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Ear protection???????????
matwor
Member Posts: 20,594
When buying muffs, what kind do you want? What is a good number rating to get, NNR-22, etc.?
Comments
Depends on what you're shooting.
sometimes plugs work, but other times muffs are better. Then there are other times when you need both.
[}:)]Yeah, but, how many times do you get to use a 105mm Howitzer to hunt deer with??[;)][:o)]
Depends on what you're shooting.
sometimes plugs work, but other times muffs are better. Then there are other times when you need both.
With anything larger that a .22LR, I always use both.
Brad Steele
The soft foam plugs expand to fill the space..and give the highest reduction numbers.
I get far less ringing when wearing soft plugs then the muffs..and I have the electronic, also.
I rolled it between my thumb and forefinger to compact it just like the corpsman showed me. I stuck it into my ear canal just like the corpsman showed me.
When we secured from General Quarters it took the corpsman damn near half an hour to dig it out. I went back to the Mickey Mouse ears. I was already technically deaf before the corpsman discovered this new medical miracle anyway, so it didn't matter much.
If I'm going to be shooting some big stuff, I too use both, ear plugs and muffs......
For some reason used seems to work better. (easier to find too)
[;)]
Allen
Find yourself some silencio, soft, plugs with the aluminum baffle inside..
The best earplugs are the ones you will wear. It is better to consistently wear ones that work OK rather than rarely wear ones that work really well. Which ones are most effective? It depends on what you are doing.
If you are running shop tools or chainsaw, lawn mower, etc., then either plugs or muffs will be fine depending on what is comfortable for you. If you are shooting small caliber rifle, like .22 or less, either plugs or muffs is fine. Anything larger, you will want to use both foam plugs rolled and inserted as deep as possible with the earmuffs over the top of them. Of course, that is assuming that you are target shooting- when hunting then most people don't use any protection.
Electronic earplugs (such as the Walker's Game Ear) and the multitude of electronic earmuffs are great, especially if you have any loss of hearing at all. They amplify just enough to overcome the hearing loss caused by the earplugs/muffs, but at a loud impact sound they shut down immediately and act as an earplug. The baffled earplugs like what the military uses work similarly, in that the baffle shuts off the impact sound to prevent the loud noises from hitting the eardrum.
However, if you claim that you are working in 160 dBA I am going to call BS, because about 140-150 is the thresholds of physical pain. No way can you run an 8 hour shift in that much noise. Permanent deafness, even with plugs and muffs in, will be inevitable. A shotgun at ear level is about 150 dBA, a 30-06 at ear level is about 160 dBA. A .50 cal machine gun runs about 170 dBA. Also, no way OSHA would let an employer let people work in 160 dBA. Check your readings again. If it really is that loud, then you need to report your employer to OSHA, sue him, something, but refuse to work until it is corrected. If it truly is 160 dBA then I would love to see the documentation on it. I do work for three sawmills here, and even the planer room is not that loud.
DO NOT put spit on your earplugs before you put them in your ear unless you like things like bacteria and mold inside your ear canals. I have seen that, and it is Major Yuck, not to mention what would happen if you had mold in your ear canal then used your keys to scratch inside your ears, then the mold gets into the bloodstream. Yeah, that would be pretty.
I don't know much, but this is what I do for a living as an Audiologist.