Shooting hearing protection? What’s that? Speak up! What?!

Yeah, if this is you, maybe you’re too far gone already, but you should probably spread the word that you can only lose your hearing once. In recent times, the culture has fortunately shifted towards people taking hearing protection seriously. This is in no small way due to the evolution of so called active hearing protection, aka electronic earmuffs – there are now various models available from affordable hobbyist ones to the most serious and rugged military ear protection models.

Electronic earmuffs are quite the game changer, they don’t have to be taken off while talking to your buddy at the range, or listening to the instructors speak, therefore really cutting the chances of a sudden loud noise ruining your hearing for good. Additionally, active hearing protection gives you a clear advantage in the field; you can hear things like footsteps and your opponent's commotion from far away like some sort of a superhuman.

Ordinary, passive ear protection gives you the same level of noise reduction, and is more affordable, especially if you have to outfit your whole family or a small army. Ear pro, as it is lovingly called, can be divided into in-ear and on-ear ones. The most common on-ear model is the basic earmuff with a headband, and these come in all shapes and colors, with or without electronics. In-ear models are naturally plug-shaped, either made of expanding foam or silicone. The high-end plugs are anatomically shaped, and can have electronics, too.

If you need hearing protection mounted on a helmet, Peltor and Sordin both have an ARC adapter for it. In most cases, normal headband earmuffs can be worn under the helmet. Although, this requires some effort from the part of the customer, as there are myriad sizes and shapes of heads, helmets, and earmuffs – a suitable and comfortable system must be tried on for a proper fit.