The 7 Best Ear Pro For All Budgets

“Everyone got eyes and ears?”

It’s probably the first question you’ll hear whenever you go to a shooting range. I don’t have a way to quantify this, but my gut tells me that hearing loss has to be the most common firearm-related injury by far.

The right ear pro can save you from a lifetime of hearing loss and make training with your firearm more enjoyable and effective. But how do you choose?

We’ve purchased and tested some of the best ear pro on the market right now. The result is a thorough side-by-side comparison backed by real-world experience.

Let’s dig in and find the best ear pro for you. 

Best Ear Pro Comparison Chart

How We Tested the Best Ear Pro

For this article, we gathered a bunch of ear pro we've personally shot, reviewed, and owned. To provide the most thorough perspective possible, we welcomed product feedback from our entire staff and team of freelance writers. 

We tested the ear pro you see here side by side using a variety of rifles, pistols, and shotguns. All testing took place outdoors, though covered firing lines offered some insight into how they’d perform at an indoor range.

Best Ear Pro

If I had to choose one set or ear pro to use for shooting without worrying about the price, I’d take the Safariland Liberator. 

Safariland’s audio quality is fairly sophisticated. Not only can I hear voices, the sound of a safety clicking off, and my footsteps on the ground, but they all sound very natural in terms of relative volume and tone. Wearing these all day is no big deal. 

There are three hearing modes to choose from: enhanced (which boosts voices), clarity (which blocks all sounds except those that come from nearby), and move (which blocks all external noise – imagine riding in a helicopter). 

Depending on which mode you use, you can expect 160 to 300 hours of battery run time from a CR123 or two AAA batteries. I’ve used these for three-day training events that ran well into the night without running out of power. They stayed comfortable and clear the whole time.

Are there cons to the Liberator? Definitely – this ear pro is alarmingly expensive. For most people, it simply isn’t worth taking that much money away from ammo, range fees, and other gear. It also doesn’t have Bluetooth, so if you want to use your ear pro for other activities, you’re out of luck.

I still reach for these quite often, though. If you can justify the cost, you won’t be disappointed. 

Bluetooth-equipped shooting earmuffs are one of those things you don’t realize you need until you try them. These Shellshock EXO Pro Bluetooth earmuffs can shield your ears at the range – and then some.

One of my favorite features is the dual-dial control layout. One controls the way you hear ambient sounds, with gunshots reduced to a mild “pop.” The other controls Bluetooth volume. You can use one or the other, or adjust both for the ideal audio mix.

At the range, I leave Bluetooth disabled to stay focused on shooting and extend the two AAA batteries’ run time (300 hours is common). Around the house, these are great for listening to a podcast while I mow the lawn or use power tools in the garage.

As with any over-the-ear hearing protection, I like to use these in combination with foam earplugs if I have to shoot at an indoor range. The audio signal still comes through loud and clear enough to communicate with range safety officers and other shooters, even with earplugs.

These Walker’s Razor earmuffs were the first active hearing protection I bought years ago. Why? They work well, and the price is always right.

As the name suggests, these are some of the thinnest over-ear hearing protection out there. The shape and light weight make them super comfortable. Switch them on and control the volume with a simple, tactile dial on the left ear muff. There’s no learning curve whatsoever, so I usually share these with new shooters when I take them to the range.

The sound quality is pleasant – not too sharp, not too muffled. It doesn’t have as much resolution and dynamic range as high-end ear pro, but you wouldn’t notice unless you compared them back to back. The only modes are “on” and “off.”

If you’re looking for active hearing protection but don’t care about Bluetooth, these are a great way to get started. As an added bonus, Walker’s offers a bunch of colors and patterns, ranging from tactical tan and duck camo to pink sprinkles.

The AXIL TRACKR is the company’s mid-tier hearing protection, and it’s a good choice for people who want modern protection without bells and whistles that drive up the price.

These earmuffs feature active electronic hearing protection, 22-decibel sound reduction, and comfortable padding. They’re powered by two common AAA batteries and have a single power/volume knob.

They don’t have Bluetooth, but that’s not a flaw if your only convern is range safety. Saving some money won’t cost you any level of hearing protection.

My only complaint stems from the battery compartment. The cover was very loose on the pair I tested, and it kept falling off. I’ve used several other Axil products that didn’t have this problem, so I think it’s more of an isolated incident than a widespread issue. Besides, Axil backs these with a one-year warranty that you can extend to two years if you want.

AXIL offers three versions of TRACKR ear pro. I tested the active electronic version. There is also a passive version for $30 and a Bluetooth-equipped version for $104. 

I usually prefer over-the-ear hearing protection, but there are times when in-ear hearing protection can be nice. AXIL XCOR PRO earbuds pack a few features that make them useful for activities on and off the firing line.

For starters, these are active and Bluetooth-equipped. You can control how loud ambient noise is with three volume levels and connect these to your phone to listen to music, binge podcasts, or make phone calls. They’d be a great option for people who like to clean their firearms at the range. Crank up some tunes, chat with your friends, and hit the road with squeaky-clean guns.

The touch-sensitive user interface is intuitive, and AXIL provides lots of foam and silicone earpieces so you can get a perfect fit. The silicone cups go in easily, but you’ll get the best noise reduction rating with properly fitted foam inserts. That’s what I recommend.

Bluetooth audio quality is decent. I was pleasantly surprised by the nice spectrum of treble, mid, and bass tones I got from these earbuds when listening to music and podcasts. These earbuds automatically pair with your phone when you take them out of the case (after the initial setup) and default to Bluetooth-only mode. Ambient audio is inactive until you switch it on with the touch of a button.

I noticed that ambient sound quality is diminished by a continuous, buzzy white-noise indoors. It’s not bothersome on the range, but I found it distracting when I used these earbuds in listen mode around the house. They’re still much better than the in-ear active hearing protection of just a few years ago, though.

If you want one set of earbuds that can handle daily listening and range days, these are the ones for you.

In addition to the latest and greatest ear pro, we also tested Peltor Sport earmuffs that are as old-school as it gets. 

By the numbers, this passive hearing protection offers the best noise reduction rating you can get without stuffing your ear canals full of foam. They’re simple, very effective, and easy on the wallet.

They did remind me how accustomed I’ve gotten to active hearing protection, though, because I kept pulling one side away from my face to hear what people were saying at the range. These earmuffs also stick out way more than any of the other options here. My training partner remarked that he never stopped being aware that they were on his head, and I agree.

There’s still a place for passive hearing protection, though. These do a great job of keeping sharp rifle reports to a dull “thud,” and they’ll only set you back $20. They’re a decent budget option or backup to hand out to your friends. 

Is there still a place in this world for foamies? You bet! Mack’s Shooting Ear Protection can’t replace the more advanced ear pro on this list, but every shooter should have a pack of these in their range bag.

I use these earplugs every time I shoot indoors, where sound levels far exceed what’s safe for your hearing. With these in my ears and active earmuffs on top of them, I get the safest and most enjoyable experience possible.

Inevitably, you’ll come across someone who doesn’t have ear pro of their own. Maybe they forgot it, or maybe they’re new to shooting and don’t have their own protective gear. It’s nice to have something inexpensive that you can share with a stranger and not need it back.

As you can imagine, the audio quality with these is not spectacular. It’s very muffled and doesn’t discern between gunshots and other noises. They’re also a nuisance to put in and take out because you have to roll them up every time you insert them, and then hold them in place long enough to create a quality seal. That creates room for user error.

Still, these disposable earplugs are comfy and do the job for pennies. Get 50 pairs for less than $15 and set yourself up for months.

How to Pick the Best Ear Pro

We’re lucky because there are so many options to choose from. But how do you know which one is right for you? Here are a few important factors to consider.

Protection

First and foremost, ear pro needs to protect your ears. There are two standardized rating systems you’ll see manufacturers use to describe the level of protection a product offers: noise reduction rating (NRR) and single number rating (SNR).

In North America, we primarily use NRR. The SNR system is more common in Europe. Both describe the level of sound protection in the reduction of volume in decibels (dB). They arrive at this number in different ways, so you can’t compare an NRR to an SNR, but you can compare either rating across multiple manufacturers.

Some manufacturers also list a reaction time for active hearing protection. This tells you how long it takes the product’s computer to identify a harmful volume level and clip it to a safe one. This takes fractions of a second, so you’re unlikely to hear a difference between modern active ear pro.

Fitment

Ear pro can either cover the entire outer ear or sit inside the ear canal. Both can be effective, comfortable, and user-friendly. 

Anytime you shoot at an indoor range, I recommend doubling up with foam earplugs and some kind of over-ear hearing protection. Indoor ranges are basically concrete boxes full of deafening sound, so you’ll want all the help you can get.

You also might want to consider your cheek weld on long guns. Sometimes, I find that earmuffs get bumped off my ear by a rifle’s buttstock in particular shooting positions. That will depend on your face shape and the rifle or shotgun you’re using, but extra bulky ear pro like the Peltor Sport earmuffs tend to be an issue.

Passive vs. Active Hearing Protection

Passive hearing protection is pretty self-explanatory. It creates a physical barrier to stop harmful sound waves from reaching your eardrums. 

This can take the form of foam earplugs, conventional earmuffs, or – in a worst-case scenario – fingers in your ears. Passive ear pro is extremely inexpensive but it doesn’t discriminate between dangerous gunshots and other peoples’ voices. It muffles everything.

Active ear pro still blocks your ears with a physical barrier, but it adds microphones on the exterior to gather sound, a computer in the middle to limit volume to a safe level, and a speaker on the inside to deliver the filtered signal to your ear.

The result is unbeatable. You’ll hear voices and ambient noise loud and clear, but gunshots will sound more like a “pop” than the typical ear-splitting “crack!”

Advanced Features

Many ear pro manufacturers offer advanced features to help their products stand out. This can include Bluetooth connectivity, a variety of hearing modes, and adapters that help your hearing protection interface with helmets, communications equipment, and other gear.

These are nice to have, but they aren’t required for safety reasons. If you want to use your ear pro to listen to music, look for Bluetooth. If you’re an audiophile, you’ll appreciate being able to tailor how you hear the world around you with multiple hearing modes. If you run helmet-mounted comms equipment, you already know to look for professional-grade ear pro.

Why Trust Shooting Foundation

Editing this article is Scott Murdock. Scott is a Marine Corps veteran who competed and qualified as a rifle and pistol expert while in service. In addition to shooting, Scott has written for a variety of publications, testing, researching, and evaluating guns and gear. He brings that knowledge and skillset to this article, editing and fact-checking for accuracy.

Editor-in-Chief Jacki Billings runs our experienced team of reviewers. She is a National Rifle Association Basic Pistol Instructor as well as a member of the Society of Professional Journalists, ACES: Society for Editing, and the Professional Outdoor Media Association. Jacki has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and has worked as a media professional for close to 20 years, specializing in gun media for almost 10 years. With 2,000+ articles to her name, she uses her professional journalism and editing experience to set testing protocols and editorial standards for Shooting Foundation.

Final Thoughts

Choosing the best ear pro is personal, and you’ll probably end up collecting several over the years. Hopefully, this test gave you the information you need to make an informed decision.

Whatever your budget, I recommend getting the highest-quality ear pro you can. Hearing loss is irreversible, so spend a few bucks now to enjoy a lifetime of hearing-safe shooting.