Hearing protection is critical for every shooter. While your eye protection will save you if there is a firearms malfunction or bullet fragment ricochet, your hearing protection prevents damage on every shot you take. A single shot can permanently damage your hearing.
Hearing Loss
Single exposure to noises greater than 140 decibels (dB) can result in permanent hearing damage. A .22 caliber rifle can produce around 140 dB, while a larger caliber rifles and handguns can product shot noise up to 175 dB.
Enclosed ranges and the use of muzzle breaks can increase the noise level making good hearing protection even more important. Long or repeated exposure to sounds at or above 85 dB can cause hearing loss as well. Shooters can also experience ringing in their ears, called tinnitus. The ringing, like the hearing loss, can be permanent.
An important fact to realize is that the decibel system uses a logarithmic scale. This means that every time a sound increases by 20 dB it is ten times as loud. This means a rifle shot that registers at 175 dB is not just slightly louder than a .22 caliber rifle shot of 140 dB, it is more than a 56 times as loud (more specifically air pressure wave is 56 times as energetic).
Noise Reduction Rating
Hearing protection effectiveness is rated using Noise Reduction Rating (NRR). Noise Reduction Rating (NRR), is a guideline that indicates the amount of potential protection a hearing protection device will give in a noisy environment. The NRR number is the decibel (dB) reduction provided by hearing protection based on laboratory test data.
When choosing hearing protection devices (HPD), you should always understand the NRR provided by your chosen device. In general, you should always select the highest rated hearing protection device. In some cases, shooters even double up on hearing protection, especially when shooting indoors and large caliber rifles.
Hearing Protection
The highest available NRR rated hearing protection is 33 NNR. It is advisable to use hearing protection of at least 24 NRR, although sufficient protection depends on the firearms and ammunition being used and the environment. For instance, when firing a .454 Casull revolver indoors, the shooter would be advised to double up wearing ear plugs and ear muffs to insure no hearing damage. If the shooter is firing .22 short rifle outdoors, it might be possible to shoot without hearing protection, although we would alway advise wearing hearing protection. Better safe than sorry.