Noise Suppression Headphones

[perstare]

I'm new.

I need advice regarding sound suppression headphones.

My hearing is excellent (wife’s too), and I really want to keep it that way. I’m looking for electronic, battery-powered headphones that will muffle the loud noises of a shooting range, but amplify conversation voices (so that the headphones don’t have to be removed every time someone wants to talk to me.)

Who can recommend a specific brand and model? The cost is secondary.

Thank you very much.

Mike B

[molonlabetn]

Peltor Tactical... light, very effective.

[MacGyver]

Yep. Don't look any further than the Peltors. The Tactical 6's and Tactical 7's are both great models.

[waynesan]

I ordered a set of Caldwell muffs a few months ago from Midway USA for $17. I think that was a special price at that time. So far they have been amazingly good. I had never worn electronic muffs before and I will not be without them again.

[Defender]

I ordered a set of Caldwell muffs a few months ago from Midway USA for $17. I think that was a special price at that time. So far they have been amazingly good. I had never worn electronic muffs before and I will not be without them again.

I have some of these as well. I like them.

[Guest jimdigriz]

I have some of these as well. I like them.

I have them too, but I overpaid by going through Amazon. :-(

They give good amplification of what's going on around you, and shut off properly with loud noises. But I noticed that their sound reduction is not as good as the $9 low tech muffs I bought at Bass Pro. I will keep them next to the bed for donning during emergencies (time permitting), but will probably just continue using the cheap muffs at the range.

[Guest jackdm3]

I'd like to add another facet to this query. My biggest complaint is the lack of comfort after hours of shooting. How cushy AND quiet can we get these?

[LawVol]

+1 for the Caldwells. I have friends with Peltors and Sordins, and my Caldwells seem to work comparably well at the range. I'm not saying they'll hold up to the kind of use the higher-end stuff is meant to withstand, but it's hard to argue with the price for typical range use.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

The Caldwells are good enough for me, also. I got those $17 ones.

[bvarnell]

I have both. The Caldwells are very good for noise attenuation but just fair for conversation. The Peltors are much better for conversation. They accutally amplify the conversation level. I use the Peltors most of the time and loan the Caldwells to people who didn't bring any with them.

Oh, did I forget to mention that they also cost 4 or 5 times as much.

If cost isn't an issue, I would get the Peltors. Midway has both on sale frequently.

[TNRat]

Howard Leights are working well for me.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Have had Howard Leight electronic muffs a couple of years and they still work fine.

Read all the user reviews on all the muffs at Cabelas. There seemed on balance, fewer complaints with the Howard Leight than other brands (at that time anyway).

User reviews are not completely reliable, because if a fella pay $300 for a product, he may be more likely to criticize minor defects, compared to a fellow who only paid $70 for his product. The guy who paid $70 likely had lower expectations.

Anyway, lucky with the Howard Leights so far.

[Mike]

Another here for the peltor's. I just recently made the switch from surefire in ear plugs to the peltor sport tactical muffs. I won't be going back.

[gsbell]

Pro-Ears, expensive but I only have one set of ears. I started with a set of Peltor Tac 6 and found them lacking enough protection.

The difference between Pro-Ears and Sordin compared to all the rest is something that has to be experienced to really understand it well. These dampen the sound without the electronics abruptly clipping on and off.

[Kegger]

Im with Mike, went from Surefire ear pro to the Peltor Tacticals. Not looking back.

I wear for them for ridiculously long periods of time under my kevlar, and never have a comfort issue with them. And it does an awesome job of dampening gunshots while still being able to hear whats going on around you.

[partypilot1]

I have them too, but I overpaid by going through Amazon. :-(

They give good amplification of what's going on around you, and shut off properly with loud noises. But I noticed that their sound reduction is not as good as the $9 low tech muffs I bought at Bass Pro. I will keep them next to the bed for donning during emergencies (time permitting), but will probably just continue using the cheap muffs at the range.

I'm curious what you mean "by the bed during emergencies"?

[kb4ns]

The Caldwells are good enough for me, also. I got those $17 ones.

+1

[tnhawk]

I'm using a pair of Radians, but don't like them. I've found it necessary to wear ear plugs with them.

[Mark A]

MSA sordins, but only outdoors. Indoors I wear hard protection and usually also wear ear plugs.

Electronic ones are great for training classes. I also like to wear them when hunting.

[perstare]

Thank you all. I've had so many helpful replies that I can't name names any more. However, I have some information that might help someone else with this question:

I finally bought Peltor Tactical 7S -- 97039 -- MT1H7A-01 They seem to work perfectly so far. I haven't subjected them to continuous use.... yet.

I first bought a "lower" Peltor 6S -- MT15H67FB -- I returned them (to Amazon) because although they seemed to work well as far as sound suppression was concerned, they had a very badly-designed method for battery replacement (which would eventually break the earphones). If anyone wants more details on this, I'll reprint my criticism... if you want to know RIGHT NOW, please go Amazon and look at my comments You'll find them under my name, "perstare."

Again, my thanks to the members of this board.

Mike B

[Currently]

I use a set of industrial "Noisebusters" that get all kinds of use such as mowing the lawn, shooting and working in noisy plants.

Great long wear comfort and does a great job at killing the low frequency noises that earmuffs and plugs have a hard time attenuating.

If I am going to shoot a lot, I also put foam ear plugs on. My hearing is 60% what it used to and I cannot tell you how much it impacts my daily life. Hearing aids with compression circuits go for 3+ grand a piece and only last a couple of years before you got to replace them.

Good thread.

[perstare]

CURRENTLY made very important statements, and I hope the other readers of this thread noticed them:

1 - the LOW frequencies present problems that "earmuffs and plugs" don't handle well

2 - In addition to the earmuffs, Currently says he uses foam ear plugs too...

3 - A 40% loss in hearing ability (leaving 60%) is serious.

The trouble with this sound-suppression thread is that we haven't emphasized the PERMANANCE of hearing damage. We might take another look at this and maybe reconsider how much time we've given to this... Maybe an investment of hundreds of dollars now would not allow hearing damage in the future. In my case, my hearing is about the only sense I now have that still works 100%. That might explain my concern over this issue and my gratitude for the good guys on this board who took the trouble to help me out.

Mike B

[Mike]

Also remember that hearing damage is cumulative. It can go little by little over time.

Protect it.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

I wear earplugs along with the electronic muffs except when just shooting .22 and 9mm. If somebody close on the range is shooting big guns, will add the earplugs.

One nice thing about the electronic muffs when you turn em all the way up, is that when un-muted, they can add enough gain to un-do the earplug attenuation, so one has relatively normal hearing even with muffs and plugs. But when the muffs mute, you get 'double protection'.

One plug I like is the 'sonic valve' type, which only has about 6 dB loss unless impulsive SPL gets loud enough to close the little valves. Those are good for gunfire (along with muffs) or when operating machinery without muffs. They are not good for loud music, because the valves made significant intermodulation distortion when they are working.

Another that is pleasant but only about 15 dB NRR, is the Etymotics "musicians earplugs". That isn't enough attenuation to use without muffs for shooting, but the frequency response is nice and flat, and you don't have a 'plugged up' feeling when using them, and voice is much easier to understand with the flat freq response. Those are really good on modestly loud music stages, though SPL on a really loud stage is still a bit much with only 15 dB.

[perstare]

[quote name=Also remember that hearing damage is cumulative. It can go little by little over time.

Protect it.[/quote]

Good point!! I forgot that.

Mike B