Which electronic earmuffs to buy?

Pinecone · Mar 29, 2018

Plugs plus Muffs gives you 5 dB more than the higher rated of the two.

So if you use plugs at 33 dB NRR, and add ANY muff, you get 38 dB NRR.

It does not matter if the muff is rated at 20 dB or 30 dB.

CBo · Apr 1, 2018

I have both howard and walkers. Some diferences i noticed: The Howards do not apply as much force into your head as the walkers. The biggest thing is how the audio works. The Walkers do not have directional audio- its hard to tell which direction the mic is picking up the noise from. Both the Walkers and Howards you can have the mic on to miminum, and fully adjust the volume on the phone and it will adjust accordingly, but the howards have a sleight increase when you are near the max volume. Personally, I first bought the Howards, then found the Walkers on sale so I got that after. I usually grab the howards whenever I go to the range, mainly because the Walkers push the eye pro too hard on to my temple so I adjust alot more than the Howards. Regardless, I tend to use in ear surefires with either walker or howards on top. One last opinion is that I believe the walkers amplify sound much louder but has more white noise at its max, vs. the howards do not amplify as much but sounds cleaner. If you need to hear things that are far away, Id go with walkers, but if you want better clarity go howards.

Casey39r · Apr 4, 2018

Get the ones that fits your head while stopping the sound.

Wolfshaker · Apr 16, 2018

+1 Howard Leights.

Kevnev · May 12, 2018

Another vote for Howard Leight Impact Sports.

BigSteve57 · May 12, 2018

Mikey said:
I have had
Peltor Pro Sports: Worked well for a couple of years then died.
Howard Leights: Worked okay for a while then died, always had kinda poor sound quality.
Pro Ears Gold: Best sound quality but so bulky I couldn't use them
MSA Sordins with Gel Cups: Great Sound quality, best comfort and after 1.5 years of use they are still working perfect.

MSA Sordins are great. We have 2 pairs - one with the gel cups. Sound is natural, directional and instant. No problems after years of use.

Qbeam · May 5, 2019

These Walkers are on sale, and have Bluetooth.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/2...ent=main-image-link&utm_campaign=walkers-quad

I have a pair and they are decent.

Q

babalou · May 5, 2019

Dumb question. What about something like the noise cancellation muffs like Bose, etc? Or do they not really work? I called Bose and the nice guy there was sort of lost on what I was asking.

Qbeam · May 5, 2019

babalou said:
Dumb question. What about something like the noise cancellation muffs like Bose, etc? Or do they not really work? I called Bose and the nice guy there was sort of lost on what I was asking.

I think the Bose cancellation is for a different purpose, not hearing protection, but rather sound clarity. I don't think they have a NRR due to this fact. Someone with better audiophile skills can correct me if I have misspoken.

Q

Sundazes · May 5, 2019

babalou said:
Dumb question. What about something like the noise cancellation muffs like Bose, etc? Or do they not really work? I called Bose and the nice guy there was sort of lost on what I was asking.

Qbeam said:
I think the Bose cancellation is for a different purpose, not hearing protection, but rather sound clarity. I don't think they have a NRR due to this fact. Someone with better audiophile skills can correct me if I have misspoken.

Q

I would not use the Bose for hearing protection, i.e. shooting. They are designed to block out back ground noise such as traffic, airplane noise, etc. They do not have an instant shut off. They are not designed for protection.
That said, they are awesome on planes. I have been using them for years. I fly a lot.

hobiecat590 · May 5, 2019

Kevnev said:
Another vote for Howard Leight Impact Sports.

Me three. I also use them while hunting. Nice to hear the deer before you see them. The loud squirrel farts get annoying though.

On the range, I'll crank them up and use ear plugs to get over -36db noise reduction.

Pinecone · May 5, 2019

Noise cancelling do not react quickly enough.

In fact, when I am on an airplane with a crying baby, by removing the background noise, the baby sounds louder. I switch to plugs

Pinecone · May 5, 2019

sundazes said:
That said, they are awesome on planes. I have been using them for years. I fly a lot.

I am on my 6th pair. Got my first ones in early 2001.

I had two sets of the original Quiet Comfort. With the battery box. I forgot them on a trip, so picked up a back up set for the flight home.

Then got a set of QC2. Used those for a number of years. The batteries leaked in one of the QCs, so found out, they would take them as trade in, and got a set of QC15. Managed to lose one in an airport, so replaced them.

Then, forgot them on another trip, so treated myself to a set of QC35, that I use now.

GREAT things when flying at lot.

tmo8320 · May 5, 2019

Buddy keeps Peltor as his backups. They were pretty comfortable and worked well enough. We both bought the MSA Sordins for primary duty.

I run some Safariland plugs under the Sordins when I shoot indoors. Means I really can’t hear anybody so I need to be particularly attentive for a cease fire call from the RSO.

I do find that selection of eye pro is important if you run tight sealing headsets. For the Sordins...they can be pretty finicky about ear seal so I run Smith Aegis since the ear blades are very slim.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

echo6mike · May 5, 2019

I have a pair of what look like almost those same Walkers but pre-bluetooth, and they're excellent. I like them a bit better than my Howard Leights, the Walkers seem to have a bit better microphone/sound pickup and react to shut down the louder sounds perfectly.

Good fit, low profile for shooting rifle, etc.

Dalebert · May 11, 2020

Bose

sundazes said:
I would not use the Bose for hearing protection, i.e. shooting. They are designed to block out back ground noise such as traffic, airplane noise, etc. They do not have an instant shut off. They are not designed for protection.
That said, they are awesome on planes. I have been using them for years. I fly a lot.

As previously pointed out Bose specifically and noise cancellation in general doesn't work for the shooting sports. This is because they are too slow. The idea for noise cancellation is that the electronics actually listen to the outside sound and play back a sound wave that is approximately equal but opposite to what is going on around you. So the two sound waves cancel out (hence the name). This technology works great for droning type sounds (lawnmowers, planes, some nagging wives), but not so good for voices, gunshots, etc, because by the time the electronics can compute and play the opposing sound wave, the sound has already gone.

With shooters' hearing protection, the protection is all about blocking the sound wave, rather than cancelling it. In other words, the ones that aren't electronic work exactly the same as the ones that are electronic. For this purpose the electronics only amplify the sounds that you DO want to hear. So it blocks 'all' sound, meaning little sound waves, then puts back via amplification the little piece that you wish would come through, like RSO commands, squirrel farts, bucks flirting with does, etc.

For credentials, I used to work for Bose. About a decade ago I ran their marketing warehouses...no science, but plenty of company communication about what they were making and selling. Also, I'm a dork.

With all that being said, I do have an extra question, which is the reason I was cruising the hearing protection threads...does anyone have any knowledge/ideas about comparing combinations? Like electronic in-ear with big muffs vs foams with electronic headset vs electronic on both (specifically does one way work better/worse, does both electronic cause feedback, etc)?

Hope this helps.
Dalebert

FPL53 · Oct 15, 2023

Necro thread bump.

Since it has been a few years and some upgrades in electronic technology, I figured I would restart this thread.

Because I now have my ccw I would like to start shooting more often. Well, more often as long as 9mm doesn't get crazy pricey due to the Israel / Hamas conflict. I have a pair of monster large Peltor headsets and am now finally looking for something low profile with electronic hearing. Amazon presently has the Walkers on sale. My shooting is almost all indoors at The Machine Gun Nest.

I'm looking for your best information and experience with the electronic hearing headsets.

Thanks.

MaxVO2 · Oct 15, 2023

FPL53 said:
Necro thread bump.

Since it has been a few years and some upgrades in electronic technology, I figured I would restart this thread.

Because I now have my ccw I would like to start shooting more often. Well, more often as long as 9mm doesn't get crazy pricey due to the Israel / Hamas conflict. I have a pair of monster large Peltor headsets and am now finally looking for something low profile with electronic hearing. Amazon presently has the Walkers on sale. My shooting is almost all indoors at The Machine Gun Nest.

I'm looking for your best information and experience with the electronic hearing headsets.

Thanks.

****These. Low profile - with *very* good hearing protection and remarkable amplification of normal sounds with directional sensation. They are remarkably comfortable for all day wear at the range with the gel cups. I have zero problems with cheek weld issues on my AR's and other long guns whereas the Howard Leight larger profile, and Peltor's, some of the 3M's etc.. all had me canting my head in some weird way that felt unnatural.

Your hearing is too important to go cheap on protection. Once your hearing is gone - you will be surprised how expensive good hearing aids are with major limitations related to tolerating water (rain, etc..), battery life, etc.. Cheaper and better to take care of your hearing so you don't have to bother with the hearing aids.

Indoor shooting presents significantly higher average DB's than being outside in the typical booths used for shooting. This is especially true with larger caliber, or magnum rounds - even if it is not you shooting them, but being shot nearby.

These just flat out work well.

FPL53 · Oct 15, 2023

MaxVO2 said:
****These. Low profile - with *very* good hearing protection and remarkable amplification of normal sounds with directional sensation. They are remarkably comfortable for all day wear at the range with the gel cups. I have zero problems with cheek weld issues on my AR's and other long guns whereas the Howard Leight larger profile, and Peltor's, some of the 3M's etc.. all had me canting my head in some weird way that felt unnatural.

Your hearing is too important to go cheap on protection. Once your hearing is gone - you will be surprised how expensive good hearing aids are with major limitations related to tolerating water (rain, etc..), battery life, etc.. Cheaper and better to take care of your hearing so you don't have to bother with the hearing aids.

Indoor shooting presents significantly higher average DB's than being outside in the typical booths used for shooting. This is especially true with larger caliber, or magnum rounds - even if it is not you shooting them, but being shot nearby.

These just flat out work well.

View attachment 435954
View attachment 435955

I'm not necessarily looking for cheap, I'm looking for better than good. I spent 5 years at Dulles working in the air freight warehouses off of the side of the runway, and, while in the warehouses no one wore hearing protection. Only when we went out to the tarmac and gates. Three days a week with the concord landing and taking off, those metal warehouse bays just amplified the sound. Along with a lot of concerts ( at least my ears never hurt or rang after the Dead, everyone else they did) I'd like to keep what hearing I have left. I presently double up on plugs and headsets since the indoor ranges get too loud for me without doubling up.

Mark75H · Oct 15, 2023

There have been advances in electronics, but protection comes from acoustic attenuation which is old school physics and hasn't changed. Nothing slim is going to give you the protection of those bulky Peltors. For most people Howard Leights and the $25 Chinese copies are sufficient for 9mm.

Which electronic earmuffs to buy?

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