Muzzle Brakes do work well at taming recoil. My wife shoots a 300-win mag with a muzzle brake. She says it dropped the feltrecoil into the 270/ 25-06 range.
I put a muzzle brake onmy 7mm-STW. I will neverdo thatagain. I love the way my 7mm-STW shoots, I just hate the added noise.
I bought a 375-R.U.M. about 6-months ago. I do not have a muzzle brake on it. I would rather shoot a rifle with a stout kick than loose my hearing.
Look into the Sims LimbSaver recoil pads. They do help a bunch.