A muzzle brake will dramatically increase the noise level to the shooter.A single shot with a braked riflewill usually cause your ears to ring if you aren't wearing hearing protection.I have been shooting for nearly 40 yearsand according to my annual hearing tests,my hearing is still normal.A friend of mineused to be able tosay the same right up to the point where he fired a single shot from a braked 300win mag.His ears rang for several hours and subsequent hearing tests have shown permanent damage to his hearing from that single shot.By the way,the noise from a braked rifle can also cause a flinch.