Transition Away From Traditional Hearing Protection
Two of the most common forms of traditional hearing protection are earplugs and noise muffs. Noise muffs, also called noise reduction earmuffs, look somewhat like headphones and consist of two tight-fitting ear cups that cover the ears to block noise from entering the ear canal. Noise muffs tend to provide better noise-reducing capabilities than Custom Ear Plugs and are meant for repeated use.
While these traditional forms of hearing protection are excellent ways to protect the ears during situations of work-related and recreational noise exposure, they tend to block out noise more completely than other protective hearing gear. This causes serious issues in situational awareness by blocking low-level noises, such as speech.Use proper Custom Ear Plugs
These traditional forms of hearing protection also reduce the ability of the wearer to differentiate between different high-level noises — for example, a user of traditional protective headgear on a gun range might not be able to easily differentiate between the sound of a gunshot and the sound of a warning alarm or shout while using Custom Ear Plugs. These situations pose serious dangers to gun users, hunters and everyone around them.
While ill-suited for use over a long period, traditional earplugs and noise muffs still have their uses in short-term applications. Shooting ranges and other situations where muffs and Custom Ear Plugs don’t need to be worn for long periods are still suitable applications for these forms of ear wear.