WGD Posted November 12, 2008 Report Share Posted November 12, 2008 Does anybody know who supplies custom fit, electronic, in ear, hearing protection? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinkfooty Posted November 12, 2008 Report Share Posted November 12, 2008 Don't know of anyone near Stirling although some of the manufacturers have "travelling clinics". Try some of their websites. I got "measured" for mine a few years ago at the BASC Game Fair at Port of Menteith. I also heard someone saying that Specsavers do a range of in-ear digital hearing protectors. They have a place in Barnton Street. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter De La Mare Posted November 12, 2008 Report Share Posted November 12, 2008 ....and they cost around £400 based on my previous enquirey this year. Suddenly the £12.95 Sonic 2 didn't seem so bad after all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WGD Posted November 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2008 ....and they cost around £400 based on my previous enquirey this year. Suddenly the £12.95 Sonic 2 didn't seem so bad after all. Unless you go for the Green Leopard ones.... they're £800 Specsavers "Active Shooter" are currently priced at £349. I'll stick with my Noisbreakers for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter De La Mare Posted November 12, 2008 Report Share Posted November 12, 2008 they're £800 Blinkin' flip, that's expensive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catamong Posted November 12, 2008 Report Share Posted November 12, 2008 Nothing works as well as good old fashioned ear muffs, forget about the fancy plugs, they can hurt like hell after they've been in your ear for any length of time, and the sound will always "leak" down the side into your eardrum, no matter how good the fit. Cat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirokujames Posted November 12, 2008 Report Share Posted November 12, 2008 the green leopard ones with the shooting valvr (non-electronic) ones are around £70, i got a pair at the scone game fair. i must say they are much better than muffs,dont affect gun mount in anyway. very comfortable,would reccommend them to anyone on the market. you can still hear people talking probably not as clear as with the electronic ones. well reccommended though. James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clayman Posted November 12, 2008 Report Share Posted November 12, 2008 Although I hate plugs and find them uncomfortable compared with muffs, when it comes to protection - plugs correctly fitted have higher SNR ratings than muffs, particularly if you wear shooting glasses that break the muffs seal lowering the SNR even further. Most shooting muffs are 28 dB reduction, while even the cheapest foam plus can be 36 db. As the shotgun is about 120dB fast at the ear ( 140 at the muzzle end), a 28 reduction gets you down to only 92 dB on the ear drum which is still above the HSE rating for the workplace of being < 85 dB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catamong Posted November 12, 2008 Report Share Posted November 12, 2008 Although I hate plugs and find them uncomfortable compared with muffs, when it comes to protection - plugs correctly fitted have higher SNR ratings than muffs, particularly if you wear shooting glasses that break the muffs seal lowering the SNR even further. Most shooting muffs are 28 dB reduction, while even the cheapest foam plus can be 36 db. As the shotgun is about 120dB fast at the ear ( 140 at the muzzle end), a 28 reduction gets you down to only 92 dB on the ear drum which is still above the HSE rating for the workplace of being < 85 dB. Clayman, That may well be the theory, but I'm afraid in practice muffs do perform better than plugs, wearing glasses makes no difference provided you're wearing a decent brand of muffs designed specifically for shooting, i.e. Peltor. Foam plugs are little better than wearing no ear protection at all. Cat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter De La Mare Posted November 12, 2008 Report Share Posted November 12, 2008 I dunno about that Cat, I had to use the foam plugs when I left my Sonic 2s at home and I couldn't hear a ******* thing with them! Couldn't hear **** when talking to my buddy, and the recoil was the only way I knew that I hadn't a misfire. I love the Sonic earplugs, can hear almost normally whilst talking, and the loud stuff is nice and quiet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clayman Posted November 12, 2008 Report Share Posted November 12, 2008 As stated, I prefer muffs personally 100% because of the comfort. That being said, manufacturers of ear protection quoting BS and EN standards have to have the plugs tested to a rigorous standard. This would be independently tested in most cases ( you can sue the outside lab if they get it wrong, if your in-house facility gets it wrong you might go bankrupt on the liability claims). The SNR ratings are the actual ones achieved, not theoretical ones. As the decibel range is a exponential one, the increase is not linear but compound in the difference. So 29 Db is twice as effective as 26Db SNR. A 36dB SNR set of Comphy Plugs or Industrial std muffs is actually about TEN times more effective at noise reduction than a 26dB plugs or muffs. I'd be interested to have the statement that glasses make no difference referenced to an authority that says this. It certainly seems logical to me that if the close fitting seal is broken additional sound pressure energy will be placed on the eardrum. This is an effective lowering of the SNR on the muffs rating if worn with a perfect seal. My experience comes form the Irish Forestry Rangers whom I spent time with training them outside Dublin at Courtlough Shooting Ground. They were all issued with the large industrial Debens because under HSE and working place rules it was required that the muffs should reduce the noise by to 90dB when safety glasses were worn, and as there was about 5dB reduction from leakage where the muff seals where broken, higher rated ones where needed to achieve compliance. A quick Google search on the subject reveals pages of confirming info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quist Posted November 13, 2008 Report Share Posted November 13, 2008 Muffs are good Ones with an electronic bandpass filter are better because they allow you to hear noises in the normal, non-damaging range. That can be important both for safety and also for hearing birds coming over. The in ear ones can cost several hundred and usually require you to have a silcone mould made of your earhole from which a custom made electronic earpiece is made. These come in two types, analogue which effectively chops out the over-loud sounds and digital which converts incoming sound into normal pressure ranges. Yes, expensive but prolonged exposure to shotgun or un-moderated rifle fire will cause permanent hearing damage. It doesn't tend to fix itself. You could be a long time crippled Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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