Hearing Protection

[duckhunter175]

Looking into some 'inside the ear' style hearing protection. I love my Howard Leights for range days but I'm looking for something to use while duck hunting and while spot and stalk style hunting since most of my rifles have a brake.

Hearing amplification when not blocking sound would be a plus. I'd like to know what other hunters and shooters are running.

Looks like the top competitors are (in no particular order)
1. Westone Defendear Shooter
2. Soundgear Hunter
3. Etymotic Gunsport
4. Walker's 'Silencer' - rechargeable

Who's run em and what did you like/dislike??

 

[wyosteve]

I have a set of the Sound Gear industrial model. My main dislike is that they only diminish the sound of a shot and don't cut if off completely so it still sounds loud to me. Maybe not damaging, but loud. I have some Howard Leights and have worn them bird and waterfowl hunting. I like the fact they cut out the noise of a shot, but as you've likely discovered, they are a bit bulky and I get sweaty around the ears when chasing pheasants.

 

[MarlinMark]

What about "mechanical" in the ear protectors? I heard that special teams train in "shoot houses" with these so that they can talk and then shoot but not suffer damage. I bought a pair that I learned about through a thread where I learned the above stated... they do not cut the sound but apparently they protect from the damage. My 7mm-08 still sounded loud but my ears didn't ring. I need to try these more. Problem is I can't even remember what they were. They were less than $25.

 

[LongWayAround]

I bought a pair of Decibullz percussive filter ear plugs this spring to solve my ear protection problem. These allow you to hear fairly well (hushed conversation at close range) but filter out loud noises like gun shots. Although they are probably not as effective as the battery powered ear muffs. They are a two piece pair with one piece being a moldable form for your ear (much like a plastic mouth guard) and the other being the sound filter which gets inserted into the mold. They're reasonably priced at about $70. Remoldable if you don't get it right the first time time and washable (so far).

I took these on a four day snow goose hunt with setups between 3-8 shooters and just over 200 snow geese taken over decoys. The only shots I really took note of were two occasions when one ear plugs came loose and the guy next to me took a shot, everything else was muffled nicely. It is a bit of a downside that the two plugs have no connection and can be lost independently. My solution in to pull a snug beanie over them.

I have since used them for a few target sessions and have found them to be equally effective while shooting my 7RM or my 12gauge.

 

[Wiscohunter]

I have the Walker HD ear plug style that looks like a hearing aid and used for several years. They do muffle the shot, but ae uncomfortable and can be knocked out easily ( at least in my ears). Plus, they sounded funny. I switched to pro ears muffs this year and am much happier. Sounds are more natural, muffs are easy to use and they muffle a rifle shot well enough.

 

[New Yoraska]

I have been using the sportear custom 360. These are similar to hearing aids, were molded to my ears and have different settings for sensitivity. I use them at work comparing them to the standard ear muffs. I wasn't sure how well they were working till after I went back to the muffs and found the "bad" sounds were more noticeable.

What was nice is that the company has been great to work with and my insurance was able to cover the costs.

Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk

 

[TravKatQ]

Another Sport Ear user here. Went with the Extreme edge model and I where them daily. Beginning of last year I developed tinnitus in both ears pretty bad so I take every step to make sure and protect my ears. Used them on both elk hunts this year and can leave them in all day and almost forget I have them in. They are custom molded for my ear and are hardly noticeable when wearing them. Great investment


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[n816kc]

I used the Etymotics for a week long whitetail hunt. They were comfortable and worked well. Battery life was better than expected but I did turn them off a fair bit when moving. Walking in dry leaves is really loud with them on - like walking thru a bag of Ruffles, but sitting still I could hear movement that I couldn't hear last year without them. Odd, but distant shots sounded much closer than they were and close shots were well muffled. Worked really well with shooting, both turned on and off. They take a little getting used to, but I'll be wearing them for all gun hunts point forward.