3MCASH7A Peltor Optime 101 Over-the-Head Earmuff, Hearing Protection, Ear Protectors, NRR 27dB Green

Holy wow! I think I am in love 😍! The headset arrived today. I popped them on. And then there was an awesome silence. I. Am. Trilled!I don’t HAVE to listen to the virtual meeting in the room next door!I can think when I want to and get things done during the most productive time of day for me! Regardless of who is around me!I stay up late - in large part because I have peace and quiet. Then, I want to sleep the next morning because I am groggy and sleepy from staying up late. And I am livid to be woken up by off-key asthmatic singing and loud music.Sometimes I actually am tired at night. And I end up having to turn up the sounds on my white noise app to distract my mind - cause if I get angry, I can forget about sleep. It will wake me all the way up.Then, there are times when I need to read, think, or study. It is hard is especially hard to have words being spoken when I am trying to write. I now have an office that is not my home office. This helps a lot. But, if I can not escape there for some reason, it is nice to have a non-electric solution handy. I feel more productive already!Can I sleep in it? Absolutely! I am able to sleep on my back. I loosened up the bad so that it does not squeeze so tight. And, it is pretty comfortable - the squeezing of my head is less and there is a seal but not suction. I think that this will work out even better than earplugs.I chose this option because I wanted something with a larger ear cup - so that I could wear my earrings and/or earphones underneath. I had read that this series had larger cups, but the 98 is ugly and the 105 is huge and ugly, So, I figured that this would be a middle of the road solution - solid black, moderate-to-very good silencing, and still from 3M, the leader in hearing protection. The ear hole looked alarmingly small. It’s not. The cavity is larger on the inside and necks down at the edge. So, I had to flip my earring loops up and fit each ear inside. They do look larger than regular headphones… ABH out 4 figure widths wide based on female hands. ( I have not yet tried earphones and earplugs underneath later.). I also choose these because of the quality construction.The big deal is that I am sitting here is near silence. And I am overjoyed! I feel like I have control over my life back. And I really have been tempted to move out just to escape loud bursts of laughter while listening to YouTube shorts for hours at night. It is so empowering to have options.If you are looking for high hearing protection that fits large ears (or ears with earrings, earplugs, or earphones in my case), is a more subtle color than bright yellow or red/black, and helps to silence noise, this is a great one to consider.

Hi. I have a couple of Peltor Optimes: these 101's and also a pair of 105's. (I thought I'd lost the 105's so I got these, and even though the 105's reappeared I like these somewhat better.)I didn't get these because I shoot guns on a rifle range. I got them because I ride the New York subway every day. These give me peace, quiet, serenity and bliss. And, when I combine these with a pair of earbuds (I really like the Bose Triports) and an MP3 player, I get music I can actually hear (unlike all the other people on the train, who try to compensate for the train's noise by turning their music up really loud - poor things! They still can't hear the music and they're ruining their hearing). Even on a fast moving train I can hear not only the quiet violin parts of a Vivaldi concerto, but also the ECHO of the violin notes. Fantastic. You can pay $300 for a pair of noise cancelling headphones that will sorely tempt every petty thief who sees you, or you can get these, and be left alone by everyone. 'Nuff said.I like both the 101 and 105's. The 101's are slightly lighter and slightly more comfortable. They might let in a little more ambient sound, but when you're walking down a New York street you probably want a little of that anyway. I think the 101's (these earmuffs) look a little cooler becuase of the dark color (it's actually a very dark olive green, not black). The 105's have red trim that makes these already dorky looking headphones look even dorkier.I realize these make me look like a mega-nerd (although some people seem to think I'm wearing industrial sized DJ headphones, which I guess they think is cool). Well, I AM a mega-nerd, so I don't really care what people think, but if you do, you might not want these. If what you care about is actually being able to hear your music, and not having your ears ruined by howling subway trains, then these are great, with or without earbuds. Added bonus: you no longer have to be annoyed by other people's insipid conversations. For that alone, these are more than worth the money.Protect your ears. Have some peace and quiet. Be able to actually hear your music. These earmuffs are a good idea.PS I have a very fat head and these fit OK. If you have a normal head they will probably be quite comfortable. I feel a tiny bit squeezed by them, but I still think it's worth it to wear them.

Been wearing Peltor gear for 40 years of carpentry and landscaping. At 65 my hearing is so good that I can still hear my neighbors griping about how good my lawn looks. Bless their hearts!

You can think while making all kinds of noise.

As with several other folks on this thread, I fly 100k miles per year, but just can't rationalize paying as much for a pair of Bose noise cancellers as for my HDTV (!) so I gave this DIY solution a try - I went with the 101's since they looked a bit more discrete than some of the other earmuffs here, plus th NRR 27 rating is on the high side, and they are the highest rated earmuffs on Amazon. I pair these with a set of Philips SHE9620 earbuds for $20 solution of awesomeness! I've flown with other earmuffs before, most notably the Howard Leight Syncs, but these surpass those in every way - the comfort is great, the "ear holes" are bigger for larger ears, the sound of the Philips is actually enhanced in the 101's, enough so that I now listen to them at home in this configuration. Also, the internal ear cavity is quite deep, so any earbuds will fit without interference. The 101's work well for larger heads, and the key is they knock down the plane engine noise enough so that while listening, it's almost non-discernable. Our little secret that the folks in first class don't have it as good as you! Great price, high quality made-in-USA product, comfortable fantastic DIY solution (so long as you can handle the basic dorkiness of the overall look).