I'd prefer ear plugs as well but have never been able to find any that work well enough. Can you point me to a place where I can get them with an NRR rating of 30?One may be more comfortable than the other and the electronics in one may be superior than the other, but the name brand matters little to me. I am more concerned with the NRR. I would wear anything with a NRR of 30 or more but my preference is actually custom plugs as I don't really like muffs.