Thanks for the replies and the warm welcome!
Will checkout the mesh face protection and the Earmors look like a good shout too, my brothers do have radios, but they use the ear pieces, which I can't use- the Earmors would solve that. I might switch from the spoggles to some goggles too, which would avoid having the arms joggling the hearing aids about and dislodging them.
In terms of the rifle, I am working hard to hold myself back from falling into the upgrade black hole! The three of us are talking about purchasing a joint backup AEG (probably something like a Specna Flex) and if/when that happens, I might crack mine open to check shimming and air seal as a first step, but not until then!
Thanks again
Quagmire