Laura
I've worked in a industry were hearing protection was needed and all to offen not heeded.
Stage, theather & film ! when I was young and bronky Rock 'N' Roll roady decibels ( dB) levels were always in the harmful range.
in access of 120 dB and often 150 dB.
With this in mind, understand a Jet engine at 100' is 140db and shotgun is 165 db !
Pain begins at 125 dB and premanent loss begins at 140 dB and death of hearing tissue @ 180 dB.
The product used in hearing protection is measured in NRR the higher the NRR , the lower the heard dB and pressure.
Generally, an NRR of 28 or higher is recommended for shooting sports.
However, recent National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health studies show
Sound levels from weapons, have shown that they range from a low of 144 dB for small caliber weapons such as a 22 caliber rifle to as high as a 172 dB for a 357 caliber revolver.
They recommend double ear protection for shooters, combining soft, insertable ear plugs and external ear muffs.
For my Shop I provide Howard Leight products by Honeywell for my crew.
http://www.howardleight.com/earplugs/super-leight. and
http://www.safetyglassesusa.com/cep001-t.htmlEye protection is mandtory in my shop , and here I don't scrimp either
http://www.safetyglassesusa.com/shooting-glasses.htmlI buy some with bi-focal lens ( Magnifiers + 1.00 to 2.5) very handy
Personally I have several pair, though my favorate are a set of Round wire frames with balistic inpact glass and folding side guards.
these are as (NCOWS) PC as I've found in true Safety Glasses. I have two pair of these, one in clear & one in smoke.
I'll try to remember, who my vendor was ...