Today’s technologies and designs make it easy to prioritize hearing protection in your overall gun safety regimen.
It’s right there in the rules posted at any shooting range: All shooters and spectators must wear hearing and eye protection. Most shooters are equipped for compliance, quickly donning whatever earmuffs are inside their range bag. Those who come unprepared can always obtain a set of in-ear foam plugs from the range officer.
This is the extent to which most shooters think about hearing protection. They think, I have it and I’m wearing it, so my hearing is protected. But that isn’t always true.
“It’s dangerous thinking,” says Chris Leight of Howard Leight by Honeywell, a lifelong champion for the prevention of hearing loss. “Shooters have a tendency to believe that all forms of hearing protection provide adequate defense against noise-induced hearing loss, without regard to the type of firearm being used, the shooting environment, if they are using their hearing protection products properly or wearing devices that provide optimal protection. Fact is, the sound-attenuating performance of today’s diverse hearing protection options varies significantly,” says Leight, “and where and what we’re shooting makes a difference, too.”
The unfortunate truth is that most shooters simply don’t give enough thought to hearing protection. Just because our particular model or style is comfortable or convenient doesn’t mean it provides adequate defense against hearing loss in any given shooting application. Read more