The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: Bidah on February 28, 2014, 12:41:29 PM
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Ok, I am looking for thoughts and opinions/anecdotes on the active electronic hearing protection. They have to be a minimum of 25dB. I shoot action sports (3 Gun, USPSA) and High Power, so I would like them to work for all three. I already have hearing issues (hereditary), although my work helped it along. If I am wearing my normal passive stuff (mostly plugs), I cannot hear when we are scoring, so I am constantly taking on/off whatever I am using.
What ever I do decide to get, I will need 3 of them That is what you get when you have your kids involved with you.. 3x the expenses. My wife has deemed that if I need them, so do they.
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I have Wildears, and love them!
They are made in Minnesota, and the owner is a friend of my boss' husband. I have seen them used by many hunters and shooters on the shows, and recently Rob Pincus started using them. However, I have not seen the Wildears name in the promotions much, and Zach told me that there are so many looking for freebies and cash to endorse they do very little in order to stay in the black.
Check them out!
http://www.wildear.com/hearing-protection-enhancement/ (http://www.wildear.com/hearing-protection-enhancement/)
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I have a set of pro ears and peltor. I forget the model. I like them both very much and can't tell the difference in volume, but I like the pro ears knob up high. Easier to adjust. More so if your at the bench.
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Wow. Did I ready that right? Wildear is around $1K.
Back on planet ~$50 earth. I saw Gabe using the Howard Leight and bought myself a pair. They are very thin which makes them more usable on rifles and shotguns. They also have an input jack for external devices like radios, scanners and iThingys.
http://www.howardleight.com/ear-muffs/impact-sport--2 (http://www.howardleight.com/ear-muffs/impact-sport--2)
(http://www.howardleight.com/images/media/0000/0253/impact_sport_main.jpg?1377734022)
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Wow. Did I ready that right? Wildear is around $1K.
Back on planet ~$50 earth. I saw Gabe using the Howard Leight and bought myself a pair. They are very thin which makes them more usable on rifles and shotguns. They also have an input jack for external devices like radios, scanners and iThingys.
http://www.howardleight.com/ear-muffs/impact-sport--2 (http://www.howardleight.com/ear-muffs/impact-sport--2)
(http://www.howardleight.com/images/media/0000/0253/impact_sport_main.jpg?1377734022)
I was also going to recommend the Howard Leight unit. I've been using them for several years after trying a pair at my friend's range while they were practicing for a long-range match. I like the thin, compactness, and they are comfortable for all-day wear. They also work well on a variety of head sizes.
I bought mine from Cabelas for around $60 plus shipping. I have bought several more for family and found back at Christmas that Amazon had them for $40....they have them now for $46 (with free shipping).
http://www.amazon.com/Howard-Leight-R-01526-Electronic-Earmuff/dp/B001T7QJ9O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393695684&sr=8-1&keywords=howard+leight
**The ONLY thing that would eliminate these from your consideration is that they are a few db lower than your 25db reduction rating at 22NRR.
To that I will say, that they work really well for me when I shoot my .308 A-Bolt with BOSS muzzle brake, and that thing has quite a bark.[/i]
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Wow. Did I ready that right? Wildear is around $1K.
Back on planet ~$50 earth. I saw Gabe using the Howard Leight and bought myself a pair. They are very thin which makes them more usable on rifles and shotguns. They also have an input jack for external devices like radios, scanners and iThingys.
http://www.howardleight.com/ear-muffs/impact-sport--2 (http://www.howardleight.com/ear-muffs/impact-sport--2)
(http://www.howardleight.com/images/media/0000/0253/impact_sport_main.jpg?1377734022)
My top of the line was $725 two years ago. They were in the low mid range of custom fit electronics at that time.
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I was also going to recommend the Howard Leight unit. I've been using them for several years after trying a pair at my friend's range while they were practicing for a long-range match. I like the thin, compactness, and they are comfortable for all-day wear. They also work well on a variety of head sizes.
I bought mine from Cabelas for around $60 plus shipping. I have bought several more for family and found back at Christmas that Amazon had them for $40....they have them now for $46 (with free shipping).
http://www.amazon.com/Howard-Leight-R-01526-Electronic-Earmuff/dp/B001T7QJ9O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393695684&sr=8-1&keywords=howard+leight
**The ONLY thing that would eliminate these from your consideration is that they are a few db lower than your 25db reduction rating at 22NRR.
To that I will say, that they work really well for me when I shoot my .308 A-Bolt with BOSS muzzle brake, and that thing has quite a bark.[/i]
I, too, am a fan of the Howard Leight's. They work great and are of a fairly small profile so they interfere a bit less with the stock. Plus they use everyday AAA batteries so replacements are easy to find in a pinch.
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If you look at Wildear or SportEar, they are at the $1k mark or well above. I was actually looking at the SportEar, and getting it tuned to my particular hearing loss since they can do that on some models. It certainly would have solved a lot of my issues. I eventually gave up as they were not responsive to requests for information. Too bad for them since I had the money in hand and was ready to purchase some high end models. When you pay upwards of $6000 for a set of hearing aids every 5 years, the cost for good hearing protection doesn't seem so bad.
The reasoning behind the 25dB minimum rating is that anything less than that and it will start my tinnitus ringing, badly. The hard part is those at, or over that rating, tend to be large and do not work well for shooting rifles and shotguns. The Howard Leights may work out, but I am fairly sure I would need to double plug, at least when I am shooting. Or I go to a system where I am wearing the active hearing only when I am not shooting, and plug up when I am.
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I would still recommend doubling up regardless
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I agree with Tab because muffs alone usually aren't that good.
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I have 3 sets of ProEars.
The Gold series has the best electronics/sound quality by far. The last set I bought was the Stalker Gold - has a chopped cup so stock interference is minimal if at all. Soft leather covered parts makes for very comfy all day wearing.
25db reduction is the lowest, they go up from there.
http://www.proears.com/Gold-Series
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I have a pair from Sens Gard. They work well enough for about 35 bucks.
NRR of 31 on the pair I have. Good enough for hunting, I double up plugs and muffs at the range.
http://www.sensgard.com/shop/sensgard-sg-26-hearing-protection-nrr-26
Keep in mind that the NRR rating of anything is an "average" of all users. Some folks may only get partial attenuation, some may get the maximum. I wear earplugs every day in the shop so I know how to correctly insert them for maximum protection. Other less experience people may not insert them properly and will suffer from less attenuation.
300 to 1000 bucks is too much money... I'd by more guns if I had that kind of cash on hand to spend...
Just sayin'.
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300 to 1000 bucks is too much money... I'd by more guns if I had that kind of cash on hand to spend...
Just sayin'.
But those can't make you hear better like electronics can.
What's left of my hearing after 31+ years of firetrucks & the power tools that come with them is well worth $300....note Bidah's cost of hearing aids.
I'm MUCH quieter in a hunting stand when I can actually hear the rustling noises I'm making. :)
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No, they can't magnify sound but they let normal sound through and only attenuate loud noise. It's the geometry of the chambers that somehow minimizes loud noises. I guess it's akin to the Bose Wave tunnels with a lot less science.
Don't care how, just that they do...
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I've been through a 28 dB so Browning and it lagged....drives me crazy. So...because you need 25 which is what I want as a minimum I wear ear plugs (partially inserted sometimes) with my Howard Leight hearing protection. I turn up the volume so I can hear commands or class and when it goes bang I have the 21dB from the electronics plus whatever I pickup from the plugs.
I think it's better way if you want to go cheap. Some of the others are too bulky, they cut-in or cut-out to drive me crazy, etc...so I have stuck with the plugs + Howard Leight.
Just my 2 cents.....need to check on kMitch's option.
<snip>
http://www.howardleight.com/ear-muffs/impact-sport--2 (http://www.howardleight.com/ear-muffs/impact-sport--2)
(http://www.howardleight.com/images/media/0000/0253/impact_sport_main.jpg?1377734022)
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Having to get hearing aids at any time sucks, getting them in your 40's means you look funny :D My wife was impressed by how much lower in volume I spoke (yes I am digressing).
I will check out the Pro-Ears. I am looking to see what the stock interference would be as kmitch has indicated. Being in a 3 Gun match you just go with what happens; stock interference sucks in that scenario.
I don't mind spending the money (even have to buy 3 of them) for good ones. I don't mind inexpensive either. The NRR rating, attack time of the circuit, and how long it stays shut off, and stock interference all play a factor. It is looking more like I will need to double up, so then the dB gain of the circuit would come into play as well. Just to get to "normal" hearing would be almost 30dB of gain for me, and then I would have to overcome the plugs.
Thank you for the discussion and all the suggestions.
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Unless you have to shoot from both shoulders, you would only need one plug on the strong side just in case the stock bumped it during the gun mount or odd shooting positions. The weak side cup won't be moved.
ProEars don't 'cut off' sound - they drop it to non-dangerous levels while still bumping up normal sounds, like conversation, to be heard amplified to the level you set the circuit to.
There's a reason I own 3 pair. ;)
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We do shoot from both shoulders now and then. I was thinking last night about all this hearing protection, and how the NRR does not take into account that I am also wearing eye protection.
Has anyone used the Pro Ears Slim Gold? I am wondering just how "slim" those are for rifle/shotgun mounting.