Fact: Being exposed to the noise generated by the discharge of handguns and rifles without adequate protection will result in permanent damage to your hearing.

Target shooters and hunters are exposed to some of the loudest, most dangerous noises anywhere in the environment. A single gunshot can cause permanent hearing damage. Even small caliber weapons such as a .22 create dangerous noise levels. Once your hearing is damaged, it can never be repaired--it can only get worse.

If you want the gear the pros use, check out our tactical electronic ear muffs which offer the very best option for shooters, hunters and many construction workers. For low noises such as the voice commands from a range officer or the footsteps of a deer in the forest, tactical circuitry amplifies the sound--so you can actually hear better with these muffs on than you can without them! But when a loud noise (such as that generated by a muzzle blast or the firing of a nail gun) arrives at the muff, the electronic circuit shuts off, giving you the full protection of the muff versus the dangerous noise. As soon as the noise falls to a safe level, the amplification circuit again opens so you can hear. In addition to the sound amplification benefit, the electronic circuitry responds faster than does a mechanical valve (like that found in the Sonic Valve shooter's plugs). 

If the tactical headsets are a little out of your price range, try Indoor/Outdoor range plugs, Hock's Noise Brakers, BlastBuster, or Sonic Valve II. These plugs have various kinds of internal mechanisms that let you hear clearly under low noise conditions, but that protect your hearing when hit by a high volume pressure wave such as that created by a gunshot or nail gun, giving you the full protection of the plug just when you need it.