Electronic ear protection - current state of groupthink?

[RJ]

https://www.soundgearhearing.com/

I use the behind the ear model

Thanks a bunch! I was totally looking in the wrong place.

How do you feel they compare shooting to an ear cup design? Is it fairly easy to say turn the amplification ‘off’ so that you don’t hear anything electronically?

[BJXDS]

Thanks a bunch! I was totally looking in the wrong place.

How do you feel they compare shooting to an ear cup design? Is it fairly easy to say turn the amplification ‘off’ so that you don’t hear anything electronically?

I usually double up when shooting at the range. In a class environment or when shooting with others and communication is required I double up and the electronic models really help.

When shooting rifles/shotguns I could not get a good cheek weld with the larger models, they just never stayed on properly. So my solution was to use in the ear in conjunction with over the ear, smaller ones with rifles/shotguns and larger ones with pistols. This probably sounds counter intuitive but if I wasn't getting a good seal when shooting rifles/shotguns, then it defeated the purpose.

I was looking for something I could use when hunting and I decided on the SoundGear BTE option. I do use them as well when shooting clays. The volume/amplification is adjustable with four settings to optimize the environment you are in; ie a mode when using the phone... and on on/off switch. I just usually select one mode and and amplification setting and leave them in that mode. They use the hearing aid style battery which starts to discharge after the little orange sticky is removed but will last all day.

I highly recommend going to an audiologist for an evaluation, the results may be surprising, and getting a custom mold for all in ear options. I do have quite a bit of money invested in hearing pro options, but I have the range of options I feel best protects my hearing. Also check with them and your insurance as some of the custom options of in ear may qualify as hearing aid devices and my be covered under insurance. Once your ears start ringing, they will never stop, hearing loss is irreversible, but there are a multitude of options to help protect as much as is possible.

AS a side note, I use hearing pro for all shooting, riding motorcycles,lawn tractors, chain saws, circular saws..... and for the wife, when needed.

I hope this helps

[Robinson]

I use a product similar to the SoundGear devices, the difference being mine are fully programmable which helps with my hearing loss. I don't wear them when shooting at the range -- I double up with plugs and muffs for that. I do wear them often when carrying a gun, and also at home in the evenings for watching TV or coversation. I do okay without hearing aids, but they help in certain situations.

The ones I have are made by SportEAR (aka AXIL) and are the custom molded in-the-ear type. The main problems I have with them are that they make my ears feel occluded -- typical for in-the-ear types -- and using them too much aggravates my tinnitus. I can only wear them for a few hours at a time at most without it making the ringing in my ears worse. But I'm glad I have them.

I am tempted to try some of the SoundGear BTE devices as a lower cost option for some situations.

[NuJudge]

I bought a set of Sport Ear Ghost Stryke electronic plugs about 2 years ago at a pistol school. I have been completely satisfied with them using them on indoor pistol ranges, and outdoors with rifle, pistol or shotgun. There are two different types of plug for putting in your ear canal that attach to the electronics package, a more durable translucent one (NRR roughly 20), and a black foam one (NRR better than 30). I wore them the whole of Camp Perry CMP week last year, and never felt the need of muffs over them. When pheasant hunting, I can hear the bird take off and have a much better sense where it is, even if that is behind me. When a shot is fired, they don't completely cut out the sound, just dramatically reduce it. The set I have use small hearing aid batteries and they last better than a week in daily use. I bought a similar set of plugs from Sport Ear that recharge on a USB early this year.

[DMF13]

So, my google-fu was strong last night, and I found the data for the Peltor Tactical 300 and 500: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....1CtPwTZWyS.pdf

For the 300:
Test Freq (Hz) Mean Attenuation (dB) Standard Deviation
125 -- 16.7 -- 3.0
250 -- 21.0 -- 2.5
500 -- 30.7 -- 2.6
1000 -- 39.6 -- 2.8
2000 -- 36.0 -- 2.6
3150 -- 38.7 -- 3.2
4000 -- 40.7 -- 2.9
6300 -- 40.0 -- 2.2
8000 -- 39.8 -- 2.8

For the 500:
Test Freq (Hz) Mean Attenuation (dB) Standard Deviation
125 -- 19.2 -- 3.4
250 -- 22.2 -- 2.4
500 -- 30.0 -- 2.6
1000 -- 36.5 -- 2.9
2000 -- 36.8 -- 2.9
3150 -- 38.5 -- 3.3
4000 -- 42.6 -- 3.2
6300 -- 42.8 -- 3.4
8000 -- 42.8 -- 3.1


Again, much better performance than the very low profile sets setup for comms, and use with a helmet.

I think it's pretty clear, the use of very low profile ear pro, sacrifices hearing protection, for features that are not used by not engaged in tactical operations with a helmet.

[JohnO]

MSA Sordin! Putin approved.

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So, I had purchased a set of Liberator HPs with the universal attachment kit back in December. I promptly broke one of the helmet mounts (there were no instructions included for them), and noticed the left side cutting out at times. I sent them back in for repair in January, where TCI held on to them for over a month; unfortunately, they did not reach out to me about the repair after the initial assessment (apparently there was a broken wire somewhere), as there was a miscommunication between the repair team and CS. Lucy over at TCI did have my stuff shipped overnight when it was finished, though, to try and get my HPs back to me ASAP.

It turns out that they were holding on to my HPs because they were putting in new hardware and software. Playing with the new ones today, the audio is much better than previously; I was rather disappointed by the audio quality when I initially received them. Currently, the audio is actually quite good in the normal mode (audio amplification without noise cancelling), sounds quite natural; it's not quite as loud as my MSA Sordin Supreme Pro X, but there's also no white noise like the MSAs have (although my MSAs are almost a decade old), and doesn't sound as flat overall. With noise cancelling and audio amplification, it's definitely less natural, and rather flat, more so than the MSAs, though the MSAs still have the issue of white noise.

[OldRunner/CSAT Neighbor]

So, I had purchased a set of Liberator HPs with the universal attachment kit back in December. I promptly broke one of the helmet mounts (there were no instructions included for them), and noticed the left side cutting out at times. I sent them back in for repair in January, where TCI held on to them for over a month; unfortunately, they did not reach out to me about the repair after the initial assessment (apparently there was a broken wire somewhere), as there was a miscommunication between the repair team and CS. Lucy over at TCI did have my stuff shipped overnight when it was finished, though, to try and get my HPs back to me ASAP.

It turns out that they were holding on to my HPs because they were putting in new hardware and software. Playing with the new ones today, the audio is much better than previously; I was rather disappointed by the audio quality when I initially received them. Currently, the audio is actually quite good in the normal mode (audio amplification without noise cancelling), sounds quite natural; it's not quite as loud as my MSA Sordin Supreme Pro X, but there's also no white noise like the MSAs have (although my MSAs are almost a decade old), and doesn't sound as flat overall. With noise cancelling and audio amplification, it's definitely less natural, and rather flat, more so than the MSAs, though the MSAs still have the issue of white noise.

Thx for the Lib HP update DeFault, haven't had an issue w/ mine that I bought mid 2018.

Lucy also hooked me up nicely as mine were an early pair & she got me a 123 batt. tray as mine didn't ship w/ one.

I remember her & Brad @ TCI before Safariland gobbled them up when I bought my DEHPs from them, good people no doubt.

[kobuksonhwacha]

After misplacing my Howard Leights with Noisefighters gel cups I sprung for a set of AKT1 Sport muffs after seeing Paul Sharp mention them on Instagram. Just wore them through a 2 day Practical Fundamentals class with Bruce Gray's OpSpec company and they performed excellently, with no discomfort or pinching eyepro over both 8 hour days. The foam cups sealed just as well as gel and were almost inperceptible; if I had one complaint it would be that the sound amplification was a bit low on volume but this may have been a battery issue.

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We will be able to integrate the new updates after 3/11. The same RMA process would apply

In reference to the updates to the Liberator HPs if you have an older model or hope to directly buy one with the updates. Feel free to contact her at lucy.medine@safariland.com for this.