Recommendation for Electronic Ear Muffs

[Ed Blake]

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

[Stephen Hodges]

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/

[Dave Erickson]

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

[John Dallas]

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.

[Buddy Marson]

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

[John Dallas]

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.

[Richard Flanders]

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.

[charlie cleveland]

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

[allen newell]

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.

[Gary Laudermilch]

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.

[John Dallas]

Certainly no naval guns in my background, but during Basic, AIT and OCS we used to pick up cigarette butts and use them as ear plugs. Worked OK, but your ears smelled

[allen newell]

The 6 of us in the Sonar gang were donated to the FT's and GM's for the duration of our tour on the gunline. We covered the northern most point off the DMZ. All shore bombardment and danger close missions of North Vietnam. No hearing protection was issued. We tried to stuff cotton in our ears but it was of minimal protection. 28,000 rds later it was "I can't hear you" then and now. VA said they had no medical record of my hearing loss so they rejected my claim. At time of separation to go back into the active reserves, there was no hearing or other exam upon separation when we arrived back in Norfolk, VA. $5k later I had to buy hearing aids.

For anyone reading this regurgitation, don't forget to wear your hearing protection when shooting period.

[Kevin McCormack]

You would be very surprised at the different levels of protection required against seemingly similar decibel sources. Last summer my 21HP V-twin Poulan lawn tractor, which I loved, finally gave up the ghost and I went looking for a replacement. I loved the Poulan because of its more-than-enough horsepower, smoothness of operation, and relatively low noise level when mowing. I needed a replacement immediately (I've got a BIG yard!) and found a near-new Craftsman with less than 50 hrs. on it with a brand new 18.5 HP single cylinder Briggs & Stratton replacement engine (the previous owner let it run out of oil and it seized). The first thing I noticed about the B&S was how LOUD it was in comparison to the Poulan twin, the second thing is the vibration, which is considerable when compared to the smoothness of the Poulan twin. I find that I need to wear my molded ear plugs I had fit for shooting and a pair of heavy interior-foamed earmuffs I use for my chainsaw over them to sufficiently dampen the noise when mowing. Reminds me of starting up a cold Norton Manx, both in noise and vibration level!

[Harry Sanders]

I believe the Howard Leight muffs are well thought of as are the 3M Peltor. I like my ESP's.

[Gary Laudermilch]

I looked up the brand name of the muffs I mentioned earlier in this thread. They are Pro Ears. I certainly would recommend them.