Ear Protection for Leaf Blowers: Best Budget & Premium Picks

Which are the best Earplugs For Leaf Blowers?

For Leaf Blowers, the best ear plugs are awesafe Electronic Shooting Earmuffs, Shooting Hearing Protection with Noise Reduction.

However, this will depend on several things. If you use them a lot, for example, if it is your principal job, or perhaps just minor use. Also, if you want to use these ear plugs for other things, like listen to music, or Answer Your Phone.

There are earplug options available, for example: Convenient Fitting, Noise Reduction Rating (NRR), Long-Lasting, Flexibility, and if you want earplugs or headphones. As you can see, there is a lot in picking the best fit.

This article will recommend the best ear muffs for leaf blower use, inform you about the types of hearing protection available. How loud types of blower are, and the damage they can do to hearing

How Do You Measure The Efficiency Ear Plugs For Leaf Blowers?

Ear protection is measured with a Noise Reduction Rating (NRR) Number. This number is the number of decibels that the device blocks. So if you have a leaf blower that is 100dB and your muffs have an NNR rating of 30. The noise you will hear is 100dB – 30 = 70dB.

You should always go for the higher NNR rated ear protection.

Ear Protection For Leaf Blowers, Are They Needed?

When to start to run a leaf blower the noise can be deafening, quite literally deafening! If you use a leaf blower to clear your yard, or worse if you use a leaf blower as part of your job, then ear protection is a must. There are different types of blower, but even the “quiet” leaf blowers require that you use the best ear protection.

You may believe, like a lot of people that hearing doesn’t really get that hurt by loud noises. The damage that ears receive may be tiny each time it occurs, but is accumulative and cannot be repaired. That’s why a lot of middle-aged people have hearing problems. (Me included)

Working with noisy machinery regularly is even worse. It is estimated that over $240 million is spent annually on compensation for hearing loss. (2017 – U.S. Department of Labor)

So if you are going to be running one of leaf blowers, even for a short period of time, you need ear protection. They are not expensive and can be used for other noisy tasks (Mowing, Wife nagging, etc.)

Types Of Leaf Blower

There are a few different types of leaf blower hearing protection available. These fall into three main categories. These are listed below in order of noise volume (from loud to very loud)

• Electric Handheld leaf blowers (battery, Corded)
• Gas-powered backpack blowers
• Gas-powered wheeled, walk-behind blowers.

How Loud Is A Leaf Blower?

The volume of a blower depends on two things

• Type Of blower
• Power Of blower

A rough estimate for the three types of leaf blower are given below, but the figure is going to vary by manufacturer and the power rating:

• Handheld blower 80dB
• Backpack blower 100dB
• Walk-behind blower 100+db

These figures are for the noise at the operator’s ear. From about 50 yards away for the blower, the sound reaches 65 to 80 decibels. So if there are other people within this distance (kids, co-workers), they may also require hearing protection.

OSHA states that hearing protection is legally required for noises over 85 dB

Top Pick – 3M WorkTunes With Bluetooth Technology

• Noise Reduction Rating 24 NNR 24 to help protect your hearing
• Integrated Microphone Make and take phone calls without having to remove the headset.
• Hi-Fi Sound 40 mm high-fidelity speakers for premium sound quality.
• Bluetooth Technology stream music from mobile phones or other Bluetooth devices.

What Is The Quietest Leaf Blower?

Over the last decade or so, due to demand (mostly from the neighbors!), manufacturers have started to produce “quiet” leaf blowers. These are quieter than there noisy brothers – but quiet is subjective. You are not going to start one of these, and then wonder if it is actually on – They still make a lot of noise, but less noise than the others.

The quietest leaf blower at the moment is about 65dB in volume – Which is about the same volume as a vacuum cleaner. I will not link to it here as the reviews are not good, as a few people dislike its lack of power

Electric handheld leaf blowers are quieter, but hearing damage is cumulative, so protection is still a good idea. Consumer Reports recommends looking for ear protection with an NRR, noise reduction rating, between 20 to 30. The higher the number, the better.

People Near The Blower, And Neighbors.

When looking for a leaf blower, or deciding when you are going to use it, you will need to keep in mind who will be able to hear you, and how far away they will be from your property. You may have your new ear muffs for a leaf blower, but your neighbors will not.

A leaf blower at 6:30 am on a Sunday if the fastest way to start a feud with your neighborhood!
When being used in a residential area, you will need to get a quieter model, or only use it in the middle of the day. You don’t want your neighbors upset every time you are blowing the leaves from your lawn or cleaning the gutters.

Starting a gas leaf blower is going to wake everyone in your house without a doubt, and probably most of your neighbors as well.

In most of the cities in the United States, there are no laws as to how loud your leaf blower can be, until certain times – the quiet hours. “A typical ordinance prohibits loud noises between 11 p.m. and 7 or 8 a.m. on weekdays and 11 p.m. or midnight until 8 to 10 a.m. on Sundays and holidays.”

This varies by city and state, so check before you start your blower early in the mornings!

Please Note: Just because an ear defender is marked, for example, "Gunshot" - it will still cover other things, like "explosions"

WorkTunes Connect Hearing Protector with Bluetooth Technology

This is yet another special set of earmuffs that are multifunctional. The WorkTunes earmuffs are specially designed for your hearing protection but also for your sheer entertainment.

Unlike ordinary earphones, these particular ones are Bluetooth enabled allowing you to seamlessly listen to music from your music device with ease, as an add-on, it has high fidelity sound hence letting you enjoy the sound of music. Besides that, it has a microphone that allows you to receive and make calls from your phone!

Another one of its awesome features is that it’s cordless! This allows you to move around, to continue with your work at any distance without the hustle of carrying a device like in the case of wired earmuffs.

The beauty of this product is that it comes with hearing protectors for kids in different colours! Thus you can get one for your kid. 

MSA Sordin Supreme Pro X with green cups - Neckband - Electronic Earmuff equipped with comfortable ear-seals, slim-design

If you’re looking for all-rounded comfort and hi-tech earmuffs, these are just the earmuffs for you. This is a unique set of earmuffs because they come with a neckband for a perfect fit and right grip that you can wear all day.

These are highly specialized earmuffs as the manufacturer took into consideration the end-users’ needs, for example, its ear cups have been made in such a way to fit perfectly a right-handed or left-handed shooter. It also has waterproof microphones that direct sound.

The earmuffs are also convenient for use as they operate on batteries that can last up to a whopping 600 hours! So this eliminates the need for a frequent charge as it allows you to work for hours on end.

It’s not easy to come across this kind of earmuffs that meet a multiple of your needs in just one headpiece.

Peltor Sport Ultimate Hearing Protector

Here’s another set of earmuffs designed just to meet your hearing protection needs. The Peltor sport hearing protector looks just like the name, sporty.

It has a green ring around its ear cup giving it a fancy look. Just to list a few of its features that make it such a necessary purchase includes: Adjustable, vented headband design that reduces heat build and improves comfort when worn with caps and hats, it has comfortable foam ear cushions, and it reduces noise at an NRR of 30 dB.

This pair comes at such an affordable price given its incredible features. Look no further if you’re operating on a low budget but yet looking for an earmuff that meets the bare minimum requirements in ear protection. This pair of earmuffs from Peltor will sort you out and give you more than what’s bargained for.

3M PELTOR EEP-100 Ear Plug Kit, Rechargeable, Noise Reduction, Construction, Manufacturing, Maintenance

These are tiny but superb earplugs with superb performance. If you’re the kind of a person that doesn’t like headphones then these earplugs from Peltor are the right ones for you.

The earplugs fit into your ears and are very comfortable to wear. These earplugs are made for the working professional as they provide protection when it’s loud, but allows you to hear normally when it’s not. In addition to that, surrounding sounds can be heard at a level below 82 dB. The earplugs also improve your ability to communicate with nearby colleagues, as well as hearing warning signals, approaching vehicles, or sounds in machines and processes if you’re in a factory setting.

The goodness of its small size is that it’s compatible with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as helmets, eyewear, face-shields, etc.

Though small, they’re just as effective as the regular head-over earpieces.

MSA Sordin Supreme Pro X - Special Edition - Electronic Earmuff with Black Headband, Black Cups and Gel Seals Fitted

Though expensive, the earmuffs are worth every coin if you consider the functionalities of the earmuff.

The MSA Sordin Supreme Pro-X is like an advanced version of earmuffs. This product comes with US military grade ear wear, dampens harmful noise to 82 dB, foldable and slim designed ear cups suitable for right-handed and left-handed shooters, and has a very low battery consumption that allows it to go for up to 600 hours!

The earmuffs are made of robust material i.e. alloy steel which makes it durable, and it also comes with 2 triple A sized batteries. They are also a very comfortable set, its headband, and ear cups are cushioned for your comfort and you can have them on for as long as you want without even realizing you have them on!

These earmuffs are a worthy purchase because it ensures the safety of your ears and for that reason alone, it’s worth every dime!

Awesafe Electronic Shooting Earmuff, Shooting Ear Protection Noise Reduction

Protecting your ears should be a key motivator in purchasing the best in quality earmuffs when out at the shooting range.  It’s a good reason to count this as an investment to the safety of your ears, by acquiring not only good earmuffs but the best quality you can get out there and that is what this review is all about.

The awesafe electronic shooting earmuff is not only a necessary piece of equipment but it’s also very comfortable to wear. Besides comfort some of its features include: it can be used as an earphone for your mp3 player, or phone with its 3.5mm jack pin, it’s easy to pack hence very convenient to carry, it has built-in omnidirectional earphones to increase environmental noises when the sound is over 82dB which provides enhanced communication for shooting, hunting, etc.

So go right ahead and get a pair of your own.