Thread: 30-30 with a Oceania Defence muzzle brake

With earplugs the rating of 20-30db may not cut a lot of noise out of a braked firearm which can be running 160-165DB+. Also earplug ratings are really only accurate for industrial noise, aka constant background noise. For impulse noise, like guns, scientists still cant agree whether we can even measure it accurately, and generally agree earplug ratings are even less for this sort of noise. Two sets of ear protection( plugs and muffs) dont double the ear rating, they just add 5-8db to the best ear plugs rating. This is because even blocking the auditory canal totally, you still get a lot of noise reaching the inner ear from vibration through the face, teeth, eyes and bones around the ear. Earmuffs with tight clamping force around the ear can reduce some of this vibration. Little kids skulls are about 10db softer than ours as well. Something to keep in mind letting them shoot at ranges with you all day. The amount of shots at a rifle range can expose you to more gunfire in a day than a lifetime of hunting after all. Sorry to be the old lecturer, severe case of tinnitus here, one blast too many with poor hearing protection.