In March, 2017, the National Hearing Conservation Association’s Task Force on Prevention of Noise-Induced Hearing Loss from Firearm Noise stated that “using firearms equipped with suppressors” is one of “several strategies [that] can be employed to reduce the risk of acquiring NIHL and associated tinnitus from firearm noise exposure.
Suppressors reduce the noise of a gunshot by an average of 20 – 35 dB, which is roughly the same as earplugs or earmuffs.
This screen shot is from your own link:
Note that the “average gunshot unsuppressed” is 165 to 170 dB. Note that hearing damage starts at just 85dB.
We are wearing our ear protection, so let’s subtract 20-35dB, and we have 130 to 150dB. Definitely above the 85dB lower boundary for hearing damage. OSHA allows less than one second exposure per day at the lowest end of that range.
That’s why all three (plugs, over the ears, and a suppressor) should be used in conjunction for best results.
General industry standards that I’m used to are as follows:
-sustained noise over 84dB should use plugs/muffs
-sustained noise over 104dB should use both plugs and muffs
-peak noise over 140dB should use both plugs and muffs, regardless of average sustained noise dB. If sustained noise is over 84 then start using additional mitigation measures such as sound dampeners, barriers, distance from noise generating object, etc.
That being said, if a suppressor brings peak noise down to ~135dB you should STILL be using double ear protection. But it’s way better than bringing it down from 170dB.
I would note that 30dB muffs over 30dB plugs does not provide anything even remotely close to 60dB reduction. It’s more like 33dB, because both muffs and plugs block only noise propagated through the auditory canal. They do not block noise conducted to the cochlea by bone.
At noise levels above ~140dB, no amount of PPE is capable of reducing noise to “safe” levels.
Any sources to support this because I couldn’t find any. Even the ASA doesn’t make this claim.
Suppressors reduce the noise of a gunshot by an average of 20 – 35 dB, which is roughly the same as earplugs or earmuffs.
This screen shot is from your own link:
Note that the “average gunshot unsuppressed” is 165 to 170 dB. Note that hearing damage starts at just 85dB.
We are wearing our ear protection, so let’s subtract 20-35dB, and we have 130 to 150dB. Definitely above the 85dB lower boundary for hearing damage. OSHA allows less than one second exposure per day at the lowest end of that range.
That’s why all three (plugs, over the ears, and a suppressor) should be used in conjunction for best results.
General industry standards that I’m used to are as follows:
-sustained noise over 84dB should use plugs/muffs
-sustained noise over 104dB should use both plugs and muffs
-peak noise over 140dB should use both plugs and muffs, regardless of average sustained noise dB. If sustained noise is over 84 then start using additional mitigation measures such as sound dampeners, barriers, distance from noise generating object, etc.
That being said, if a suppressor brings peak noise down to ~135dB you should STILL be using double ear protection. But it’s way better than bringing it down from 170dB.
I would note that 30dB muffs over 30dB plugs does not provide anything even remotely close to 60dB reduction. It’s more like 33dB, because both muffs and plugs block only noise propagated through the auditory canal. They do not block noise conducted to the cochlea by bone.
At noise levels above ~140dB, no amount of PPE is capable of reducing noise to “safe” levels.