Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Amplified hearing muffs

I was asked to join a couple of my friends to do some Sporting Clays shooting over the weekend and since my hearing is not very good I wore hearing aids under my ear muffs, but it got to be a pain in the butt when anyone would say something to me on the line I had to try and hold the gun and pull the muffs off then pull them back up to shoot. Then one guy says look at these, and he was wearing an amplified set of muffs. Said it is the only way to go. So with that being said is there one brand that stands out from the others as being very well made? Thanks for your opinions. BCM

You want a slim ear muff for shotgun sports. I would say 3m Peltor or MSA Sordins would be your absolute best bet.

Oldelkhunter, thank you very much for your information. It gives me a good place to start. BCM

I have no experience with the MSA Sordins but I really like my 3M Peltor muffs.

You are welcome. I use ProEars stalkers for hunting in a stand but they are a tad too bulky for shooting a shotgun.

MSA Sordin



safariland

Good topic.

I. Have a set of Walker's Razor model. I have a major high frequency hearing loss. My hearing aids can't fix that it's gone. Amplified muffs can't fix that either but seem to help a bit in med and low frequency with conversation if the wind noise don't drive you distraction. When your hard of hearing everyone treats you like a imbecile nothing will change that.. The only reason I visit the fire is because I can hear everyone even the troll sh*theads. Mb

The Sordin Supreme Pro-X is extremely good. Quite a bit better build quality than my Walker Razor.

The kids have some amplified muffs, they seem to work well. I'm not sure what brand but I got them at PSA and they weren't much money. If you're going to do a lot of shotgun stuff, you might want to look into the fitted, amplifying ear plugs. I have a pair of Magnum Ear brand that I've had for probably ten years now. They're analog, not digital. They shut out gunfire noises very well. Even big, magnum revolvers (think .500 S&W) just sound like a gunshot on TV. They don't interfere with wearing a hat, glasses, don't get knocked around by the gunstock.... There's a lot to like. Just to add that, if I'm shooting the big revolvers much, I've gotten to wearing muffs over them as well.

I never dreamed years ago that losing your hearing would be such a handicap. Boy can it be frustrating. Especially young girls on the phone when they call to tell you of a dentist or doctor appointment. They talk with a higher pitch voice and they talk so fast it's impossible to make out what they're saying. I use the wife as an interpreter or just let her make the calls. I tell them my problem and to speak louder and slower and it works for about two or three words and they're right back to their fast talking. Geez, or they repeat themselves without raising their voice. I tell them you can repeat yourself all day long. but until you raise your voice I CAN'T HEAR YOU. It does little good. So fell'as, those of you that can still hear, do all you can to keep your hearing. And you guys that have responded, thanks for helping me out on choosing a pair of muffs. It's appreciated. BCM

They make you hunt better ! Not many our age have perfect hearing. If we made it this far we protected our ears. Long range, loud pistols and muzzle brakes have increased the damage to hearing. Our bunch started wearing noise attunating amplified ear protection about fifteen years ago. The first impression is HOW LOUD WAKING IS ! With Walkers (or any of many styles available) for $50 .. what you notice at once ...., is the crunch, crunch, crunch of your footsteps. Use that to step slower and softer, deer, birds whatever...YOU WILL HUNT BETTER.

I wear Howard-Leight Impact Sports. Very slim fitting. Was out shooting yesterday, fired a 338 Win Mag with a brake. Report was well within comfort yet conversation was easily done.
Jeff

I have a pair of these too. They seem to work very well, both to amplify low volume noise and to cut high intensity noise. Turn them up and you can hear your own pulse, and the sound of small bugs sneaking through the leaf litter.

That's about right LOL. I like them. It was quite windy yesterday, Alberta Prairie, but the wind noise was tolerable.
Jeff

Howard-Leights. Since we’re mostly hunting from “shooting houses”, I put mine on about a half hour before sunset. If you crank ‘em up a bit you can hear a change in the “woods noises” or a stick breaking as animals move around or approach the fields.
A few years ago, I made the mistake of shooting a coyote from one of our stands with no hearing protection with a 700 carbine, 30/06. It hurt the coyote more than it did me but I won’t do that again.

+1. I have well satisfied with the Peltors either on the range or while hunting from stands.

I never realized how many times deer will snort wheeze, and grunt till I started wearing amplified electronic ear muffs. The muffs have accounting for several large bucks.

The "NRR" rating is the first stop (noise reduction rating). MINIMUM of 26 and higher will, generally mean more $$ (which is OK.....WHAT???)

I use the Pro Ears Gold II, even with a shotgun. Depends on the height of your cheekbone/ears and fitment of your favorite firearm.

Second item is the cup material. There is ok at first, then deteriorate over a short amount of time.

Some muffs provide too much "hollow" sound in the housing - means that do not have much sound deadening material in the housing.

Third - batteries. Do not get hooked into $12 batteries. AAA, AA, or CR123 are the ticket. The Pro Ears with CR123's, last for a couple of years (and I use them, a LOT).

Fourth - auto off feature -very handy.

d. I can hear thunder but it better be loud. I started going deaf when I was in my late thirties. There are several reasons for my hearing loss so take your pick. Forst I have shot firearms since I was 7 years old, mostly without hearing protection (until in my late 40s). I also worked in high noise areas most of my life. One more possible cause is I had severe pneumonia in late December 1985 and they had me in the hospital with an IV of erethromicin(Spelling suspect) and the micin family of antibiotics is known to be hard on hearing. That was Christmas eve, 1985. After that I experienced pain in both ears intermittently for several months. Then later in the year I took my annual physical exam at work and I had my first of 3 OSHA Shifts in hearing. Then last but not least, I probably inherited it. My maternal grandmother was totally deaf in her later years and my mother also.

Anyway, without my hearing aids I'm deaf as a door nail. But I made a pleasant discovery a few years back at the gun range. I usually take out my hearing aids and put on my ear muffs, which was a pain in the ass. But one day I went to shoot and forgot to take my hearing aids out and fired a few shots at a target with my ..30-06 or .270, I forget which. I didn't think about it for a few minutes but suddenly realized I still had my hearing aids in and my ears weren't ringing. The hearing aids blocked the high decibel noise.

I was totally surprised. I had always been in fear of shooting with my hearing aids in because I was afraid they would amplify the sound and ruin what little hearing I had left. But instead they managed the sound and limited the decibels to a manageable safe level. That's made shooting and hunting a lot better for me.

I am also very happy with mine. I started using them and providing them for students in private classes and have been consistently impressed w/ function, comfort and durability.

I used Peltor and Sordins for years and they worked well but are more $ than necessary for most people.

Once you have used decent electro-muffs you will be hooked.


mike r