edfardos

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We talk about gun safety quite a bit, but mostly as it relates to dismemberment or critically low blood pressure.

How's your hearing?

I had tinnitus for a month (and it went away), but it prompted me to go to the ear doctor and get an audiogram test. My right ear has "mild" loss, and my left ear is somewhat normal.

They questioned me relentlessly about environmental sound exposure, and of course shooting once a month came up. They insisted shooting wasn't the cause of the asymetric hearing loss because right handed riflemen always lose hearing in their left ear, not their right (faces the muzzle blast). I argued that the rifle stock interferes (lifts) earmuffs exposing the right ear to much more noise. They were incredulous and couldn't be convinced of this.

So, since I noticed hearing loss in my right ear a couple of years ago, I've always been doubling up (plugs and muffs). I haven't found a good set of plugs which aren't irritating. The doctor said she'd send me to the hearing aid place and set me up with custom plugs for $100's of dollars, or told me to find something that fits well, and doesn't enter the ear canal.

So, what are you guys using for plugs? I'm willing to spend $60 or so if it means they work and they're comfy. I'll be doubling up in any event.

curiously,
-edfardos
 
I use the cheap in the ear plugs followed by a $60 pair of electronic howard leights. I can still hear others around me enough to get by and It protects me well. Tinidis is frustrating. I suffered with that for about 4 years after having a viral ear infection. I was hearing ringing and Morse code the whole time.
 
I was hearing ringing and Morse code the whole time.
Click to expand...
Jeesh, intermittent tinnitus? I'd be boxing my ear myself to shut that up after a few hours, I don't know how you got through 4 years of that :p

"Ha, ha, very funny; just keep moving your lips while I-- <puts finger in ear> wait...malp, malp. Excuse me...malp" -Archer
That about sums up my experience firing a 5.7x28 unprotected; not doing that again (loads of great tinnitus humor in that show, btw :D)

TCB
 
There is probably some one in your area that will make custom molded earplugs with or without the ceramic filters in them for between $50 and $80. I don't know how you would find them, but asking around the local gun stores might be worthwhile as a lot of these guys set up at those shops during promotional days. They work head and shoulders above the muffs and other plugs I've used.
 
The orange foam in-ear plugs are too small for my ears which is why i'm hunting for alternatives. I have some hard plastic reusable plugs, but they're painful before i get any real noise reduction.

re $60 howard leights - they're great, but are insufficient by themselves at 22dB, and big ear muffs are too clumsy around rifles, which is why i'm looking for good plugs to go with my howard leight muffs.

Thanks for the hints! Anyone else?


edfardos
 
I like the yellow rubber earplugs. They are much more comfortable than foam, only marginally more expensive, and more effective. I got a few sets years ago from Home Depot.
 
I don't think shooting with muffs can cause tinnitus. My father shot without protection all his life (he didn't know ear muffs existed) and he doesn't have any tinnitus. I don't know I guess it depends on the person also.
 
For metallic shooting, I wear foam plugs in the ears and muffs over. You need to also protect the mastoid bones around your ears as they transmit the sound vibrations to your middle and inner ear bones causing hearing loss.

You're lucky your tinnitus went away. I have had it for over 30 years. Some days it seems louder than others.

Howard Leight makes muffs that have thinner outsides for rifle and shotgun that work well.
 
"My father shot without protection all his life (he didn't know ear muffs existed) and he doesn't have any tinnitus."

He is extremely lucky that his ear-nerves died 'silently' as opposed to screaming. If you think he hasn't suffered damage, get him tested, and then come back to tell us how his ears have held up. It's like claiming someone you know can't get cut by knives; it's a basic fact of being human that gun shots will mess up your ears for good if you go naked.

"You need to also protect the mastoid bones around your ears as they transmit the sound vibrations to your middle and inner ear bones causing hearing loss."
For that matter, don't speak or part your lips while people are shooting next to you, since the percussion wave will go right to the back of your throat to the eustachian tubes that lead to your ear (I noticed this immediately when I coughed as someone fired a braked AR in front of me). Safety glasses even have a slight benefit in this regard (a whole head helmet would be best, and is what's used in super-high noise environments like flight-lines, but is unnecessary for run of the mill shooting)

TCB
 
barnbwt said:
He is extremely lucky that his ear-nerves died 'silently' as opposed to screaming. If you think he hasn't suffered damage, get him tested, and then come back to tell us how his ears have held up. It's like claiming someone you know can't get cut by knives; it's a basic fact of being human that gun shots will mess up your ears for good if you go naked
Click to expand...

Of course there is hearing damage, but I think it's not the same for everyone. His hearing may be damaged but it is not much noticeable.
 
The doctor specifically said tinnitis is always indicative of hearing loss, and will immediately refer you to an audiologist to quantify the loss.

anyhow, i always used the howard leight protection (which isnt great at 22dBA), and i curently double up, and i got tinnitis and measured hearing loss.

73 hertz, sinusoidal tone, 24x7, eventually turned into morse code, then a bass drum, now nothing thankfully. I blame my 223 and 30-06 rifles (which lift my right muff when shouldered). I'm guessing pistols are okay with muffs only, but i wont personally take that risk at this point.

still looking for good plugs!


edfardos
 
Different folks are affected differently. As part of my job I was required to pass a yearly physical which included a hearing test. At about age 35 the doctors noted that I had a very slight loss of hearing in my left ear. Nothing to worry about they said, I could still hear normal tones perfectly and the stuff I couldn't hear well were tones not normally encountered. The first question was about shooting. It is always the left ear for right handed shooters. That was 21 years ago and when I first started wearing ear protection. I'd been shooting 20+ years without ever using any type of ear protection.

My dad was a WW-2 vet who served in Europe. He was around a lot of gunfire. He never owned hearing protection and didn't have any hearing problems until past age 80.

Not trying to convince anyone to not use hearing protection, far from it. Shooting can, in rare cases cause noticeable hearing loss from only a few shots. And over time the effects do add up. Had I not started when I did thing would be much worse than now.

I now double up with both plugs and muff's. No particular brand, just what is comfortable.

Just to add. In July 2010 I went to bed with perfect hearing in my right ear and around 90-95% in my left ear. I woke up totally deaf in my right ear, the good one. This was not caused by shooting, but from a rare medical condition. Not a lot of real options for me and tinnitus is constant in the right ear. A steroid treatment did bring back partial hearing in the right ear, around 15-20% at this time. This is not something you want if it can be avoided.
 
The best I have found are custom made ear plugs from EarInc. I have the Acoustical Filtered model - they were $140.

If you contact EarInc they will put you in touch with a local person who can make the impressions (molds) of your ear channels. The molds are then sent to EarInc and they make the ear plugs and will return the molds to you with the ear plugs so that you can have additional ear plugs or different models made from the molds.

The plugs are comfortable to wear as they are molded to fit your ears, and they provide extremely good hearing protection as the earplug fits from the outer part of your ear into the ear channel.

The acoustical filtered model provides a small filter module that allows you to hear voices for range commands.
 
I have hyperacusis and tinnitus caused by shooting a shotgun ONCE while wearing ear plugs. Hyperacusis is hell.

My audiologist said the only way to prevent hearing damaging is to use a silencer plus plugs plus muffs.

You don't want to undergo ear hell like me. I can never shoot again, and have pain every day.
 
Howard Leight Max or Max-Lite.

Roll them small, lift up on the top of the ear and shove them deep. They should be touching each other. ;)
 
Thanks for the experiences everyone. The cylindrical plugs look interesting. I'll try the home made custom fit plugs from Ear Inc first, then move on to the rest of your suggestions. Seeing ear.nose.throat doctor monday. Its whipping them into a frenzy that i have hearing loss in only one ear, even talking about MRI now.

edfardos
OP
 
buckhorn_cortez said:
The best I have found are custom made ear plugs from EarInc. I have the Acoustical Filtered model - they were $140.

If you contact EarInc they will put you in touch with a local person who can make the impressions (molds) of your ear channels. The molds are then sent to EarInc and they make the ear plugs and will return the molds to you with the ear plugs so that you can have additional ear plugs or different models made from the molds.

The plugs are comfortable to wear as they are molded to fit your ears, and they provide extremely good hearing protection as the earplug fits from the outer part of your ear into the ear channel.

The acoustical filtered model provides a small filter module that allows you to hear voices for range commands.
Click to expand...
Those are the one's I've gotten, but I must've gotten a great deal. In any case, those are what I recommended too.
 
At our local gun shows, there's a lady who always has a booth, and makes custom ear plugs for you on the spot. The cost runs to about $65/pair, and they're well worth it. I lost some weight, and noticed that my old ones didn't seem as snug. She told me that weight loss of even ten pounds, is enough to cause the plugs not to fit as snugly.

There's also another cause of tinnitus. If you take low-dose aspirin (81mg) daily, one of the side effects can be tinnitus. Now, the FDA is recommending against taking low-dose aspirin unless you actually have had a heart attack.

I wear both custom plugs, and Pro Ear Gold electronic muffs. I also have a set of Peltor Tactical Pro muffs which I keep in my shotgun gear bag for trap, skeet, etc.
 
I have mild hearing damage in one ear after firing 40 rounds of 5.56 without protection in that ear about 5 years ago. I also have tinnitus in the same ear that comes and goes. My most used earplugs are Surefire EP3s when shooting something relatively small, up to .50BMG. When shooting .50 I usually try to bum some over the ear muffs to go with the ear plugs.
 
I've only seen these mentioned once, but...I wear Surefire ear plugs underneath slim electronic earmuffs (currently MSA Sordin Supreme) for most rifle shooting. However, if it's outdoors (not over concrete, not under a roof or enclosed) and not next to someone with a wicked muzzle brake, I'll wear the slim earmuffs alone.

The Surefire plugs are much faster and easier to put in/take out than foam plugs. And they stay in better too.
 
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