Ear Protection

[Captain America]

Now that my wife goes to the range with me I'm thinking about electronic ear protection so we can talk without removing our ear muffs. I've never tried an electronic set and they have a large variance in prices so I'd really like some opinions on this.

 

[Tom W]

My son got me a set for Christmas one year. They were great! I used them for a number of years when hunting, the sound amplification was a plus, and when I fired my rifle the sound cancelling was instantaneous. If I still hunted I'd get a set of Walkers or Peltor.

 

[Rei40c]

Captain America if you don't mind me piggy backing a question on your thread there's something I'd like to know about these as well. - Last week I almost bought a pair on Amazon, they where actually in the cart to checkout before a friend told me not to buy them because electronic ear protection doesn't work well in noisy indoor ranges.

Is this true? Did he simply have a cheap set and didn't know any better?

 

[Captain America]

Piggy back away...no such thing as too much information, on this subject at least

 

[Poco Oso]

I highly recommend Walker Razor-x earbuds, Especially if you're shooting rifles or shotguns, They're fantastic for hunting too,

 

[tinman]

For the past 20 years or so I've used the old style Peltor electronic muffs. They are rather large but work well when I am instructing.... or just working on the range during live fire. Most all of us have these so we can communicate with the students and each other more comfortably. These have been discontinued but my 2 pair still do a good job.
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/541841/peltor-tactical-7s-electronic-earmuffs-nrr-24db-gray

I recently bought a pair of Howard Leight Impact Sport electronic muffs. They are the streamlined style and work well with long guns, but don't have the same NRR as my Peltors.
http://www.howardleight.com/ear-muffs/impact-sport--2


Because you have the ability to turn the volume up, I have found that using a pair of foam earplugs in conjunction with either style works very well at keeping the noise level (delivered to your ears) well under control.

I would go to one of the large sporting goods stores so you can try out the various styles with a long gun to see which fits you best.

Good luck

 

[daveg.inkc]

I have a pair of Caldwell electronic. Work great outdoors. I cannot use indoor. Not sure why they let noise thru.

 

[muzzleloader]

It was recommended to me by a range officer to wear the small silicone inserts with valve OPEN combined with the muffs. Able to hear commands yet give good cancelling in enclosed indoor range. I did buy a set of surefire Ear Pro EP3 sonic defenders for under my non-electronic ear muffs. Works well.

 

[contender]

I'm a USPSA Range Officer. I also use electronic ears. So does almost every serious competitor I see. Why? They can hear range commands,, and at the same time protect their hearing. They allow conversations & yet block sharp noises like the gunfire.
Leight, Peltor, & a few others are the better ones.
If indoors,, often, folks add plugs under the electronics to assist in the excessive noise. I think I have 4-5 different pair here.

Your hearing is worth a LOT more than a few bucks saved in buying cheap protection. Buy the best you can.

 

[Fox Mike]

How do the electronic muffs work for those of us that have hearing loss? Can they be adjusted high enough for range commands to come through and still cancel out noise at an indoor range?
I was looking at these two and the least expensive has better noise cancelling than the higher priced model. Battery life is less but we are talking about flashlight batteries so it won't break the bank to install them a bit more often.
https://www.opticsplanet.com/compare/p-613551-p-695314

 

[gramps]

I had a pair of in the ear electronic suppression devices. When hunting they did amplify the sound, but I lost directionality. Worthless to me, and that was the only application I used them. Back to passive muffs for handgun, and foam in ears for long guns. Do the muff type electronic suppressors have directional hearing?
gramps

 

[Rei40c]

I had a pair of in the ear electronic suppression devices. When hunting they did amplify the sound, but I lost directionality. Worthless to me, and that was the only application I used them. Back to passive muffs for handgun, and foam in ears for long guns. Do the muff type electronic suppressors have directional hearing?
gramps

They can be had but from my reading ones that actually work properly are really going to cost you a lot more for quality directional sound. Here's an example of a Peltor that are said to be very good. https://www.amazon.com/Peltor-TacticalPRO-Electronic-Protector-Headband/dp/B005NSMLOW/ref=sr_1_24?ie=UTF8&qid=1518497086&sr=8-24&keywords=electronic+hearing+protection

$222 .... and they go north from there if you stick with well known manufacturers.

 

[Pat-inCO]

I have more than one pair of Pro Ears and they are excellent!
That said there are a few things to keep in mind:

1) They are FAR from cheap - Usually $220 to $250, but well worth it!

2) They are BIG. Not really comfortable for rifles, but near perfect for pistols.

3) (answer to add on) They respond so quickly to noise pulses and the
resultant lowering of sound levels, that they are SAFE to wear for indoor
ranges. Older types (I used Peltor for years) would respond to the noise
pulse and be opening back up as the echo would hit. Result? You would
have your ears ache after a minute or two, because the electronics in
the Peltor would have to open up completely before it could clamp down
again. Pro Ears does NOT have that problem. - - - Watch out for other
manufacturers (than Peltor) that have that problem. As I say, Pro Ears
DOES NOT.

4) If you decide to get Pro Ears, BE SURE you get the ones with at least
-30db NRR! They come in ratings of -26 to -33db. Pay the small difference
for what you want/need.

Watch the demo (3:30 min) and you will see. I say from experience that
what he says (about the Pro Ears) is true.
Pro Ears Demo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JP23qrq-JQ

 

[gvan]

My son and I use Caldwell electronic ear muffs on a 50 foot indoor range. No complaints, low price others have tried them and bought them. Usually $35.00 or so at Cabelas.

 

[Conservative]

I use custom ear plugs over which I use Howard Leight Spot Impact electronic muffs with an NRR of only 23.

But: H.L. has come out with some electronic muffs with a NRR (noise reduction rating) of 30 and I will soon be trying them. However, they look like bigger muffs, so they may be fine for pistol work, but may be too big for rifle shooting. We'll see....

 

[SR1911SHOOTER]

Ear protection,
When I was a kid, '50s I didn't think about ear protecting when shooting or
hunting. Now I am going to the VA to get my second set of ears. My first set,
I got ten years ago. Now a days, I see cars going down the road with rap
blaring, dump de dump, boom de boom and I think, when these kids get older
they will have to use hearing aids.
Blackie

 

[SR1911SHOOTER]

Captain America if you don't mind me piggy backing a question on your thread there's something I'd like to know about these as well. - Last week I almost bought a pair on Amazon, they where actually in the cart to checkout before a friend told me not to buy them because electronic ear protection doesn't work well in noisy indoor ranges.

Is this true? Did he simply have a cheap set and didn't know any better?

Rei40c,
Get some hearing protection. IT works everywhere. I know, I
have hearing problems and I can tell you, any hearing protection is better than
none. Your friend is misinformed.
Blackie

 

[Idiocyabounds]

I second (or third?) the recommendation of the Howard Leight Impact Sport. They're thin (easier to get your head down to the rifle), lightweight, work very well as muffs un-amplified, or when amplified you can hear things you never knew were out there while they still muffle the blast. Wearing foam plugs with them for loud indoor ranges, with whatever volume level you choose turned on, also works well to muffle the loudest sounds yet also hear the range master. You won't regret the purchase.

 

[Kanook]

They ain't cheap, https://www.sportear.com/collections/hearing-protection-shoo
But they work.

 

[blackhawknj]

At one of my ranges I suggested to the owner that they should have courses in Amslan so people can communicate on the range.

 

[vulcannut]

My wife and I picked up some Howard Leight Pro sound amplified ear protection and they work great. When turned up I can hear people talking clearly 8 lanes over in an indoor range. Needless I keep it turned up just enough. Prior we had some non applified 34 dB ear protection and there is no comparison. With the old ones my wife’s ears would hurt after less than an hour and mine too at times. With the Howard Leights we haven’t had any issues.

 

[Ray Newman]

I have been wearing electronic ear muffs for about 20 years. They work and work well. I also wear eye glasses and hearing aids, so comfort and fit is important.

My advice, buy from a store that will let you return them if they do not meet your expectations.


Also from my experience, I will say that good electronics, fit, comfort, and a high noise reduction rating (NRR) are not inexpensive.

For example, about 6-7 years ago, I bought a new pair of Peltors. Before buying them, I purchased at the local Cabela's and returned about 5-6 other sets of electronic muffs. The problems with the returned units: they just did not work as well, they were uncomfortable to wear in warm weather, wearing for more than two hours caused headaches, they were uncomfortable to wear with my eye glasses and/or hearing aids. I can wear my Peltors for several hours and not feel uncomfortable. They also work well in my wood shop when running woodworking machinery -- routers, jointer, planer, table saw, etc.

 

[exavid]

I shoot Bullseye practice indoors every Monday evening. We usually have 20 or a few more on the line so it's pretty noisy. I've used electronic muffs for almost ten years now and much prefer them to ear plugs. It's easy to hear commands yet muffled to comfortable levels when the shooting begins. We practice using .22, misc. centerfire, and .44 calibers on different nights so the noise level is pretty high on the nights we shoot our 90 round of .45.
I wear hearing aids after damaging my hearing in the Army years ago but these muffs are quiet enough to protect what I have left. Better yet depending on your hearing aids, mine shut off automatically when the muffs are on and turn back on when you remove the muffs. It's actually designed into the hearing aids for using a telephone but works great on the range too.

 

[Rancher Will]

My wife and I each have a pair of Caldwell electronic ear muffs that we use every time we shoot our revolvers indoors or out for practice. In our basement we shoot wax bullets and outdoors we shoot live ammo, The Caldwell muffs work fine letting us talk plainly while deadening the sharp crack of each shot.

 

[Colonialgirl]

Ear protection,
When I was a kid, '50s I didn't think about ear protecting when shooting or
hunting. Now I am going to the VA to get my second set of ears. My first set,
I got ten years ago. Now a days, I see cars going down the road with rap
blaring, dump de dump, boom de boom and I think, when these kids get older
they will have to use hearing aids.
Blackie

I got my second set of ears from the VA; Free batteries and other replacement thingies. Strange how DULL and dead the world sounds when I take them out.

 

[Ka6otm]

Captain America if you don't mind me piggy backing a question on your thread there's something I'd like to know about these as well. - Last week I almost bought a pair on Amazon, they where actually in the cart to checkout before a friend told me not to buy them because electronic ear protection doesn't work well in noisy indoor ranges.

Is this true? Did he simply have a cheap set and didn't know any better?

Your friend is wrong. I shoot with electronic muffs every week and I go in with 10 or so others in my squad so essentially every lane is full and all of the people are shooting at once and I can still hear fine.

 

[Ka6otm]

I had a pair of in the ear electronic suppression devices. When hunting they did amplify the sound, but I lost directionality. Worthless to me, and that was the only application I used them. Back to passive muffs for handgun, and foam in ears for long guns. Do the muff type electronic suppressors have directional hearing?
gramps

Get a pair that has a microphone on each muff and you'll have directionality again.

 

[RoninPA]

How do the electronic muffs work for those of us that have hearing loss? Can they be adjusted high enough for range commands to come through and still cancel out noise at an indoor range?
I was looking at these two and the least expensive has better noise cancelling than the higher priced model. Battery life is less but we are talking about flashlight batteries so it won't break the bank to install them a bit more often.
https://www.opticsplanet.com/compare/p-613551-p-695314

Frank, The electronic muffs can be adjusted so that you can take your hearing aids out and turn it up to hear range commands clearly. They shut down the shooting noise in micro/milliseconds so you don't hear the loud reports but someone talking loudly or even shouting, even if real close to you won't activate the sound suppression. I actually have to take my "ears" out when wearing my electronic muffs so I don't get a feedback loop squeal.