I purchased a Winchester 300 win mag with a Boss system when they first came out in the early 90's. The system works well for reducing muzzle jump (that's what I call it) recoil and accuracy.....but it is loud!
I was in my early 20's when I first started shooting it and was religious about hearing protection at the range and about 50/50 in the field. Needless to say, I have hearing loss and tinnitus (permanent ringing) in both ears. Although some of damage could have been caused by a considerable amount of duck/goose hunts with multiple guns being shot at the flock......the majority can be contributed to the brake.
I guess the point I'm rambling towards is that you should be wearing hearing protection regardless if you have a muzzle brake or not and regardless if your in the field or on the bench. Your hearing is priceless.....it sucks just turning 40 and I'm having difficulty hearing things in meetings and I'm already saying "huh", "what" and "look at me when your talking to me." My kids think I'm nuts or way past my prime!
There's so much technology out there that there has to be something that works for you. It's worth every penny too.
Love my brake and will put one on my next gun. Noise shouldn't be an issue since I'll already be wearing hearing protection anyway.
