I know this seems like a abused and over used precaution.
I was out at a public range on Tuesday afternoon. The amount of people using hearing music headphones and ear muffs as ear protection was just unreal.
These are not ear protection and will not stop the damage done to your ears. There is no excuse for not using the basic foamies that are under a buck for a pair.
Now it would not be a big deal but adults are letting kids use “noise canceling music headphones”. Thinking that it is safe and will not cause irreparable hearing damage. I am sorry looking cool or what have you is just not an excuse.
The sad part is that I offered the parents of the kids and the parents foam in ear plugs as I carry a bottle of them (all new not reused) when I go to the range because of this kind of situation.
How many people accepted your offer? I usually use the in ear plugs as well as over the ear protection. I have already damaged my ears due to loud sounds, I can’t afford any more damage. It sure is sad that people don’t know better .
They have a pretty good NRR (noise reduction rating)
To play devil’s advocate, some in-ear headphones have really strong noise isolation and may utilize foam pads. It’s possible that some of them have a respectable amount of noise reduction.
However, they are not tested for noise reduction and it’s probably not worth the chance.
I use both the foam plugs and over-the-ear headsets whenever I shoot. Unfortunately for me I have constant ringing in both ears from being stupid in my younger days with firecrackers, barrel bombs, loud music, etc. But anything that I can save now is important to me.
I’ve seen lots of really dumb things in my decades of shooting (e.g parents having their kids around at rifle ranges without ear protection), and it’s too bad that sometimes the kids have to pay the price for their idiot parents.
The ranges I’ve been to require hearing and eye protection. Some are more lax than others on checking that people have them once they’re on the range proper as oppose to the check-in area.
For other places that are non-regulated or private, it’s up to the individual to put on whatever they want.
Double ears is the way to go. Muffs on plugs. Surprisingly, because of the way theyre engineered, they still let some frequencies, a.k.a. human speech through.
One of the gripes I have about the prohibition on silencers is that making them legal in places where they’re not would help a lot in reducing gun shots noises. Too many people think that they make guns totally quiet but that’s movies and tv fiction.
Although I did see a video where someone was shooting a suppressed Ruger 10-22 with sub-sonic ammo and all you could hear was the bolt cycling. Sure wish that I could have one of those
Yea Hollywood has no idea how suppressors works and they’re probably proud of their ignorance. That one scene from John Wick (2?) was particularly egregious
After a lifetime of drag racing and hard rock concerts I had to finally bite the bullet and get hearing aids 3 years ago. After not being able to hear the continuity beeps on my multimeters it forced my decision. 2 grand will get a good set if you have good health insurance. I was raised in the sixties and NO ONE was concerned about hearing protection even at shooting ranges. Everyone please heed the advice given above. The aids helped a lot but they are still somewhat limited at what they can do for badly overexposed eardrums.
I’m in the Free state of Texas. Using suppressors for years and love them. Background checks and approvals are running 2-5 days now. I work part time testing suppressors for shadowsilencers.com Light and quiet, if you live in a free state give them a try. If not than get the better hearing protection, ears rarely grow back.
Lucky. I do not live in a “free” state (WA), but suppressors are legal to own
However, they’re NFA items requiring a NFA form, background check, $200 stamp, plus being expensive as a handgun doesn’t help either. I’d never pay uncle Sam for $200 privilege to own what I consider to be a safety item. I wish the HPA did more.
It’s not just hearing loss that’s at stake with shooting and other loud noises. Constant ringing is way worse in my opinion than not being able to make out words, etc, at least for me.
Having a tea kettle always going off in your ears takes a lot of adjusting too in one’s life. I’ve had tinnitus for decades now and take it from me, it’s not something you want to have
Eyes and ears are mandatory at indoor ranges here, whether public or private. I used to shoot on public lands, now it’s overused and abused so DNR has been coordinating with LE to minimize or close off areas. That and they’re carving up forested areas and building mansions so you can’t shoot there anymore. Shooting usednto be like 30 or 40 miles. Now I have to drive 90 miles one way to shoot for free, so it’s not worth it because a range trip costs roughly the same in gasoline.
Anyway, I’ve seen all kinds of stupid, dangerous, near Darwin award type stuff on public lands from redneck country folk and unsupervised prepubescent ignoramuses. No ears or eyes, shooting into areas where OHV trails run or across roads, bringing crt TVs, fridges, shooting steel at close range, cars (often stolen), drinking, smoking weed, shooting at night, just all kinds of stupid stuff. I don’t shoot as much as I used to. Too exownsive now with ammo prices for .45 acp.
I’ve listened to loud-ish music, been to a few concerts, and a few years of apartment living might have seen me crank up the headphones a bit too much. But firearms I don’t F around with - have experienced a shot or two without protection but otherwise it’s a minimum of 23dB muffs if not also supplemented with plugs.
An unfortunate reality of the legal system in the US while much of the world requires them in a number of situations.
Walked past a guy at a range once firing what I assumed was .22LR based on the report, but after dodging a flying shell I realized it was an AR in 5.56. A crack with my ears on rather than a concussive bang.
Luckily I only shoot my own reloads and I have plenty stockpiled from when I was shooting a lot. I’m still going through those that I reloaded back in 2000.
Hey, I resemble that… well I once did. I remember taking my mini 14 out about 50 years ago. Shot maybe 6 20 round clips of 5.56 through it. No ear protection. I figured that being outside it would be fine. I literally could not hear anything for well over 30 minutes. It did teach me a lesson though. As mentioned, I double dip on ear protection now.
