fuz,
I too have lost too much of my hearing to operate without hear protection. I discovered that a lot of years ago (about 1969, if I remember correctly) and decided to get some "ear muffs" from David Clark. They turned out to be the best thing I had done. I wore them until the pads wore out, and then I upgraded the pads to the "gel" type. That was a substantial improvement both in comfort and in protection.
Ten years ago, or so, I began shooting in a pistol league indoors. I have continued that to date. The indoor range showed that I needed not only the best protection I could get, also something to help me hear commands. I got some moulded plugs to help with the needed protection. They are great for additional protection indoors, and are adequate by themselves outdoors. I highly recommend them, if they are properly done. My second set was not properly done and are not adequate.
A couple of years ago I was one of the range officers at an indoor match and several of competitors brought different brands of the muffs with electronic aids in them. I tried 3 or 4 brands. The best were the Pro-ears magnums. I bought a set thereafter. WONDERFUL! The electronics had been upgraded and they are great. You can be talking to someone and somebody else fire a shot, the muffs will "condense" the shot and you will hear all of the conversation. No interruption; no reduction in the level of sound. Just the loud sounds are compressed. And the best thing is that you can adjust the sound in each ear separately to help you hear. And they are comfortable to wear. I commonly wear mine for 1 to 3 hours at a time.
They are not cheap! They will run around $200 dollars. And you want the magnums if you shoot indoors at all with them. Outdoors, the others work fine. Cabela's has them, as does Brownell's. Best things I know.
Hope this helps.
dclark