I agree with Richard brake or not hearing protection is a must. I myself am not a big fan of brakes (except on cars those are a life saver

) I always use a sandbag between my rifle and sholder when at the range. I have been made fun of several times but at then end of the day after shooting up to 100 magnum rifle rounds in different calibers my sholder does not even know that we went to the range. You could also work up a load with a lighter bullet that would help as well.
If you do get a brake and do any prone shooting make sure you get a side discharge or else you might get a face full of dirt.