Hunting hearing protection??

I've tried a bunch of things lately. Walker electronic ear plugs were horrible. My current favorites are these, and they are cheap.
I don't understand. These are really cheap. Do they really work that well? I see they also have a $400 set...
 
I don't understand. These are really cheap. Do they really work that well? I see they also have a $400 set...
No, they do not work that well. By that I mean, they are not plugs I would use when at the range or in a match, firing lots of shots. But they do work well at cutting the edge off of the report from shots in the field. When wearing them while hunting, I can hear my dog, my partners, and the birds flushing. The sound of the shot is still pretty loud, but definitely not as loud as it would be without them, and I when get back to the truck, my ears are not ringing like they would be without the plugs. They are quite a bit better than nothing.

I used them all day, for 2.5 days last week and they were perfectly comfortable. I took one shot without them, regrettably, and I certainly wished I had not forgotten to install them before the first bird of the morning. If I had always used these for the last 60 yrs, I am sure my hearing would be much better than what it is now.
 
I agree with @BrentD, they work surprisingly well in the field. Things are slightly muffled at normal sound levels, but it definitely knocks down the sound of a gun quite a lot. I can't recall for sure, but I think they advertise something like 3db noise reduction for ambient sounds and 33db for high volume sounds.

I would like to try an electronic solution one day, but spending that much on something I'm unsure about is a tough pill to swallow. Performance in windy conditions is my biggest concern, and as you can attest the wind is an issue as often as not here in E. WA.
 
I agree with @BrentD, they work surprisingly well in the field. Things are slightly muffled at normal sound levels, but it definitely knocks down the sound of a gun quite a lot. I can't recall for sure, but I think they advertise something like 3db noise reduction for ambient sounds and 33db for high volume sounds.

I would like to try an electronic solution one day, but spending that much on something I'm unsure about is a tough pill to swallow. Performance in windy conditions is my biggest concern, and as you can attest the wind is an issue as often as not here in E. WA.
I've been using electronic muffs the last two years but if they're not sitting perfectly they mess with my gun mount. This trip proved too frustrating because of it. I need something in ear.
 
I'm genetically hard of hearing and noise-induced from work.
I have prescription hearing aids. They Compress noise above a certain level. I still hear the noise but at a safe level. I shoot a lot too. For range shooting, or shooting in a duck blind with others I use Electronic Muffs over my aids.
A lot of the noise is telegraphed through the bone and harms your hearing too. The muffs stop a lot of that.
Some of the upper-end shooting elc plugs use the same idea. My audiologist says for just hunting outside the hearing aids are adequate, but for extended shooting especially enclosed use muffs too.
 
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