Combat hearing protection?

[GLOCKN8OR]

First and foremost, I appreciate the military and the service it renders us...thank you all for your service.

I have a question that I have thought about for the last few days. What do members of the military do for hearing protection during fire fights (if anything)? It might sound like a stupid question...but I'd like to know. Thanks again for all you do!

[RangerAv8r]

Peltor ComTac II w/radio interface so you can communicate.

[Trent0341]

Whatever Ranger is talking about is way more high speed than I ever got. They wanted us to wear earplugs but I think that stemmed more from ieds than actual fire fights after we had some guys ear drums busted from them. I didn't think it was a good tactical decision to wear earplugs while over there. After 30+ engagements (ieds/firefights) my hearing wasn't harmed, however alot of that probably has to do with luck than anything else.

[nothing]

We were given those crappy "combat earplugs" with they yellow and brown side. One side had a small hole with a diaphram that would let you hear until a loud noise closed the diaphram. I never wore them because:

1. They didn't fit, way to big form my ears.
2. That small hole still made it very difficult to hear.
3. I couldn't keep the handmic up to my ear without knocking the earplug out.

So I went without them. I did sustain some hearing loss, but nothing critical. I think it was far more benificial to be able to maintain situational awareness. With auditory exclusion I never noticed how loud our weapons were, but I'm sure it still did plenty of damage. It would be nice if they could come up with something that worked. Surefire now has a combat earplug, but it doesn't have a very high noise cancelation rating. Has anyone tried them?

http://www.surefire.com/maxexp/main/co_disp/displ/carfnbr/376/sesent/00

The sonic defenders claim a 9dB reduction, but the PDF file says it will reduce an average of 35dB for sound levels up to 120dB. :headscratch:

[Trent0341]

Originally posted by nothing
We were given those crappy "combat earplugs" with they yellow and brown side. One side had a small hole with a diaphram that would let you hear until a loud noise closed the diaphram. I never wore them because:

1. They didn't fit, way to big form my ears.
2. That small hole still made it very difficult to hear.
3. I couldn't keep the handmic up to my ear without knocking the earplug out.

So I went without them. I did sustain some hearing loss, but nothing critical. I think it was far more benificial to be able to maintain situational awareness. With auditory exclusion I never noticed how loud our weapons were, but I'm sure it still did plenty of damage. It would be nice if they could come up with something that worked. Surefire now has a combat earplug, but it doesn't have a very high noise cancelation rating. Has anyone tried them?

http://www.surefire.com/maxexp/main/co_disp/displ/carfnbr/376/sesent/00

The sonic defenders claim a 9dB reduction, but the PDF file says it will reduce an average of 35dB for sound levels up to 120dB. :headscratch:

Nothing,

Thats the exact earplugs I'm talking about. You said what I was trying to say alot better.

[Sapperstang]

What they said but we didn't usually wear them. Suffered a bit of hearing loss. Wasn't smart but it isn't really that practical to have ear plugs in.