Recommendation for Electronic Ear Muffs
 

Looking to get a pair. I have tried the Howard Leight Impacts but they do not cover my ears satisfactorily. I have been using molded plugs which are fine for hearing protection but I can’t hear what’s going on around me. Suggestions on electronic muffs? Thanks

As far as I am concerned, the in the ear ESP's are the best. You can hear great and they protect your hearing when you shoot. I have has a pair for years and never regretted spending the money on them. And if you hunt, they work great for that also.

https://www.espamerica.com/

Walker makes a low profile style like the Leights, but I think they seal better.

I bought in-ear Starkeys a number of years ago, and consider them one of the worst purchases I've made. The only was to have them reduce blast noise is to dial them down so low that they are effectively just plugs.

I have the Starkey digital ear protectors and they work perfectly. Much better than my old ESP's. It sounds like you have a defect. Send them back to Starkey for repair. They should be able to take care of your problem.
Good luck,
Buddy Marson

These are now 6-8 years old. I wrestled with them over several months, had them replaced/upgraded, and and finally ended up with the VP of Something or other, whose only solution was to dial them down. Never again. I'm back to molded plugs.

I have Starkeys too, with the 4 levels adjusted with a tiny push button, which gets bumped a lot. If you put them on high sensitivity you can't wear them while walking through the brush or cattails as it's just wayyy too loud, and when/if an airliner goes over at 35,000ft it sounds like they're flying through your head. And when folks start blowing on their dog whistles you have to jerk them out of your ears immediately if they're close. The only real use I find for them is for sitting in a nice silent deer stand and listening for those subtle footsteps in the dry leaves, but there can't be any planes flying over.... I have Starkey regular hearing aids also and have kept them going for 9yrs so far and they're still fine and I really like them. As for headsets, I use the older high-profile Peltors with the single volume control and love them. I've borrowed and tried their low profile muffs also and liked them just fine. Some don't like the high profile for rifle/shotgun shooting because the hit the stock but I don't find it an issue. I definitely don't like the dual volume controls on the low profile model. I can tell you that the in the ear units are not near good enough at an indoor range if there are other shooters. I went to a full-auto shoot in Denver last fall and had to jump back out of the range and put muffs on over my foam plugs when the shooting started. It was wayyyy too loud for foam plugs alone. And just for the record, the only foam plugs I use are the pinkish-orange H Leights. Nothing else comes close. They are the perfect foam ear plug and will fit any size ear canal well. The yellow cylindrical EAR brand are too big and 'stiff' and caused my ear canals to swell shut once and I ended up in the emergency room in Nome. I won't touch those.

when i was on the 155 mm howizter and the 175 mm guns all we got was ear plugs..i guess they worked pretty well my hearing is still good....what really makes a racket is a fellow sawing tin with a skill saw worst noise i know of....charlie

28, 000 rounds of 5 inch naval gunfire without any ear protection cured my hearing for ever. When at the range, I wear ear protection and still hear nothing. Thank you Uncle Sam and Vietnam.

I have a pair of electronic muffs that are at least 15 years old and they still work well. I forget the manufacturer but there is a tag on them that says "Dimension". They seal very well and keep the noise on 5-stand very mild but yet I can hear someone talking at the far end of the line. Very easy on batteries too. I use them weekly and I change batteries 2, maybe 3 times a year. They are very comfortable to wear as well and, for me, do not interfere with the stock.

A friend of mine has the same muffs for about the same length of time. A few years ago he dropped them into the salt water while duck hunting in Mexico. He sent them back for repair and they completely refurbished them at no cost.