Electronic Hearing Protectors

I'm pretty happy with my Pro Ears Pro Tac Gold I bought a couple of years ago... except for the price. They're 33 db noise reduction, have volume controls and mics for each ear and they react to gun fire immediately. The company says in something like 1.5 milliseconds. At the time I bought them that noise reduction was the highest of any electonic hearing protectors except for a similar model from the same company. The batteries used are the 123 types or N types... needs two, one for each "muff". So far I've got about 10 to 12 hours use out of my current set of batteries and they're still going. The batteries can be replaced easily and quickly by simply raising a foam flap inside each ear muff and pulling out the old battery and sticking the new one(s) in. If you do end up going with Pro Ears, I'd suggest getting an extra set of the foam wind screens that cover the microphones. One of mine came off about a month ago somewhere between the range, my range bag and home... anyway they do help muffle wind noise.

I think they also make a " slim" version of the ones I have but you give up 4 or 5 db of noise reduction. If I could add one thing to them, I wish they had an auto shut off that you could set, say, from 1 to 4 hours... yep, I've left one or both sides on before after putting them in my range bag only to find a dead battery next time at the range

I've also got a pair of Browning electronic hearing protectors that were significantly cheaper but I wouldn't recommend them. Noise reduction isn't as great, one microphone, batteries are harder to install and not as well made.

A word in general about electronic muffs:

The advertising is deceptive, in fact a flat out lie, in that they claim that they "limit noise levels to 85 dB" which is to say the internal speakers don't go louder than that but what reaches your ears THROUGH the muff is much higher.

But, like any muff, they can only limit the sound as best they can. If the NRR (noise reduction rating) is 30dB, that's how much they reduce the peak sound level that reaches your ears.

Given the fact that magnum fire at an indoor range can generate peak SPL levels of close to 160 dBA, that means your ears will get hit with about 130 dBA which is very dangerous. I always recommend using best muffs available along with internal plugs if you want to keep your hearing.

Too late for me, but it's good advice anyway.