When I was a kid I shot a lot of standard velocity .22lr out of my grandpa's Marlin bolt gun without ear protection and it wasn't even uncomfortable, let alone make my ears ring. I believe that rifle has a 22" barrel. I seem to remember reading somewhere that most .22lr is loaded for 16"-18" barrels and I speak from both theory and experience when I say that barrels over about 20" cut down on the noise drastically. Having a closed/manual action (ie, not a revolver or semi-auto) also helps a lot.
I've even shot .22 mag with no hearing protection from a 21" barrel bolt gun and it was slightly uncomfortable, just enough to make me think "I probably shouldn't do this often" but not enough to make my ears ring.
But as far as hunting ammo goes, I like CCI. Partly because I have to use non-lead here in California and CCI lead the charge in non-lead rimfire, but also because CCI in general seems to be the most consistent of the commonly available stuff.