[Jhaislet]

Who does or does not use hearing protection while hunting?
If you do, what type of hearing protection do you use?

[mete]

No because I depend too much on hearing deer and ear protecters would interfere with that . One shot without protection isn't going to harm your ears. On the other hand I take good care of my ears, I wear protection when target shooting , operating machinery, and avoid things like loud music.Sadly most youngsters have lost a good part of there hearing by the time they are 18 because they listen to loud rock music. Do some research on decibel sound levels at a rock concert,they are far above permissible OSHA levels. By taking care of my ears I have much better hearing that others my age and batter than many who are much younger.

[Art Eatman]

Dittoes with mete.

Art

[Double Naught Spy]

Gentlemen, your understanding auditory damage is not accurate. Hearing damage is cumulative. Depending on the amount of sound you actually experience, you likely are suffering hearing damage even with single shots. The insidious nature of the damage is that you won't notice the damage being done and have the impression that you are not doing hearing damage when you are. Depending on the audiologist doing the studies, singular short term episodes of noise, as by guns, of 140+ or 150+ is enough to cause permanent hearing damage. Some gun reports are in the neighborhood of 170 db. The first noticed damage will be in high register sounds getting lost, such as high pitched noise.

mete, you mentioned most lose their hearing to listening to loud music and the like. That is partially true. Hearing loss can occur via prolonged expose to loud noice like music and machinery. As the noise level increases (which is actually an increase of sound pressure levels with every 3 db actually representing a doubling of the sound pressure levels), the time needed for exposure to do damage decreases. Single, very loud sound events can do immediate damage.

From http://agebb.missouri.edu/occmed/bull4q.htm

While not going up high enough, this data on this link note the inverse relationship between duration and hearing damage. Eight hours a day of 90 db poses a risk and sounds of 115 db have a comparable risk for just 15 minutes of exposure.

Now check out http://keepandbeararms.com/information/XcIBViewItem.asp?ID=2052

As noted by the audiologist author, a single gunshot can be comparable to a week's worth of lower level hearing damage sound exposure. This is a must read if you are concerned about hearing protection.

The naive idea that hearing protectors would prevent you from hearing deer is bogus. Electronically amplified muffs, and now plugs, have been around for years. In fact, you can actually wear hearing protection that will greatly INCREASE your ability to hear things such as the the foot fall of a slow walking deer on the leaves or bugs scurrying through the grass by where you are sitting.

also see http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=92303&highlight=hearing+protection

[BenW]

Foam plugs are always in while bird hunting. I used to not carry ear protection while mammal hunting, but now carry the "collar style" plugs you see ground crew at airports use. I can get them in pretty darn quick. I may still miss snap shot opportunities, but I don't wanna end up like my dad. Eh? What? Huh?

[TrapperReady]

You bet!

At 37 years old, I've got moderate hearing loss in my left ear and slight hearing loss in my right. If more than one person is talking near me, I have a heck of a time picking out individual words. It sucks. My kids get fed up with me for having to say "Say again?!" constantly.

While I'm sure some of it is from listening to too-loud music, most is from firearms (and other Army-issued pyrotechnics). Whenever feasible, I've always worn hearing protection... with the major exception of being in the field.

Well, last year I started noticing my hearing was worsening... tinnitus getting louder... normal sounds muffled.

So, I now wear hearing protection each and every time I'm shooting. When hunting, I've got some Peltor Tactical 7 Surrounds, which do a pretty good job of letting me hear. However, they are cumbersome. The last few times I've been out, I've worn some custom-molded plugs, and that's worked well.

In fact, I now carry those plugs with me almost all of the time, and put them in anytime the noise-level goes up too much (mowing the lawn, at a bar/restaurant with a live band, the kids singing in the car ;) ).

You only get one chance to keep your hearing intact. If it gets damaged, then it can't really be fixed. Use pro every chance you get!

[mtnbkr]

I've been considering this for a few months. My problem is that I hunt primarly by sound. I'd like to get some ear protection that amplifies sounds and supresses gunshots, but most are quite expensive or bulky.

The Woodland Whisper 2 looks like it might offer some hearing protection, but I can't find an NRR rating for it. Does anyone have any experience with it? The next closest option is nearly $200 per ear and it goes up quickly from there.

Chris

[Fire1]

After firing my .44mag once without hearing protection, I swore I would never do it again. I now carry Peltor Tac 6s electronic muffs when I am pistol hunting. If I am hunting with my rifle, I don't wear them, but I am starting to reconsider. I'm not even 35 and I have noticable tinnitus from loud music and gunfire. It sucks. I like to keep things simple and don't want to use techno-gadgets to give myself an advantage, but I also want to continue hearing.

[JShirley]

I believe in hearing protection. The Army advised me that I already had hearing damage when I joined, and my haste to employ protection when around loud noises soon because a community joke in my squad.

Unfortunately, wearing Tac-6 or -7 for hours makes me pretty uncomfortable and disoriented. Still looking for a good solution.

John

[Coltdriver]

I wear hearing protection when hunting.

Remington brands a low end peltor set that has amplified sound capability and cuts out that sound above a certain level to give you the db reduction of the headsets.

They allow me to walk through the forest, hear just fine, and have protection when I shoot. As an added benefit they keep my ears warm!

The remingtons cost $100 at wal mart.

As a very low cost alternative there are ear plugs that have a floating mechanism that closes above a certain pressure (db). They are under $20 and give you normal hearing with excellent protection.

I will never forget going on to a flight line in the Air Force with an older sargent. I complained that the noise level was painful. He said that after a while you "got used to it".:D

[Art Eatman]

HearGuards make sense when there's gonna be a lot of shooting; a dove hunt, for instance.

Two or three rifle shots per deer season won't leave you damage free, but the cumulative effect is quite small.

One %$##$^! 5" cannon on the USS St. Paul, in 1954, already gave me 20 years' worth of "behind the curve", anyway.

:), Art

[Lennyjoe]

I will never forget going on to a flight line in the Air Force with an older sargent. I complained that the noise level was painful. He said that after a while you "got used to it".

I did. But its taking its toll. I wear protection all the time on the flight line but there are times when I cant get them in fast enough. Like when I was driving the truck on the line. Drivers side window open, radio in my right ear, crew chief yelling in over the sound of engines. After a while I took a permanent shift in my left ear. Have had ringing for the last 8 years in both ears.

I have asked the question on the general forum on hearing protection. Here is the thread (http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=44877&highlight=hearing+protection) on the outcome of questions I asked on hearing protection

[Bigjake]

naw, i'm young and one shot here or there aint much worry to me ;)

[Moparmike]

I am one of those young whippersnappers that listen to loud music. Not often, and not too loud. I like my music to envelop me, and be felt and not just heard.

Felt is one thing; taking over for the natural rhythym of my heart is another.:uhoh: :scrutiny:

[sm]

Depends.
Doves usually foam plug in weak side "loose' foam in strong ear. ( listening for wingbeats , commands for dogs, and "coming your way". Now when covered in doves, money on the line (bird:shell) plugs are in, everyman for himself...business is business. [ 13 birds with 11 shells takes the pot] :D

Back when we had quail , sometimes or weak side only.(again listening for dogs locater bells, commands...safety.
Deer rarely.
Some duck blinds I needed for the calling, not gunshots :p

[Timothy]

At 64 I am blessed with excellent hearing but about four years ago I almost ruined that. I shot a deer straight ahead of me with my 44Mag and there was a large tree (that I had been leaning against) to my left and just a couple feet ahead of me. Well, that blast noise ricochet off that tree and into my left ear. It was like someone driving a 16 penny nail into my ear and provided discomfort for two weeks. That’s when I started hunting with electronic muffs. They are great for protection and as advertised, do amplify and I can hear Squirrels that sound like Bear coming. The only thing I don’t care for is the extraneous sounds they pick up. For example, a distant airplane, car, or four-wheeler. These sounds dominate your listening experience making it difficult to sort out and focus on “animal” sounds. (From the first time you hear a single engine airplane coming until it gets out of hearing range seems like an eternity but I’ll still continue to wear them)
Anyone else have this or another complaint?

[Double Naught Spy]

mtnbkr, I understand that $200 may be expensive for you. As noted, there are cheaper alternatives that you can use. As for the money, think of it this way, you should not be shooting without the proper gear. Think of the muffs like ammo. You can't hunt without ammo. A price of $200 to save your hearing is NOTHING compared to the costs of losing your hearing and decline of your quality of life.

Whatever pleasure you get from hunting will no doubt be off set by your hearing damage that will become most evident, maybe sooner or maybe later in life, you know, during the golden years when you hope to be holding your band new grandbaby and hearing him/her coo and babble and you realize you can't hear the soft sounds of the child because you no longer have 'high register' capabilities to hear properly (high pitched tones). Or as in the case of people like my father, you realize you have to have a cell phone with a vibration function because the cell phone rings in a tone range that he can't hear.

A VERY GOOD idea is to wear plugs and electronic muffs. In my case, I have fairly normal hearing while doing this. I have the muffs turned up as high as they will go. The sound in the muffs would be too loud if not for the plugs. The combined sound suppression helps offset shortcomings of both. Plugs tend to work better than muffs, assuming they properly fit the auditory canal but do zero for sound transferred via bone conduction. Improperly fit plugs can allow direct entry of noise into the ear. Muffs help to dampen bone conduction of noise but do not always seal 100% due to facial hair, glasses, odd head shapes, etc. If there is a sound leak, however, it is at an angle from the ear and the sound is not leaked directly into the canal.

Timothy, sure enough, the amplified sound of electronic muffs amplify just about everything. The ability to hear animal noises bettter comes with hearing EVERYTHING better. With just muffs on, can hear the fabric of my clothes moving as I walk and every single breath can sounds like to woosh of air through the open window of a car traveling down the highway. So if you want to have selective sound amplification, you are going to need to determine what the sound ranges are for the sounds you want to hear and then invest a lot of money buying custom gear that will filter unwanted sounds and amplify wanted sounds.

So, if the muffs amplify too much, turn down the volume to levels comparable to what you would normally hear if you were not wearing muffs.

[nygunguy]

My .44 really hurts my ears and I would assume what's left of my hearing. When target shooting I usually wear plugs and muffs. When hunting I wear these:

Cabelas Sonic Ears (http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jhtml?id=0016203220678a&navAction=jump&navCount=0&indexId=&podId=0016203&catalogCode=XD&parentId=&parentType=&rid=&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fcatalog%2Fitem-link.jhtml.1_A&_DAV=search&hasJS=true)

They allow you to hear ambient sound fairly well and muffle the blast fairly well also. For $8 they're OK.

[Mossy Bloke]

Just put a thread up on a deer I killed last week. I never wear hearing protection when hunting. I like swamps and hardwood bottoms and hearing them before seeing them is vital.

That said...I shot my latest deer with my 45/70. I've never had a problem with a gunshot when shooting at a deer. Most of the time it hardly even registers. Not this time.

It actually hurt after pulling the trigger on my Guide Gun. Ported barrels are great except when shooting at a deer from a treestand.

[mtnbkr]

mtnbkr, I understand that $200 may be expensive for you. As noted, there are cheaper alternatives that you can use. As for the money, think of it this way, you should not be shooting without the proper gear.

It's not $200, it's $400 (2x$200). And it's not the money, but not knowing if they're really going to work for me and be worth the $400. Trust me, I see the value in them, but I've got to be sure they're going to work before spending that much money. I can take a $100 risk, but $400 is getting serious.

I'd be happy to get a set of electronic muffs, but I can't get a good cheek weld with them. I have to double up at the range to make sure I have adequate protection. If I double up while hunting, I won't be able to hear my own footsteps, much less another animal's.

I have a set of the sonic valve plugs that seem to work well. Not as good as standard plugs, but better than nothing. I'll probably wear those this season. If I can get a set of earmolds made, I may get a set of custom plugs with the sonic valves built in.

Once again, does anyone have any experience with the Woodland Whisper 2? It seems to be a low cost alternative to the expensive behind the ear protection/enhancement, but I wonder just how well they block noise when it gets too loud.

Chris

[txgolfer45]

I bought the Pro Ears hunting model of electronic ear muffs. They work great and allow a good cheek meld due to the slimmer profile. They come in hunter green.

Scott

[griz]

I tried a lower end elecronic set. After a while I got used to hearing squirells making so much racket, but my problem is the constant white noise. I don't know if it's wind or just noise inherent in the electronics (like tape hiss) but it bugs me.

Do the higher end sets do better in that respect?

[Timothy]

My Peltors do a bit of the same thing. I think it is proportional to the volume setting. What helps for me is to pick out a sound at a given distance and set the volume accordingly. Example: A squirrel running in the leaves at 75 yards. Turn the vol. to just hear the squirrel. You may not completely eliminate the hiss but you will possibly reduce it to a tolerable level. Sure, you may not hear a deer at 100 yards but you will probably have seen it by then. I only rely on sound amplification for what I can't see.

[Lennyjoe]

Took the 835 with the ported barrel out Quail hunting Saturday and I honestly couldnt tell any difference in noise volume between that and my WInchester 1400.

Did try to wear earplugs but couldnt hear my buddies at all so I took them out.

[gun-fucious]

Hello Santa Claus...

http://www.walkersgameear.com/digital.asp

As for hearing protection, Walker’s Digital Game Ear uses an advanced Sound Activated Compression (SAC) circuit that compresses loud sounds like muzzle blast instantaneously to safe levels. The sound-tube earplug included with each unit provides superior hearing protection with a Noise Reduction Rating_ (NRR) of 29 dB.


i gather ya need to buy 2...

or go mono with a plug

[TrapperReady]

griz - The way that I usually adjust my Peltors is to turn the volume up until I start to hear the white noise, then back it down slightly until that goes away. It works pretty well.

Also, when I wear foam plugs under the muffs, it cuts out a lot of that noise (as well as making the overall protection more effective). The trade-off there is that I lose the amplification and it's slightly worse (for general hearing) than nothing at all. Personally, I like that trade-off. I get slightly less acute hearing, but very good protection.

[Lennyjoe]

Santa Claus aint that rich in my house.

[Double Naught Spy]

mtnbkr, you enjoy hearing the crunch of animal feet when you hunt now because from the sounds of things, you will not be able to hear them later. Your hunting experience will decline in a manner where you will undoubtedly start to try to convince yourself that the animals are fewer in number or quieter because they have gotten smarter and know you are hunting...only they haven't gotten smarter, but you have gotten more deaf.

I am not conflicted with you. I want you to be able to continue enjoying what you do, but your "too expensive" and "don't fit me right" arguments are really not in your best interest as a justification for not wearing protection.

Somewhere in my memory, those were similar argument for condoms. For a guy like me with ears like mine, the small ones don't fit right!...but so far I still don't have hearing aids....budoomp-boomp!

You know what they say, big ears, big ear muffs.

[mtnbkr]

mtnbkr, you enjoy hearing the crunch of animal feet when you hunt now because from the sounds of things, you will not be able to hear them later. Your hunting experience will decline in a manner where you will undoubtedly start to try to convince yourself that the animals are fewer in number or quieter because they have gotten smarter and know you are hunting...only they haven't gotten smarter, but you have gotten more deaf.
I am not conflicted with you. I want you to be able to continue enjoying what you do, but your "too expensive" and "don't fit me right" arguments are really not in your best interest as a justification for not wearing protection

:rolleyes:

Did you even read what I wrote? I said the various electronic hearing protection is worth the money provided they fit me properly. Proper fit is paramount because if they don't fit, they won't protect. How did that get translated to "too expensive" and "they don't fit"?

Here's what I said: Trust me, I see the value in them, but I've got to be sure they're going to work before spending that much money


That's why I wear plugs and muffs when I shoot today. Muffs frequently contact the stock of my rifle when I get a good cheek weld, pushing the left cup away from my head. Without plugs, my left ear would be as good as bare.

Besides, I'm not in danger of going deaf from hunting at the moment. I'm doing good to fire a single shot during deer season. When I'm at the range, I double up as a habit.

Chris

[Jaywalker]

Good thread. I believe I should wear protection while hunting, but without this thread I might have forgotten to take my Peltors with me. I double up with foam at the range, but I'm not sure I'll do that next week in the field. I will change the batteries, though. I like hearing the squirrels running around. Cheek weld isn't an issue for me with mine. Also, FWIW, my Peltors have a little moleskin on the right earpiece that deaadens the "thunk" when my rifle but contacts it. Good idea, I think.

mtnbkr, I read your plaintive wail for a report on the Woodland Whisper 2, but have no experience with it. I'm waiting for your review, though. :D I'll be buying my license this evening. Do you, or anyone else, have a brand name for the "sonic valve" earplugs? Is this a Wally World item?

Jaywalker

[mtnbkr]

Jaywalker,

The Sonic Valve tech can be found in different brand earplugs. The ones I bought are made by Silencio. I found them at Wal-Mart. They are blue in color. IIRC, they were about $10, give or take a few bucks. With them in, normal sounds are just barely attenuated. However, they seem to block loud noises like gunshots to a degree. I wouldn't use them by themselves for range duty, but under muffs or for use when off the line (like waiting for your group's turn at trap) or hunting should be fine.

I like how they work, but they are incredibly uncomfortable, actually painful, for me. It's not that particular plug, but that style (any of the ribbed rubber plugs hurt my ears it seems). I found a company that can make custom molded plugs using that valve. Once I get molds made, I'm going to get a set. NRR for the custom ones is 17. Not the best, but better than nothing and you still hear quiet sounds. The same company will make custom plugs for use with the electronic enhancement/protection devices (the behind the ear ones, not muffs).

Chris

[ScottsGT]

I'll second the Remingtons at Wally World. I use them when I carry my .44 magnum. 190db will do perminant damage. Even only once. I actually carried my Raging Bull around at a gunshow to sell it, a gentleman asked why I was selling. Told him I don't want to ruin my ears hunting, won't wear earplugs hunting, so I have no need for it. He sent me to Wally World to get the Remingtons, and told me to keep the gun if I really liked it. The first time I wore the muffs, I thought I had gone deaf at the end of the hunt when I removed them. I could hear the redneck in the mobile home 2 miles away with Freebird cranked up while he was vacuuming out his truck! That guy's singing really was bad! And he thought he was all alone.

[mtnbkr]

I had my Audiologist appointment today. After the normal battery of tests, she concluded my hearing was nearly perfect. I have 100% of my hearing in my right ear and 90% in my left. Most of the loss, if not all, probably comes from my band-geek days since we never wore hearing protection then.

She gave me a list of local audiologists who could make custom molds of my ears for custom plugs and the like. She asked me if I needed them because I was in a band. I replied truthfully, "no, I shoot". No lectures on how shooting is bad for my ears or anything like that. She pointed out that I could find manufacturers for shooting specific hearing protection in magazines and such and that I could get custom electronic protection once I got the molds (duh, that's why I wanted them made).

Chris

[Jaywalker]

I wore the Peltors hunting yesterday/Saturday. They keep your ears warm. Unfortunately, they didn't do much else after I took a small, impromptu swim.

I'd like to try the Game-Ear gun-fucious mentions, but nearly $500 - either each, or even for two, is just too much money.

Jaywalker

[mtnbkr]

They're not swimmer's ear protection Jaywalker. :neener:

BTW, Walker makes a non-digital plug for about $150 per ear.

Chris