Since I now consider these devices part of my EDC gear I am cross-posting the info I first posted here: https://pistol-forum.com/showthread....-Hunting/page2

Late last year I received my SportEAR electronic earpro and want to post my impressions so far for the people who were interested.

Overall, I will say that the experience has been more positive than negative, the devices work pretty much as advertised, but the same problems and annoyances exist with these as with any in-the-ear hearing aids.

I bought the SportEAR Custom Edge 360 product, upgraded with the digital processor from the Extreme Edge product. I decided against the Extreme Edge shell because they fit way down in the ear canal and according to the sales rep they don't provide quite as good protection against noise as the Custom Edge product.

The devices were programmed according to a hearing screening performed by an audiologist, who also made molds for my ear canals. The info and molds were sent to SportEAR once I agreed to the purchase.

My first experience trying the devices did not go well. I wore them to a noisy event and was going back and forth a lot with the different settings trying to get the best combination of sound quality and protection. When I got home and took them out my tinnitus was spiking through the roof and I was miserable. I was ready to jump up and down on the damn things and smash them to pieces. But I convinced myself to press on.

On my next attempt I kept the devices set to a lower setting and it worked much better. I have learned through experimentation when to wear the devices and when not to. My general rule now is to wear them in the evenings while watching TV or having a conversation with my wife -- and they work really well for these situations. I also wear them any time I carry a gun. I don't always carry everywhere I go -- I reduced how often I carry when my hearing condition worsened a couple years ago. I know that may draw criticism from some folks but I live with my decision. When I am out and about with my wife or other family member I am always carrying.

I can honestly say now that I believe in the unlikely event I ever have to fire my weapon in a defensive situation the SportEAR devices will protect my ears about as well as having other types of quality earpro on. The devices are rated at 27 NRR which is really not bad. They also allow me to hear pretty much everything that is going on around me so my awareness of noise is quite good. So in that regard, these are fulfilling one of my main goals in purchasing them.

I will not say the devices are totally comfortable and it takes some getting used to in order to wear them for extended periods. The occlusion effect is real and the devices cannot be vented and still retain their protective properties. Once in a while I have to remove them and dry my ear canals out with tissue or something because moisture starts to collect -- but the problem is minor.

I have pretty severe damage in my left ear, so even electronically enhanced most of what I hear clearly is through my right ear. In order to hear things clearly in my left ear I have to turn up the amplification in that side and that leads to my tinnitus spiking -- so I just don't turn it up that loud. Even at a normal setting it provides enough of a boost that I have very good directional hearing. But when I experiment with just using my left side and turn the volume off on the right side what I hear on the left is distorted even when boosted. All that is to say that even with the digital technology these are just sound amplifiers and do not replace natural hearing by any means.

To sum up, I am glad I made the purchase but have had to persevere through a challenging trial period with these. They do what SportEAR advertises they will do, which is provide better hearing while at the same time protecting your ears from loud noise. Learning when and how to use them without making your hearing situation worse instead of better is the key to success with these.