Hearing loss

[FBT]

Left ear. Not good. I know I can't get it back. I've got to start doing something NOW. I want to know what y'all are wearing. I'd like it to be something small and not the muffs. Tons of products out there from 15 to 500$. Thanks.

[Easy E]

Surefire makes a pretty decent set.

[Palmetto Bug]

They don't stop at $500. I have Magnum Ear electronic plugs and I love them. They're not the fanciest or most expensive out there either. I've seen others more than twice the price. It took me a while to get off the cash but I'm glad I did and don't miss the money.

The problem with passive plugs is that they are inconvenient and perhaps dangerous in a hunting situation and at the range, it's easy to forget to put them back in after target changes before someone lights off their hand cannon under the covered shooting line.

[walt4dun]

I'm not going to subject myself to another season without a pair this year either.

Looking at these: EHP MC-1
http://www.electronic-hearing-protec...a0b5144906a92a

[marsh chicken]

great thread...im interested as well.

[mdb2]

Huh?

[Gander]

I've tried them all. The electronic ear plugs are good but a duck call sounds weird with them. Like you are blowing it inside a tin can. And you should really get the custom molded ones if you go that route. You will need to purchase plenty of batteries but they are probably the best option. They are a little pricey but check out ESP's. They are the gold standard.

Regular ear plugs don't stay in my ears.

Ive settled on a set of custom molded ear plugs. You can hear some but they block out enough sound that the blast doesn't bother you. They are cheap at $40 a set and you won't cry if you drop them in the water.

[JABIII]

You should hear The Old Man and I trying to converse via the telephone.

"I need to run go get a set of bearings for the disk"

"What kind of fish was it?"

"What???"

"You just said you saw a heron catch a fish."

"Sheesh. I will send you a text."

"Why don't you run pick up those bearings?"

"What???!!??"

"You just asked what you should do next."

"@#$$@%!@^#^%"

[trkykilr]

Freddie, I'm in the same boat. As you well know, I got a lot of it from my pops. I have really noticed a difference over the last several years trying to hear gobblers.

[BMAC_ducks]

ESP, cost some coin but worth it. Wont hunt with out them now

[BigBallin]

My hearing is meesed up enough I can get away with ignoring folks but not so much I cant help myself. I use the cheap, spark plug ear plugs shooting dove. I dont mash em in hard but enough to help. I use muffs when shooting at the range. Deer hunting I use nothing but I generally only shoot once.

[mud ugh]

It's obvious that I've already started experiencing hearing loss and I like the idea of trying to prevent it, but I have a hard time getting used to the solution of wearing normal ear plugs. Fairly often I'm alerted to the presence of ducks not by sight, but by hearing their wings. I've thought about the electronic hearing aids that block sound above a certain decibel, but do they really work and not hinder hearing under normal circumstances? They're pretty expensive to end up not using them. Anyone have any suggestions for someone who wants to hear normally everything but the gun?

[B.Miller]

I need to look into some as well, with tinnitus, guns make it 10000 times worse.

Sent from my SAMSUNG Galaxy S3 using Tapatalk 2

[MC]

I had 2 sets made at the audiologists' office a few years ago when I had my hearing tested. Same as you, high frequency hearing loss in my left ear. I had not said anything about hunting / shooting and the Dr.'s first question was whether I did any shooting.

I got a set of just regular ear plugs, and a set that has the noise-activated valve that cuts out noise above a certain decible level. They are custom molded and I think the plugs were $50 and the noise-activated ones were $75.

The noise-activated ones are supposed to let you hear normally, but they still reduce your hearing capacity pretty significantly. What I have ended up doing is using a noise-activated plug in my right ear and a complete plug in my left ear. I cannot hear whistling wings from a dove over my head, but I can hear somebody call a bird out. I can stand 3' away from you and carry on a conversation without yelling.

The custom fit makes a huge difference in both comfort and effectiveness. The Dr. told me anything you have to raise your voice over to be heard talking is significant enough noise to warrant protection. So I wear mine doing yard work, running most power tools and definately doing any shooting.

I don't doubt the high-end electronic plugs are nice, and I would really like to have some sound amplification for hearing footsteps and distant gobbles. I don't think I would be happy with "entry level" plugs and at nearly a grand for those I am going to have my feelings hurt pretty bad when something happens to one or both of them. In the mean time, it is important to protect your hearing and the custom molded plugs are worth $50-$75 in my opinion.

[trentsmith]

I bought a Walker Game Ear about 3 or 4 years ago. I think I paid around $125 for it. I've worn it maybe 5 times and took it out everytime after about 5 mins. It magnifies every little sound that you make like your hair on your colar while turning your head and you can forget about wearing a face mask. On top of that I can't tell what direction a noise is coming from. I tried it turkey hunting once and I heard a bird gobble, I took it out and couldn't hear him. I put it back in and I could hear him but had no clue where the fuck he was.

[Palmetto Bug]

I don't have any problem wearing mine duck, dove or deer hunting but, just like previously mentioned, you will find yourself trying to call a turkey that's five miles away. If I turn up the volume while deer hunting, a squirrel sounds like a cripple bison stampeding through the leaves. Wind noise is amplified but that's just part of the deal. It just a matter of adjusting the volume/sensitivity to suit the situation.

[FBT]

Ive always worn protection when sighting in a rifle or patterning a shotgun. Never when hunting. My ears are to important to me when duck, deer or turkey hunting. Acute hearing and your peripheral vision are two of the most important things youve got going for you. Appears as though some major coin has to be dropped to get something comfortable. Maybe i can just keep a plug tied to my left collar and shove it in when somethin needs to be dealt with.

[ccleroy]

I don't have any problem wearing mine duck, dove or deer hunting but, just like previously mentioned, you will find yourself trying to call a turkey that's five miles away. If I turn up the volume while deer hunting, a squirrel sounds like a cripple bison stampeding through the leaves. Wind noise is amplified but that's just part of the deal. It just a matter of adjusting the volume/sensitivity to suit the situation.

That made me giggle......

[MC]

Maybe i can just keep a plug tied to my left collar and shove it in when somethin needs to be dealt with.

You definately have to adapt to the situation and you ought to talk to your doctor about it. The guy I saw was a hunter himself so he understood the importance of hearing in detecting game. He pointed out there is a difference in how your ear reacts to a single loud burst vs. repetitive or continuous noise. While it is important to protect yourself from all of it, his point was, he doesn't see deer and turkey hunters coming in with hearing loss like he does bird hunters or target shooters.

In the dove field, I'm fine with missing a few opportunities at doves, I'm just not mad enough at them to worry about killing every single one. I actually don't miss as many as I thought I would. I rarely shoot deer with the gun, but when I do I don't wear plugs and same with turkey hunting. Duck hunting; it just all depends and often I just wear the left one if I'm by myself. I am done having somebody on my right side and nothing in my ears though.

[WoodieSC]

I've always tried to protect my hearing in most instances, but will admit that I haven't normally worn ear protection for most hunting situations unless I expected to shoot a lot, such as dove or (released) quail, etc.

That being said, I suspect that I'm beginning to see some high end loss and need to get checked. The last time I did, about 5 years ago, I was seeing about a 10% loss in one ear and 5%-7% in the other (not bad for my age, though), and ended up purchasing some molded plugs with the noise dampeners in them. They work fine, but do cut more of the standard noise/talking levels out that I don't like.

Here's an online test that takes about 3 minutes if you want to get some idea as to where you're at. I'll retake this if I can find some a decent headset to plug in as I just took it using my PC speakers and I know the ambient noise keeps me from testing like I think I would in a standard audiometric chamber. It still seems fairly accurate.

http://www.testmyhearingonline.com/online-test/

Good luck!

Fwiw, I think I might try some of those new Surefire plugs for regular hunting use.