Does anyone here use inside-the-ear hearing protection when hunting?

If so, what are the best brands to consider? I've heard great things about SportEAR....but they are around $3,000 (out of my price range). I've also heard the opposite about the $100-$200 junk (like Walker's Game Ear). Is there something of decent quality in the middle somewhere? (perhaps in the $300-$800 per pair range)

Thanks in advance.

Last year I got a pair of Westone Defendear digitals. So far I am happy with them. They are in your price range. Some folks complained about battery life but those small hearing aid batteries, once activated, have a fairly short life ( a few days-1 week). It is not an issue for me.
C.G.B.

I useWalkers game ear with custom molded ear plugs.They work great.With the foam ear plugs the come with,they are not so great. I also used the Walker Silencers last year hunting and had no problems with them.OB

quote:

Originally posted by Eland Slayer:
Does anyone here use inside-the-ear hearing protection when hunting?

If so, what are the best brands to consider? I've heard great things about SportEAR....but they are around $3,000 (out of my price range). I've also heard the opposite about the $100-$200 junk (like Walker's Game Ear). Is there something of decent quality in the middle somewhere? (perhaps in the $300-$800 per pair range)

Thanks in advance.

My audiologist recommends either of the following from https://www.etymotic.com/:

1. GSP•15 GunSport•PRO® Electronic Earplugs

2. EB15•LE BlastPLG® Electronic Earplugs

These are the same basic unit except one enhances hearing, one does not.

Hope this helps.

The electronic plugs referenced above appear to have just a 15 db reduction rating. If you're doing much shooting with those as your only protection you're going to still having hearing damage.

Maybe my ears are weird, but they will still ring after shooting bigger braked guns with any less than a 25 to 30 db reduction.

If you do the math on the reduction system you're still getting substantial damage with the lower rated protection systems.

For guiding and hunting I've always used solid plugs (of my own design) that I can quickly put in just before the shot(s). Foam plugs are rated great, but take too long to put in. With a solid plug you have the best of both worlds - normally hearing when not shooting and high rated protection for the shot. They're not comfortable and probably that's why nobody sells anything like that, but I've never needed to have them in longer than 30 seconds or so.

For target shooting, especially by myself and/or with larger guns, I'm using foam plugs under high rated electronic ear muffs these days. That adds to protection of significantly higher rating than the electronic plugs alone and I've read convincing evidence that muffs do a better job of reducing hearing damage than plugs because of the sounds waves transferred through bone.

After 30 years of guiding I've been around a whole lot of hunters. Consistently even those who try to protect their hearing have significant damage. I think we shooters need to step up our game for protecting our hearing.

People ask me all the time about the best hearing protection and I explain it's one of the only things in life where the cheapest is also the best. Foam plugs rate about as high as anything (30+ db reduction) and they're pennies per pair. Add quality electronic muffs over the top and you can really reduce the damage while still hearing a bit of what is going on (although maybe not good enough for hunting situations).

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just a 15 db reduction rating

Looking at the site I believe they work like mine. For normal sound they reduce by 15db. However when a shot is fired or a sound above a certain level the unit shuts down and blocks ALL sound like a normal plug. Just my findings but a molded unit works better.

If you normally wear hearing aids spend the extra $$ and buy digital. Mine are analog so while I can hear it is like I'm not wearing my hearing aids. If possible separate channel gain is nice.

quote:

Originally posted by Kyler Hamann: The electronic plugs referenced above appear to have just a 15 db reduction rating. If you're doing much shooting with those as your only protection you're going to still having hearing damage.

Maybe my ears are weird, but they will still ring after shooting bigger braked guns with any less than a 25 to 30 db reduction. . . .

You are correct. I referenced the wrong devices. I should have identifed EB15•LE BlastPLG® Electronic Earplugs as the one Dr. Hollenbeck recommends.

Having typed that, ramrod340 is correct that its noise attenuation is, in actual use, the maximum available for in-ear electronic protection.

These devices are unsatisfactory for indoor use and other partly enclosed areas such as beneath a metal roof at a gun range (as are all devices in this class). They will not be as effective at reducing blast effect as solid plugs. However, if you want pretty good noise attenuation when hunting, and prefer to wear a hat or parka with hood up, these are an excellent choice. And their price is reasonably low.

This device has been on the market for more than five years - that is, it has a track record to verify. Its downside I can do nothing about; it is made in Red China. Were there a comparable device at comparable price available from somewhere else, that's what I would buy. But there is not.