Electronic Hearing Protection

DBChaffin wrote:

PapaDawg wrote:Thanks for the replies everyone - personal experience is the best and I appreciate all of the input. My current 'muffs are 31 NRR and I'm spoiled, but I can't hear squat with them on which is why I'm in the market for electronic 'muffs.

JP - hope Jody does reply as it's a good thing to hear what folks w/ similar issues have to say - like Jim36.

NotUndeadYet - does Bass carry those plugs that you mentioned? Might we worth a try.

RK - roaming the 'net and reading reviews I've found the reaction times vary from 5.5 ms to 1/2 second. In my case, the quicker they shut down the noise, the better.

Jim36 - I have in the ear HA's and have tried wearing them w/ 'muffs, but they become quite uncomfortable quickly - could be a function of the tight fit of the 'muffs.

'Neck - I've tried plugs and 'muffs and it's just one more thing I have to pull out of my ear hole to hear someone tell me, "You missed!"

Thanks again all - you're narrowing the field down for me

As with most things, at least to some extent you do get what you pay for in my opinion.

Pro Ears ( http://www.proears.com/ ) are at least near the top, if not at the top of the market. They are very expensive, but they are good quality, last a long time, and work very well. They make up to a 33 db NRR model if that matters to you, and their attack time is less than 1.5 milliseconds, well faster than the times mentioned above.

Note that there are different types of electronic muffs. Many of the cheaper ones "clip" or cut the amplification off when a gun shot or other loud sound is present. Personally, this is really annoying to me, especially if there is a lot of shooting going on. Pro Ears "compress" the loud sounds so that a conversation can literally be carried on while a gun is being fired a short distance away. I personally much prefer this technology. While Pro Ears I believe were the first, others have similar technology now.

Unless the Howard Leights and Caldwells have changed recently, they are older technology and clip, and while the amplification is cut off in some period of time measured in milliseconds (I don't have the specs), the time it takes for the amplification to be cut back on (or be "released") is slow, generally 1/4 to 1 second or so. Many people use them and like them, although I wonder how many have tried better electronic muffs. Anyway, just wanted you to be aware that there are differences and other choices. Try some if you can before purchasing.

My $.02.