Hunting Hearing Aid Reviews

[H'n'F]

At 36, it pretty much sucks to be losing my hearing, but I don't want that to be the end of my solo elk hunting. My last trip found me 30 yards from a bunch of cows in Idaho and I could not hear them at all. My high frequency is gone and I'm looking for some help. If anyone having experience with any of the hearing aids designed for hunting would like to weigh in, I'm all ears, so to speak. I'm heading back to CO next year, with or without electronic help, but I'd sure love to be able to hear those bugles from farther than 100 yards away. Thanks for any advise/opinions.

 

[semperfidelis97]

I have the same issue, I would love to hear what people with that same problem are doing to rectify it.

 

[SHTF]

This is just off the hook creepy. I have an appointment to go down and pick up my hearing aids tomorrow at 830am because of this same reason. I am loosing my hearing. Id be careful with Sport Ear type hearing aids. If your truly loosing your hearing go in and get tested. I have fantastic insurance through Epic through my work and they pay for 80% of my hearing aids. I got the top of the line Phonak hearing aids with bluetooth capability and it only cost me 750$ out the door. These are 5k for the pair so it would of been steep and probably unobtainable for me if I didn't have insurance. To crazy that you posted this.

I had the worst time this last season cause my hunting buddy could hear the elk bugle off in the distance and I had nothing. Told myself I wasn't doing this any longer. Made the appointment so I could get in before the year was out and would of had to pay more if my deductible for the year reset.
Kind of excited about being able to hear things better but also bummed cause its one more damn thing I have to manage and be aware of. Sometimes hearing is optional in my book =-)

best of luck to you. I highly recommend doing it right and don't spend any money on knock off type stuff.

James

 

[SHTF]

Here is what I ended up with phonak v90 Steep but I feel they will be worth it. All Hearing aids will help you hear better. But the more expensive ones will be more customizable so your Hearing Doctor can do a lot of different situational programs for you that you just click the switch to activate. I never knew there was so much to it till I went in and saw my Audiologist (That what they call them?) =)

Phonak Audeo V90 312T Hearing Aid Reviews

 

[justinspicher]

I've had hearing aids for about a year now. Mine are pretty rad, Bluetooth capable and have several custom settings. It's amazing what can hear now.

 

[wyosteve]

I have some Sound Gear hearing assists, made by Starkey, one of the better hearing aid manufacturers. $350 per pair. They amplify and then 'cut out' to prevent the loud rifle blast. Wore them elk hunting this year and heard better than in many years. I also have a pair of Howard Leight electronic muffs which I mainly use for bird hunting. They work great, are cheap, but are bulky and 'sweat' around the ear because of the design. If you are needing full time hearing aids, I'd suggest checking out Costco if you don't have insurance to cover. They have some of the best prices, include a hearing test and great warranty service.

 

[N2TRKYS]

What's the purpose of having Bluetooth capable hearing aids?

 

[go4thegusto]

I have a prosthetic stapoes bone in one ear and tinnitus in both. Much hearing loss from a "miss-spent youth" as Mark Twain called it, but in this case guns, fireworks, engines etc. I cannot take loud noises as the prosthetic seems to amplify and I need to preserve what I have left.

I wear the SoundGear by LaPierre. They are tiny little electronic in-ear units. They noise limit loud noises and just slightly enhance sounds. They can be worn all day. in fact, I will be wearing them tomorrow on a pheasant shoot.

You can find them in the $250 range usually. Here is an example:

SoundGear Industrial Hearing Protection - Ear Protection Equipment - Amazon.com

 

[kicker338]

Been wearing hearing aid's for 5yrs. now so here are some things to know about them. 1 They will never restore your hearing to a normal hearing level. As one hearing doc. put it to me ( I can bring back most of your lost hearing but not all of it). 2 Be careful of hearing aids with all the bells and whistles the more the bells the bigger the power drain. I have phonak aids which are next to the top ones with all the bells. My brother has ones with all the bells, batts. last about a wk. in mine, my brothers the batts. last about 1 day. 3 According to my audiologist there is no loud noise protection with hearing aids so I carry muff's with me when rifle hunting and put then on when I see or hear something. A pain in the but ?? You bet but better to poss. miss a shot than damage my hearing any more than it already is. The only alternative I have found is the walkers game ear, not the best for hearing but if you can't stand carring muff's with you the game ear or some product like is your only other choice.

 

[SHTF]

What's the purpose of having Bluetooth capable hearing aids?

So you can hear Phones tv's music in your ear instead of in the environment around you. Also nice for when your doing radios that are bluetooth capable

 

[H'n'F]

Thanks all; good info so far. I've been to the Audiologist and had all of the testing. The good thing (big picture) is that my major hearing loss in the high frequency range and the lower ranges are not as bad. This means that they won't recommend me for hearing aids (yet). The bad thing (selfish hunter picture) is that the loss is mostly in the high freq. range so I can't hear those pesky elk very well. With "real" hearing aids not in the cards at this time, I was hoping one of the hunter specific brands may fit the bill for helping me level the field with the critters.

 

[kicker338]

Thanks all; good info so far. I've been to the Audiologist and had all of the testing. The good thing (big picture) is that my major hearing loss in the high frequency range and the lower ranges are not as bad. This means that they won't recommend me for hearing aids (yet). The bad thing (selfish hunter picture) is that the loss is mostly in the high freq. range so I can't hear those pesky elk very well. With "real" hearing aids not in the cards at this time, I was hoping one of the hunter specific brands may fit the bill for helping me level the field with the critters.

I know most of my post was about regular hearing aids, but just for hunting don't over look the walkers game ear. I played around with one for a few days and they were pretty darn good. The only draw back to them is the foam rubber ends, they just don't like they are suppose to. What I found out was the people who use them in place of regular aids, and there's a lot that do, get the custom molded ear pieces to eliminate the foam ones. They say that works like a charm. If you want to try them keep in mind you by federal law have 30 days to return them.

 

[topher89]

My wife is an Audiologist, I will pick her brain later on today.

Couple things I do know...
1. Go to a real clinic. Costco hearing aids suck and are not fit by real audiologists. They are cheap and there is a reason why. Also, there are a lot of private practices and hearing aid clinics out there. They are not necessarily bad but most of these places run on commission, which means they may steer you to a higher price point than you need. 20% of $5000 is a lot better than 20% of $3000.

2. Don't expect them to be perfect. Hearing aids will never get you back to perfect hearing but can get you close and they are better than nothing.

 

[TJ]

I've been thinking about this topic for quite a while. Thanks for bringing it up.
I was elk hunting with my sons this year and they were hearing things I could not pick up at all.

I think it's time to look for an audiologist.

 

[H'n'F]

I'm going to look into the Walker's products. I can hear well enough to get by, but not hearing the elk is like wandering lost in the woods, hoping to stumble upon them. If they aren't out in the parks where I can spot them, it's a crap shoot at best. Any amplification of sound, that doesn't cause the rustling of leaves and my footsteps to drown out the other sounds, will be helpful. Thanks for all of the replies, guys! Happy New Year.