Hearing Protection?

The brand name is worn off mine. They are electric with the band going around your neck. I like this then I can wear a hat without any promblem. They are great Target shooting or statying in one place shooting.(Ducks,Geese,And I use them for deer) While Pheasant hunting they pick up every sound like the grass under my feet. I use one ear plug in my left ear for upland hunting. I have permant hearing loss in the left ear form hunting. Fine something that fits you and you will wear it's worth it.
 
WHAT?!! SPEAK UP PLEASE!

back in the day I did significant damage to my ears when shooting at a deer with a rifle that had a muzzle brake. now if I shoot without protection I have a wonderful migraine to look forward to among other things.

my solution to ear protection (I dont know if its right but it works for me) is I take some paper towel or TP and wet it down a little and wad it into my ears. it doesn't take much just enough to plug the canal. I can hear most birds flushing wild, I can hear sneaky mallards coming in from behind but MY ears don't seem to be affected by muzzle blast.

that being said, if I have ear plugs available I will use those (sometimes cutting them down so Im not completely deaf). but I always run out or lose my ear plugs anyway.

am I still damaging my ears with just some paper towel to protect them? I couldn't tell you for sure but I can still hear a lot of things that others can't after about 15 years of shooting this way...(did you know your tv still makes noise when on mute?)
 
MJ,
I just picked up a pair of Caldwell or Cadwell over the head ear protection. It has the mics on it to pick up sounds less than a certain decibel and block out the ones that are more. I haven't used them yet, but while working at the recent Black Eyed Peas concert in Des Moines, one of my supervisors had a pair on and I asked him about them. He said they worked pretty well for him and he could block out the ridiculously loud bass they had at the concert, but he could still hear us talking to him. They cost $35 at Bass Pro. Work good for the little bit I've used them, so hopefully they work well while out doing a little upland hunting.
 
I use sure fire here is a link to their site. I have used them for the last few years. They are pretty cheap I shoot quite a bit for work and have found these to be the best for me. I actually have not used them while out hunting but plan on it this season. They block out harmful sounds while allowing you to hear the sounds that are important.

http://www.surefire.com/EP3-Sonic-Defenders
 
Why couldn't you have posted that a week ago? That's exactly like what I really wanted instead of that over the head type, but all well, I'll get by and mark that in my favorites until I need a new pair. Although, I do hope these last at least three years minimum.
 
I wanted to bump this up a bit.

Went to the doctor today and he told me i better do all I can to protect my ears from hearing loss. he told me I will more than likely lose my hearing in my right ear sooner rather than later. (Tough to hear at 31. I had a lot of problems as a kid with my ears.)

Any updates on what people use? I am more concerned about during the season in the field so I can still hear the birds flushing.
 
I wear ear muff that have built in hearing aid while shooting trap. So I can hear the talk on the firing line. They cut the sound of the shot out so I don't hear it. In the field I wear nothing, I want to hear everything that is going on. I don't shoot that many shells that I should hurt my hearing.......Bob
 
I got my Westone fitted plugs this summer. They have a mechanical valve in the them. I have yet to try them out. I am hoping to try them out in a week or two when when I get out after doves.
 
I bought a set of westone custom mold plugs in the ear for about a hundred bucks. You can still hear OK but the sonic valve shuts off sound over a certain decible. The in the ear electronic plugs are the cats meow, but are about 800$
 
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FCSpringer said:
I bought a set of westone custom mold plugs in the ear for about a hundred bucks. You can still hear OK but the sonic valve shuts off sound over a certain decible. The in the ear eloctronic plugs are the cats meow, but are about 800$
Click to expand...

The one time I wore mine it was windy and I was getting a "static" from the wind blowing through the little holes. I am waiting to pass finial judgement on this issue. Had any experience like that at all.
 
Two years ago I bit the bullet and got a set of custom-fitted analog ear plugs from ESP. They were about $800 for the set. For shotgun hunting they are perfect, the sound quality is great and no excessive wind noise like you get with electronic ear muffs. For trap shooting I still wear foam ear plugs as the dB noise reduction is better and I don't want to risk losing track of the ESP's, but for hunting the ESP's are excellent. It only hurts once but the wallet pain fades fast when you start using them.
 
I was looking at birthday cards for my son and found one that would be good for me.

It read, "Happy Birthday"

You open it up and it says,

"I SAID, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

:)

Need I say more?
 
moellermd said:
The one time I wore mine it was windy and I was getting a "static" from the wind blowing through the little holes. I am waiting to pass finial judgement on this issue. Had any experience like that at all.
Click to expand...

Yes you will get wind noise, but you get used to it after you wear them a half dozen or more times. As soon as I can aford the electronic ones I will be getting a set. I am told you will get wind noise with those as well. Maybe not as bad. Still Steamin have you had that issue at all?
 
Wore my Westone dove hunting this last week. In a 5 mph wind and the noise was noticeable. The next day in a 10 mph wind it was really annoying. I can't say I am happy with them at all. I am sure that in windier situations it will be intolerable. I would not mind spending the money on a much more expensive version but I have heard that the wind noise is even worse.

Is deafness the curse of the bird hunter. :mad:
 
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