Custom hearing protection for shooting sports

A shot lasts only a fraction of a second, but the peak is extremely high. According to a review article by Meinke and colleagues (2017), peak levels of firearms are between about 140 and 175 dB. For shotguns they give 152 to 170 dB, for rifles above .22 calibre about 159 to 174 dB and for small calibres such as .22 about 140 to 144 dB. Even an air rifle comes out at 117 to 134 dB in their overview.

Peak noise is measured in dB(C). At work, an employer must provide hearing protection from 135 dB(C), and 140 dB(C) may never be exceeded, not even with the attenuation of the hearing protection taken into account. Most shots from firearms are well above that. You can read more about impulse noise in our article on hearing protection against impulse noise from shooting, hunting and fireworks.

On an indoor range, the risk is greater. According to Meinke et al., shooting in an enclosed space with reflective walls increases the danger to your hearing. The bang then also reaches your ear via the walls and ceiling, and often several shooters fire at the same time. It is not safe next to the shooter either. One metre to the left of the shooter, the peak in their overview was between 149 and 167 dB.

Outdoors, much of the bang disappears into the open air. There, custom earplugs with a DIM filter are a good basis for most shooters. If you shoot indoors, with heavy calibres or many series in a row, wear earmuffs as well. If you also shoot in the field, read about hearing protection for hunting.

According to Meinke et al., an earplug with earmuffs over it gives the most protection when shooting. But do not count on twice the attenuation. According to Arboportaal, two devices together always attenuate less than the two values added up, partly because sound also reaches your ear through your skull.

In that combination, the custom earplugs are the layer that stays in. If you take your earmuffs off between two series to talk, your ears are still protected against other people's shots. Because they are made for your ear, they also fit properly every time. According to Arboportaal, universal earplugs are not always inserted correctly, which means they attenuate less.

Our Earplugs for hunting and shooting have a DIM filter from Dynamic Ear Company. The manufacturer describes it as level-dependent protection against impulse noise, while you stay aware of your surroundings. So you hear your fellow shooters and the instructions on the range, and with a bang the filter attenuates extra. According to the product specification, the SNR is 19 dB, with extra protection against impulse noise of up to 35 dB.

DIM is not a filter that attenuates as much as possible. A DI filter is intended for constant noise, but for silences with sudden bangs DIM suits better. The filters are certified and interchangeable, and the custom earplug itself is PPE-3, compliant with EN 352. All values are on our filter page.

In clay pigeon shooting, you use a shotgun and shoot several series in a day, sometimes with two shots in quick succession. De Jager, the magazine of the Royal Dutch Hunters' Association (KNJV), states that a 12-gauge shotgun cartridge produces a sound pressure of about 150 dB. The magazine also writes that a round of clay pigeon shooting without hearing protection is already bad for your ears.

Earmuffs are bigger and, according to the same article, can get in the way when shooting. Custom earplugs do not get in the way when you put the stock against your cheek. On a course you also stand next to other shooters, so keep your earplugs in when it is not your turn.

• Meinke et al. (2017), Prevention of Noise-Induced Hearing Loss from Recreational Firearms, Seminars in Hearing
• De Jager (Koninklijke Nederlandse Jagersvereniging), Gehoorbescherming voor jagers (2020, pdf, in Dutch)
• Nederlandse Arbeidsinspectie, Werkinstructie Blootstelling aan geluid (2025, pdf, in Dutch)
• Arboportaal, Gehoorbescherming (in Dutch)
• Dynamic Ear Company, acoustic filters for custom earplugs

Written by Thijs Worm. Last updated on 4 October 2026.