Saturday Movies: Hearing Protection — What You Need to Know

Firearms enthusiasts definitely need to employ hearing protection at all times when shooting or visiting an active range. Just a few moments of unprotected sound exposure can have permanent negative effects. For best protection, consider “doubling up” — wearing good foam plugs under quality muffs. This allows max sound reduction — as much as 5-6 dB quieter than good muffs alone. If the muffs are electronic (with filtered microphones that block extreme sounds), you can still hear range commands.

So How Loud Are Gun Shots?
A pistol gunshot can reach 160 decibels (dB), and rifle gunshots can be even louder, exceeding 170 dB. This means you can do permanent damage to your hearing with just a few shots fired. 160 dB is 20 decibels over OSHA’s threshhold for safe noise levels. This is why it’s essential to always use hearing protection when you are anywhere near firearms being discharged.

“Science tells us that exposure to continuous noise of 85 dB for eight hours is enough to cause permanent hearing loss, and worse, spikes of 130 dB and more can result in permanent hearing damage instantly.” Source: NRA Blog.

This American Suppressor Association (ASA) Video explains that gunshots can measure 160-170 decibels, high enough to cause permanent effects. (See: 00:20 time-mark)

The Risk of Hearing Loss

Hearing loss can be progressive and irreversible. If you are a shooter, this is serious business. As the NRA Blog cautions: “You may not even realize you’re harming your hearing. Hearing loss occurs gradually, and can go effectively unnoticed until symptoms become severe. By then, the damage is done. Effective hearing protection is a must whenever you are shooting firearms or when you are in the vicinity of gun-shots. For ultimate protection, we recommend a good set of tapered foam earplugs, topped by ear-muffs. However, there are situations when you may prefer lighter-weight hearing protection that can be quickly removed. For example, if you are standing well behind the firing line as an observer, or if you are working as a rangemaster or waddie some distance away from the shooters.” Good muffs or plugs will reduce sound by 23 to 33 dB.

Sound Levels for Common Noises: 9mm Luger pistol: 160 dB Jet aircraft engine (near): 140 dB .22 LR pistol: 134 dB Normal human pain threshold: 120 dB Noisy Nightclub: 110 db Riding Motorcycle at 65 mph: 103 db Power Lawnmower: 95 dB Hearing damage possible: 85 dB (sustained for 8+ hours) Ringing Telephone: 80 dB Normal conversation: 60 dB

Hearing Protection Product Reviews

Shooters should have comfortable, effective muffs, preferably that allow normal conversations to be heard through internal electronics. For best protection, run good earplugs under electronic muffs. There are also electronic earbuds that provide protection, but these do not provide all the benefits of good muffs as some noise energy can be transferred through bone conduction.

The following videos evaluate a wide variety of earmuffs currently on the market. Some of the big muffs boast a 30 dB Noise Reduction Rating (NRR), while thin, muffs may only have a 22-23 dB NRR. Remember that decibel scale is logarithmic, so, according to the experts, a 3 dB gain represents twice the sound energy. So “this means that a small change in the number of decibels can result in a significant change in the intensity of noise and hence its potential to damage a person’s hearing. [F]or every 3 dB the sound level increases the impact on hearing health which is doubled. For example, 63 dB is twice as noisy as 60 dB. For every 3dB the noise level increases, the exposure time must be halved to keep the worker safe from harm.” Source: Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH).

Yes Hunters Need to Employ Sound Protection

According to Dr. William W. Clark, the current Director of the Washington Univ. School of Medicine’s Audiology/Communication Sciences Program, a “serious threat to hearing comes from recreational hunting or target shooting”. This is in large part due to the fact that many people choose not to use traditional hearing protection devices like earplugs and earmuffs because they want to be able to hear their surroundings. Multiple studies have found that between 70 to 80% of hunters never wear earplugs or earmuffs, and nearly half of all target shooters don’t consistently wear traditional hearing protection. Thus, it should come as no surprise that for every five years of hunting, hunters become seven percent more likely to experience high frequency hearing loss.

We recommend that hunters carry quick-insert plugs on a cord around your neck. These can be quickly deployed when you are getting ready to shoot. Or, get a lightweight neck band with earbuds, such as Howard Leight Quiet Band QB2HYG, Sellstrom Band, or 3M Safety Band, all with good Noise Reduction Ratings of 25 dB or higher. You can keep these lightweight bands around your neck for quick deployment.