Take it from someone who owns a $5,000 set of hearing aids that make me marginally functional when there isn't lots of ambient noise. Every time you shoot something with a brake you are likely to lose a little bit more hearing, and it doesn't come back.
Use hearing protection at the range, and extra padding. Hunting is a matter of a very few shots in an open, non sound concentrating area. Recoil when shooting at an animal (or in a deal for that matter) is much less noticable.
Bottom line, the really big Africa rifles, and really the ones with bases much larger than the bore, are the only rifles that should be considered for a brake.
Thanks for all of the input! I agree with the noise penaltys associated withusing a brake, but there are some newer brakes out there that offer major noise reductions over a traditional brake. Vais down in Houston makes a brake that vents the gasses forward and has proven to only increase levels for the shooter by about 3 db. Sounds pretty sweet to me