NRR rating chart: every published rating we could source, by protector type

The chart, by protector type

Everything in the tables on this page is the figure the maker publishes on its own page or data sheet, with the source linked at the bottom. Bench & Berm does not measure attenuation, and we do not reprint numbers from listings or forums. Where a maker publishes a figure that differs from another of its own pages, we use the lower one and say so.

What each type tops out at

The headline that surprises most new shooters: the cheapest product in the whole category has the highest published rating. A pack of disposable foam plugs outrates every earmuff on the market, and it does so by two decibels over the best passive muff and three over the best electronic one.

The full chart, product by product

Kids' and youth muffs cluster tightly at 22 to 25, which is the single most useful fact on this page for a parent: there is no high-rating option in children's sizes, so fit and consistent wear are the whole game. Our kids' ear protection page ranks on the ages makers actually publish.

How to read a rating

The Noise Reduction Rating is defined by an EPA regulation, 40 CFR Part 211 Subpart B, which still governs the label today. The regulation describes it as a single-number noise reduction factor in decibels derived from laboratory testing that accounts for variation in fit and in noise spectra.

Three things follow from that, and they are the reason a chart alone is not enough:

• It is a single number standing in for performance across frequencies. Two protectors with the same NRR do not necessarily attenuate the same way at every pitch.
• It is a laboratory figure for a correctly fitted protector. It is not what you get from a plug rolled too thin or a muff sitting on a glasses temple.
• It is not subtracted directly from the noise level. See the arithmetic below.

Our what NRR do I need for shooting page works through the whole calculation with the federal sources, and NRR vs SNR explains why a European SNR number on a listing is not a drop-in replacement for an NRR.

The caveat printed on the label

That is why this site treats the NRR as a comparison tool between products rather than as a prediction of what reaches your ear on a firing line. It is the best published figure available for ranking protectors, and it was not designed for the noise you are using it for.

Why the real-world figure is lower

OSHA does not use the printed rating as it stands. Its Appendix B method is to subtract 7 dB from the NRR before subtracting the result from an A-weighted exposure, and OSHA's Technical Manual gives a worked example of it.

You will also see percentage derating quoted — subtract 25 percent for earmuffs, 50 percent for slow-recovery foam plugs, 70 percent for other plugs. That came from NIOSH 98-126, and it is no longer NIOSH's recommendation: a 2025 science policy update states that "NIOSH recommends individual, quantitative fit testing of hearing protection in lieu of the derating scheme". If you ever see those percentages presented as current advice, that is why they are not.

Doubling up does not add

A chart invites the obvious mistake: NRR 33 plugs plus NRR 31 muffs does not equal NRR 64. OSHA's method is to take the higher rating, apply the usual subtraction, then add 5 dB for the second protector, and OSHA's own note says it plainly: "It is important to note that using such double protection will add only 5 dB of attenuation."

Five decibels is still the biggest single improvement most shooters can make, which is why we recommend doubling up indoors. The full argument and arithmetic is on double hearing protection, and ear protection for indoor ranges covers where it matters most.

The highest-rated pick in each type

What not to do with this chart

• Do not buy on the number alone. The highest-rated muff is the deepest one, which is exactly wrong for a shotgun — see ear protection for shotgun shooting.
• Do not add two ratings together. Five decibels, per OSHA.
• Do not read an SNR as an NRR. Different scale, different method. The PROHEAR row above shows both figures for the same product so you can see the gap.
• Do not assume a tip change keeps the rating. AXIL publishes 21 dB with foam tips and 17 dB with silicone on the same earbud.
• Do not treat a rating as a seal. How you wear it decides what you get: how to wear foam earplugs and when to replace hearing protection are both more consequential than two decibels on a chart.