“Speak up! Nobody can hear you when you mumble.” That’s what my Grandpa used to say to me when I was a kid and would visit him and Grandma on a Sunday afternoon. “Kids these days, they all mumble,” he would complain. So obligingly, I would repeat my sentence, often at the top of my lungs — because, as Grandma knew when she winked at me, it wasn’t my speech but his hearing that was at fault.

Grandpa’s hearing had been damaged by a lifetime of loud noises. He worked as a commercial fisherman and often spent time in the engine room of his diesel boat. Inside that room with metal walls and hard surfaces everywhere, the unmuffled engine would roar so loudly that you could feel the vibration throughout your entire body, rattling your fillings and putting a permanent buzz into your bones. That’s loud. And, of course, he never wore ear plugs when he was working in the engine room or in the hold. Nor did he protect his hearing while he was hanging out at the drag races with his friends, or shooting with his buddies. Nobody did, back then. Ear protection wasn’t a thing.

We know better, now.

To get the skinny on electronic ear protection for shooters, check out Trevor’s article here: Gun Science – Active electronic ear pro. Good work, there.

(Hat tip: Tamara)