Noise Reduction Rating (NRR)--What should I be comfortable with?

[Dachs]

I am interested in buying electronic muffs in the near future. The only issue I have is that the NRR for most of them is <25 dB.

Up until this point I have worn:
http://lh4.googleusercontent.com/public/vTYQwIj3Ou50zsUs168X4xS-LHap_VgZQF0cWIlYAgj-OKlM_z1QvQDFW57tZ4buYuANSl4YB_b10a39p0v8WLC6S_HbdbJZtdyCXWCkQQsPk_ZFVDQ7aXY8bhdjsSOY6Y0JwW2C10IZL6irPF-pNFrxLk0LN8D8XDUxZQ
Peltor - Extreme Performance Ear Muff H10A..and when qualifying or around lots of other shooters I will wear those inner ears as well.

The big problem I have with these is cheekweld issues and it can be difficult to hear range commands unless the RSO is right behind me yelling. If he's on the other side of the line 15 yards away it gets tricky.

There are lots of threads on hearing protection but I didn't find one that discussed what NRR is safe and which is useless. I'd imagine its similar to SPF in sunscreen: 50 is probably the best, 30 will work just fine, and anything less that 15 doesn't do anything. Well what is the "ideal" NRR 35, 25, 20?
?
We can break it down to indoor shooting and outdoor shooting, because I am sure there is a difference.

[tb-av]

I think it will depend on how good your electronics are.

For instance can they act on a signal very quickly that is say 120dB and knock down say 40dB for the first few mili-seconds. But then not act much at all on signals below say 90dB.

IOW, it might be difficult to compare as you do passives where they simply knock off XdB no matter what.

[davidz71]

Check out the Pro Ears website for a good selection of electronic hearing protection. I've a set of the Magnum model for over 10 years.

[misanthropist]

Personally I'm pretty paranoid about hearing damage...this is a loud business and I have also been playing in rock bands for ten years, and I work in construction. Hearing damage is a serious issue to me.

So my position is this: go for the most NR you can, but regardless of what electronic muffs you get, run some surefire EP3s or 4s underneath.

This has saved me in classes many times as well: sometimes you're standing there writing something down and aren't focused on the instructor visually, and they demo something while you're still paying attention to your notes. If you took off your muffs because it's hot and you've been in them for 8 hours or whatever, you still have a bit of protection. Even if you're just adjusting them and somebody cracks a shot off, you're still protected.

And at the end of the day, if nothing's gone wrong, you still protected your hearing better than you could possibly have done if the plugs weren't there.

So my position is: doubling up is more important that NRR.

[DWood]

Simple foam plugs provide the most protection.

[ForTehNguyen]

big earmuffs get in the way of cheek weld when doing rifle work

[tuck]

Simple foam plugs provide the most protection.

I love my SureFire EP4's, but the cheap foamie 3M plugs I get at work have a better decibel rating. I think they're around 33db.

[duece71]

Moldable yellow foam earplugs on a string have always worked very well. Indoor ranges I definatley "double up" with muffs. I am interested in electronic ear pro as well but have never justified the cost when plugs and muffs have always worked. I think everyone has different sensitivities to noise so electronic ear pro may work for some, others maybe not. I have tried the Surefire plugs and yes, they work well but I find that they are not as good as yellow foam ep. It could just be my own sensitivity.

[nimdabew]

Buy these:

http://www.srstactical.com/communications/electronic-ambient-listening-headsets/msa-sordin-supreme-pro*x/75302*x.html

Put on.

Shoot gun.