Hunting with hearing protection?

[Black Bird]

Hey there,

Just checking to see if anyone has tried hunting with hearing protection on. I have heard (pardon the pun) that there are hearing muffs that amplify sounds around you, but protect your ears when the gun goes off. A load of baloney, or true?

Personally, I don't hunt with hearing protection other than to have a couple of plugs in my pocket in case I need to do a follow up shot when I come across my deer.

Thoughts?

Cheers,
BB

[The Dawg]

Always have them around my neck. Takes a second to put them in. I already have hearing loss and I don't want to deal with more.

[warnniklz]

you can get electronic muffs that turn off when your rifle goes off

[cgizen]

I have heard (pardon the pun) that there are hearing muffs that amplify sounds around you, but protect your ears when the gun goes off. A load of baloney, or true?


BB

I don't know if this is what you mean, but I had a set of custom molded ear plugs that protect your ears from the dangerous sounds but still make natural sounds easy to hear. I used them at work because I run mobile equipment. I have never used them in a non-work environment but imagine they would be good. I plan on getting another set made up, lost the last pair.

[west-coast-bluenoser]

You have a few options 1. If you go to a specialist they can make you custom plugs that only block out sounds over a certain limit. I work in jails and at a previous one we had them made to drown out the misery. These would be great for hunting. 2. At work we use electric ear muff style protection that does the same thing, but they are huge. I recomend option #1.

Good luck

["No Choke"Lord Walsingham]

indeed,

There are Hunting specific earpieces that amplify ones hearing under normal/quiet sound levels and then act as hearing protection when potentially harmfull sound levels present themselves. Cabela's currently has one on their Canadian website called Walker's High-Definition Game Earpiece.

[Beachcomber]

I used to wear "ear defenders" when I was living in the UK and shot driven pheasants. I hated them and could never get used to the sense of isolation they imposed (the ear defenders, not the pheasants). I only endured them because on high volume bird days there was so much shooting that it made sense on the firing line to protect your hearing. You could at least console yourself with some great shooting. Now that I am back I might use the small foam inner ear plugs from time to time but on balance don't anticipate anything like what I experienced there so will normally forgo these contraptions (that said never had a chance to try the better noise cancelling ear phones mentioned above).

[stuffrider147]

Any specific brands for these custom earpieces?

[Pete]

I was inroduced to sonic ear protection when I was hunting in England a few years ago. They are awesome.....they magnify the sound around you when you are sitting and yet shut down when you shoot. The pair I am currently using I bought at Cabalos in Idaho.

[bccanadian]

I use the electronic hearing protectors (ear muff style) when I'm shooting trap and skeet. In general, the electronic ear muffs have a built in microphone on each with a volume control. With them on and the volume turned up, I can hear a quiet discussion across a large room. The downside to this is that EVERYTHING is louder, which can be annoying at the higher volumes and YES they do cut out when a loud noise such as a gun shot or hand clap happens.

I got mine years ago and I think they are Remington's but I don't have them right now to check, I'm not at home.

[MOUNTAIN MICKEY]

Peltor MT15H67B01 Electronic Ear Muffs are what I wear at the range. They both amplify normal sounds and block loud noise (shots). Can be used when in the bush but battery life wouldn't be great. Work well at the gun range as you don't have to take them off to hear normal conversation and if somebody is shooting they block instantly. I use the Shotgunner model as they are not so bulky.

[moosecaller]

Amplify sound when in normal mode and shut off when shooting your rifle I have a pair they shut off great it's the amplify part that sucks, don't like them at all worst money spent in a long time. I like my hearing but the best of both is not a possibility as far as I see it so far, I use the best when I target the rifle, and nothing when I hunt some sacrifice is necessary to fill my freezer, "Hey whats that honey were you saying something?"