Electronic ear plugs

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CopperFouling

CopperFouling

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I don't care for earmuffs when hunting, so I am looking around for some electronic ear plugs (the kind that transmit conversation but cut sound past a certain threshold). Either the kind that sit behind the ear or the kind that are completely in the ear canal would suffice.

I've seen at least one manufacturer (Sound Gear) having a pretty significant sale on them. Does anyone have experience with those or have any other recommended types? Thanks in advance.
 
I bought a pair of custom molded electronic ear plugs. Well worth the money. I have a problem with normal ear muffs because i have very large ears and muffs sit low to cover my trophy size ears. Ear muffs are OK when i shoot shotgun, but when shooting a rifle with a raised comb the stock pushes the muffs up rendering them not so effective.
 
I use 2 at once, The plugs by peltier, and a cheapo new set of muffs. I never was able to block out the sound enough with just one.
 
I do not use anything while hunting. When hunting, you do not actually hear the shot. Your ears “blink”. However, while practice shooting, your ears do not do this. It is the body’s natural response, and result, of being in a “stressful” situation.
 
BigBore44 said:
I do not use anything while hunting. When hunting, you do not actually hear the shot. Your ears “blink”. However, while practice shooting, your ears do not do this. It is the body’s natural response, and result, of being in a “stressful” situation.
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Auditory Exclusion. FYI: That happens in your brain, not your ears and does not protect you from permanent hearing damage.
 
It's amazing that in this day and age of scientific testing and the internet that auditory exclusion remains a widespread myth. We need to put it in the same category as "racking a shotgun" or "we are from the government and we are here to help you." Your ears cannot "blink".

It's pretty basic and proven fact - wear hearing protection or you will wear hearing aids. One way or another, there is no getting around it. What we really need to see are gun makers offering a decent quality set of plugs with every gun - instead of some cheesy gun lock.

I'd like to hear of those in ear aids which also block high decibel noises - it would seem that for the $1,000's spent it should be a standard feature.
 
I asked every hearing aid company. they all looked at me like I was asking for a warp drive. My hearing aids are over $4500. and they will not limit loud noises. But a $200 pair of walkers new plugs will.
 
That's a good point about including them with the gun. The peltier's that I have were only a few bucks. The lock has to be as much if not more. And no one uses them on pistols that I ever met. I keep a pair by my nightstand gun, just in case I have the time to stick them in, also have explained to my wife that if I have to shoot from the bedroom, she needs to cover her ears or be deaf, "they never listen", but I try, even placing a gun in a holster next to her in the nightstand, is probably a waste of time, as she would panic, and refuses to partake in the belief that anything like that could happen. This even though it did happen to me some 30 yrs ago. People refuse to learn from others until it's too late.
 
3M Peltor makes an electronic ear plug, called, "Tactical Ear Plug" or "TEP 100."

Yeah, not super imaginative and not cheap at (well) over $200.

I still prefer Howard Leight earplugs under electronic muffs (turned way up).

auditory exclusion remains a widespread myth
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I'm not sure I understand this. Its a known and widely recognized phenomenon, like tunnel vision. As DMK mentions, it's something that happens in your brain, a software glitch if you will, and has nothing to do with damage done to hardware (your ears).

That's probably why it's referred to as "auditory exclusion" instead of "momentary deafness."
 
DMK said:
I was just looking at these Walker Razors. It's an odd design, but they have an NRR 31 rating. Does anyone here have any experience with these?

https://www.americanhunter.org/articles/2016/7/27/first-look-walker-s-game-ear-razor-xv/

http://www.gsmoutdoors.com/shopping/walkers/earbud-headsets.aspx
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Those have some mixed reviews on Amazon. However, I must say that basically every electronic ear plug that I have seen on there has mixed reviews, expensive ones included.

BigBore44 said:
I do not use anything while hunting. When hunting, you do not actually hear the shot. Your ears “blink”. However, while practice shooting, your ears do not do this. It is the body’s natural response, and result, of being in a “stressful” situation.
Click to expand...

Definitely not true, although I've seen it repeated ad naseum on the good ol' Interwebs. Your ears have no physical barrier to protect them, unlike the eyes.
 
Skoghund said:
I bought a pair of custom molded electronic ear plugs. Well worth the money. I have a problem with normal ear muffs because i have very large ears and muffs sit low to cover my trophy size ears. Ear muffs are OK when i shoot shotgun, but when shooting a rifle with a raised comb the stock pushes the muffs up rendering them not so effective.
Click to expand...

Who was the manufacturer?
 
For me I switched to plugs on springy plastic that hangs on my neck. I tried Walker game ears and it was difficult to pinpoint direction of sound. A cardinal sounds like a helicopter if you crank the volume. Great for target shooting though. Higher dollar ones may be better.
 
The problem with describing a mental phenomenon is that too many less well educated people take it as an actual physical one. Confusion then gets introduced as they use it as an excuse not to wear hearing protection at all. It's too fine a point for quite a few and I see it repeated in other forums. The result is that we need to challenge it every time it's mentioned as too many misconstrue the point and it's basically not that important anyway. So, we mentally don't hear that shot? I bet we DO hear one in return, facing the muzzle blast at short range.

Get hearing protection regardless.

Thanks for the comment on trying to find built in electronic exclusion, it's not too surprising to hear it's unavailable in standard hearing aids.
 
DMK said:
I was just looking at these Walker Razors. It's an odd design, but they have an NRR 31 rating. Does anyone here have any experience with these?

https://www.americanhunter.org/articles/2016/7/27/first-look-walker-s-game-ear-razor-xv/

http://www.gsmoutdoors.com/shopping/walkers/earbud-headsets.aspx
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Interesting, and for those of us without any more hearing to lose, and enough tinnitus to know we don't want it any worse, $110 isn't bad.

But that should be all of us.

I plead with those who are not using adequate ear protection to start doing so, and consider using it in any noisy environment. You'll wish you could go back in time and do so one day if you don't. Seriously. I wish I could. No joke.
 
Walkalong said:
I plead with those who are not using adequate ear protection to start doing so, and consider using it in any noisy environment. You'll wish you could go back in time and do so one day if you don't. Seriously. I wish I could. No joke.
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Heck, I use a set of foamies when I vacuum my car out and any time I use a power tool. I keep them stashed in my toolbox, in my car, etc.

At the range I use NRR30 Howard Leight Impact Pros and they are great (it's nice to actually hear people around you) but they are bulky when shooting a rifle. Electronic "in the ears" sounds like the next step if there's something decent and affordable out there.
 
I just recently purchase a pair of Peltor TEP-200 for use at work. I haven’t had a chance to use them at the range yet but they fit well and I’m still able to hear everything going on around me and can easily converse with coworkers.
 
Batista said:
I just recently purchase a pair of Peltor TEP-200 for use at work. I haven’t had a chance to use them at the range yet but they fit well and I’m still able to hear everything going on around me and can easily converse with coworkers.
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Those look interesting. Please do tell us how well they work.
 
JudgeHolden10 said:
Those look interesting. Please do tell us how well they work.
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In the very limited use I have with them, they’ve performed exceptionally well. I purchased these to be used while wearing a ballistic helmet and with the added benefit of being connected to my issued radio so that I can still hear anything important over the air. I’ve worn them during two search warrants so far, and since no firearms were discharged I can’t speak to their effectiveness quite yet. I’ll update once I get a chance to use them at the range (unknown when that will be).
 
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