Also what hearing protection devices do the forum members employ.
I first posted this to another forum. Edited a bit, I think it applies here, too.
Over the last 35 years I've been through lots of hearing protectors. As a former pistol silhouette shooter (a game where the guns are LOUD in a way most people can't appreciate until they experience it) I really appreciate good protection and I'm willing to pay for it. Cheap sets work fine until they stop working, at which time they become bulky and inconvenient paperweights.
My response to your question is that I bought both the MSA Sordin Supreme Pro-X and the Supreme Pro-X Neckband models. Link to the place from which I purchased is here:
http://www.srstactical.com/communications/supreme-range-headsets.html
I wear the neck band version because it's marginally larger than the standard over-the-top-of-the-head configuration. I bought a set of the standard ones and they didn't fit. They were obviously a great product but at maximum extension, they were just a quarter inch too short. The neck-band version is just that much larger and barely fits.
Apparently I have a very fat head. I shouldn't be surprised. A dozen ex-girlfriends can't be wrong.
I was going to have to buy a second set, anyway. When my sister tried on the first set I bought, she instantly told me I wasn't going to get them back.
One caveat - The gel earpad option is a must. They change the whole character of the device by providing excellent comfort and sealing. The standard earpads are barely OK, which means "not nearly good enough".
Sorry to recommend such an expensive option but I really think they're worth the money.
In addition, no matter how much I like the MSAs, no hearing protectors are good enough. When I'm shooting alone or otherwise have no need to communicate with anyone, I turn them off and put in plugs, too.
Now, a couple of thoughts about plugs - First, I, personally, wouldn't get the molded plugs. I'd lose them and they would likely be a pain to clean. I know others feel differently but I am a neglectful and absent-minded person who unfortunately also produces lots of earwax. (TMI, I know. Sorry.) I simply don't think they'd be a good idea for me.
Besides, if you look at the Noise Reduction Rating printed on the box (at least, in the U.S.) you'll find that cheap disposables actually provide more protection than most other methods. Lots of standard ear muffs for sound protection do a poorer job than a 50-cent pair of disposable plugs.
So I buy the softest, smoothest, cheapest bulk-pack plugs I can find and toss them away after each use. My local pharmacies invariably have a dozen choices that meet those criteria.
The only plugs I actively avoid are the ones that look like perfect cylinders and feel rough on the outside; I find them irritating for long wear.
Finally, plugs don't work unless you put them in right. Yes, I know that pretty much everyone on this forum knows how to insert plugs. However, I see so many people do it wrong that I can't help but add the following paragraph. It might help someone.
To insert the plug into the right ear, gently roll the plug between thumb and index finger of the right hand until it collapses into a tiny cylinder that looks like little more than a thick bit of cord. Reach over the top of your head with your left hand, grasp and pull up on the top of your right ear (this straightens out the ear canal), then insert the compressed plug as far as it will go into the right ear. Release with the left hand but keep a finger on the end of the plug until you feel it expand and seal inside the ear. Mirror-image repeat to insert the other plug.
You know you're doing it right when you must regularly resort to a small pair of long-nose pliers to extract them at the end of practice.
For old geezers like me, the plug removal process via pliers also provides an additional benefit; it invariably extracts a quantity of excess ear hair. If only I could figure out how to grow as much hair on top of my head as I do in my ears...
