The attenuation characteristics of ten commercially available hearing protectors (five muffs and five plugs) were examined for 1/3‐octave bands of noise centered at 1000, 2000, 3150, 4000, and 6300 Hz in ten normal‐hearing young adults utilizing four psychophysical procedures. One of these procedures, the real‐ear attenuation at threshold procedure described in the American standard for the evaluation of hearing protectors, is designed for use at 1/3‐octave band noise levels below approximately 50 dB SPL. Three real‐ear psychophysical procedures were also developed and evaluated. These procedures were: (1) a reaction‐time paradigm; (2) a loudness magnitude‐estimation procedure; and (3) a masked bone‐conduction threshold technique. Each procedure was designed to evaluate protectors for 1/3‐octave bands of noise having levels ranging from approximately 50 to 90 dB SPL. Mean data indicated that: (1) attenuation was linear over the range investigated, although some exceptions to this generalization were apparent; (2) attenuation estimates derived with the reaction‐time and magnitude‐estimation paradigms were typically less than those obtained with the other two methods; and (3) all attenuation estimates, regardless of procedure, were less than manufacturer’s specifications for the majority of the protectors. Implications for existing standards are discussed.