Electronic in-ear hearing protection

[41 Redhawk]

What other option is there besides in the ear or over the ear?

The item that was linked to and that I was referring to has ear buds. However, the electronics are contained in a horse shoe shaped piece that goes around the neck and is not in or over the ear.

[markshere2]

I'm officially deaf now - 20 years as aircrew didn't help.

My heading aids are VA provided and just about as crappy as you would think .GOV equipment would be.

Double up on the protection!! Being deaf blows.

[Hawk]

I've been looking at these since they came out. https://ads.midwayusa.com/product/28...85513244644278

[TooBigToFit]

I use the Etymotic GSP15. My face shape just doesn't work when wearing muffs and shooting long guns. They work very well. The batteries are a bit of a pain, but worth the rest of the package (I buy a bunch from Costco).

I already knew about Etymotic from their in ear headphones, where they're considered a high quality manufacturer. As expected the sound quality is very good. The 1X amplification mode isn't quite 1X (maybe 90-95% there). The 5X amplification mode is kinda nuts... you can hear a lot, maybe too much! If you have them on while walking in the woods, it makes you sound like a giant crushing trees. Foam tips usually provide the best isolation, of which I prefer aftermarket Comply tips over the OEM ones (the Comply tips are softer, deeper, and more comfortable). I don't believe they're advertised as waterproof, but I have sent them through the washing machine by accident at least once, if not more than that, and they still work.

The Etymotics, as far as I understand, are analog, where as most electronic hearing protection sets are digital (IE, they capture audio, digitize it, buffer it, process it, and then play it back, Mic-->ADC-->Buffer-->DSP-->DAC-->Speaker). Even though the digital stuff can be very fast, and there's some neat effects you can do, it will always take time to do all of that, and thus, what you hear will always have some delay from what has actually occurred. In addition, audio quality can depend on the sample rate and bit rate of the digitization, which I suspect would be fairly bad for hearing protection sets, since higher sample rates and bit rates call for beefier hardware and/or slow processing times, and beefier hardware often kills battery life. The analog circuit will always be faster, and designed properly, can have excellent sound quality.

I actually bought the GSP15 twice. I had, unfortunately, lost my first pair, and they were worth it enough for me to drop the cash on a replacement pair soon after (thankfully, for much less than the first time). People complain about the cost, but come on... They cost about the same as a case of ammo. It's a drop in the bucket in the grand scheme of things. The NRR of 25dB isn't the highest, but it's not rock bottom either. To me, because it's easy to hear when you have them on, you're more likely to wear them, and thus are more likely to keep them on when you should but wouldn't have otherwise (say, while hunting or when talking to someone).

[Bozman]

I've been looking at these since they came out. https://ads.midwayusa.com/product/28...85513244644278

get the dark earth ones less expensive than the black ones. work well for this guy!

[Gunsnwater]

In ear doesn’t protect the bone like a muff does. Check out cdnn sports. Quad do all for $29. I got them. They are good.

[Emptymag]

Hey guys with amplified muffs, do me a favor when I'm on the range, yelling so you can hear me - let me know that I don't need to yell my fool head off because you can hear me just fine.

LOL

[bigdawgbeav]

While I do not have the electronic version, I have these that were done at a gun show. If I want to spend $200 per ear I can make them electronic.

http://www.instamold.com/consumer-products/behind-the-ear-electronic-hearing-protector/

[Hawk]

While I do not have the electronic version, I have these that were done at a gun show. If I want to spend $200 per ear I can make them electronic.

http://www.instamold.com/consumer-products/behind-the-ear-electronic-hearing-protector/

I had a set made at a gun show too. I thought they would be the answer to my hearing protection. The problem I have with them is that they don't seal very well because they are molded to the exact size of your ear canal when they should be made slightly larger to provide a better seal. I was informed after the fact (after I called them up to complain a week later after testing them out) that you need to use a liquid sealer if you want the best seal/performance. I refuse to grease them up and clean them and my ears after each use.

[Suburban]

In ear doesn’t protect the bone like a muff does. Check out cdnn sports. Quad do all for $29. I got them. They are good.

If you push the muff off your ear with a rifle or shotgun stock, you end up with only about 3-5db noise reduction, which is a much faster way to degrade your hearing. Been there, done that, got the tinnitus.