Review: Electronic Earplugs, By Larry Shwartz

[Justin Crossley]

In his first Rokslide article, guest contributor Larry Schwartz talks about the pros and cons of a variety of electronic earplug options.

Review: Electronic Earplugs


Here's a little bit about Larry.

Larry Schwartz is a father of three who lives in Annapolis, Maryland. He has been hunting the Eastern Seaboard for over twenty years. His big game pursuits include whitetail, black bear, sitka deer, turkey, wild hogs, and the occasional stingray. Larry started hunting with the traditional bow and arrow but is going to be using rifle and shotgun for hunting in the upcoming seasons. He discovered Rokslide when it was first created and loves the way it combines two of his favorite activities: backpacking and hunting far from the maddening crowd. Larry is an Eagle Scout, former Infantry officer, and currently directs a process improvement group for a government contractor. He is also a freelance writer with a focus on the home defense, survival, and preparedness markets.

 

[larryschwartz]

If anyone has questions about the models I tested, please ask away. I'll be glad to answer your questions.

Larry Schwartz

 

[willidru]

Electronic hearing has been a game changer for me, especially duck hunting. Sitting in a blind with 4 guys hammering away without ever getting rung is great. I use the ESP dynamics.

 

[COlineman78]

When I've worn my Howard Leight Impacts while hunting before they made me super paranoid due to the fact that they amplified all sounds. Did you notice this more with any models over others? Do any have the capability to attach bluetooth and overlay it over the external audio for either radios, music or podcasts (for stand hunting boredom)?

 

[realunlucky]

I'm also interested if any had blue tooth capabilities?

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[larryschwartz]

When I've worn my Howard Leight Impacts while hunting before they made me super paranoid due to the fact that they amplified all sounds. Did you notice this more with any models over others? Do any have the capability to attach bluetooth and overlay it over the external audio for either radios, music or podcasts (for stand hunting boredom)?

COlineman78, and others;

Well, first of all, the HL Impacts are earmuffs and I was writing about in the ear hearing protection, not over the ear hearing protection, so I can't speak to the capabilities of other earmuffs. I do seem to recall that some did have the ability to include radio/music feeds either with a wired jack or a bluetooth capability. A Google search on "shooting earmuffs with bluetooth" found several if earmuffs are your preference.

The electronic in-the-ear (ITE) plugs I tested all did two things: they let you hear what was going on around you at a normal level, and they protected you from loud noises like a gun going off. They managed volume either with a dial so you could make it louder or softer as you wanted, or with a switch that toggled between normal volume and enhanced volume.

I have not seen any, as of yet, that let you hear what is going on around you at a normal level, protect you from loud noises, AND also have bluetooth capability. Some of the higher end, custom molded earpiece models may give you hearing protection, the ability to hear what was going on around you at a normal level, AND bluetooth, but I haven't found them yet. And they are going to be in the $1000 to $3000+ price range. There are earmuffs that do that, but I prefer earplugs to earmuffs for hearing protection for the reasons I mentioned in the article; less affect on shooting form/check weld, less weight and bulk, and less impact on what I wear on my head.

Larry

 

[COlineman78]

Larry, I agree about the plugs vs muffs, which is why I was asking if something had the same capability of overlaying music or whatever.

 

[twall13]

According to their website, the Decibullz can be compatible with their bluetooth earphones. I'm not sure if it would still protect your hearing against a gunshot with the bluetooth earphones in place but it might be worth looking in to. I didn't know these existed but I'm definitely interested.

Thanks for the information Larry!

 

[larryschwartz]

According to their website, the Decibullz can be compatible with their bluetooth earphones. I'm not sure if it would still protect your hearing against a gunshot with the bluetooth earphones in place but it might be worth looking in to. I didn't know these existed but I'm definitely interested.

Thanks for the information Larry!

I am going to be checking out the bluetooth inserts for another article. I agree that I don't think the bluetooth are also hearing protection. I will let you know after I test them out.

Larry

 

[the0thermrt]

big fan of the GSP etymotic

 

[Josh Wright]

The percussion ones. No BS. Are they that good?

 

[COlineman78]

According to their website, the Decibullz can be compatible with their bluetooth earphones. I'm not sure if it would still protect your hearing against a gunshot with the bluetooth earphones in place but it might be worth looking in to. I didn't know these existed but I'm definitely interested.

Thanks for the information Larry!

Without being able to also hear your surroundings I don't think it would be very useful for hunting. I think that right now since no one really offers it the best solution may be to get one of the options from the article and pair with some of the new bone conducting headphones. Theoretically that should work to do both.

 

[NatefromVT]

Thank you!

If anyone has questions about the models I tested, please ask away. I'll be glad to answer your questions.

Larry Schwartz

First off, thank you Larry for taking the time to procure and test so many of the ear-protection models on the market, then sharing your experience.
I use Decibullz for shooting clays almost exclusively, and over the ear protection for the rifle range, so I'm familiar with both. But hunting ducks at the end of the season recently, I got my bell rung pretty good - my right ear rang for a few hours, and it sobered me up to the reality - I need hearing protection in the field too.

I'm a top-down guy. I want to know what the best is, then figure out if I can afford it. Most of my hunting is for upland birds in VT, where the sound of a leaf crunching can signal a grouse getting ready to flush. Of all the devices you tested, and if we (laughingly) assume money is no object, which option would you choose to allow you to hear sounds while walking a good deal?
Second question - would you recommend that same option for duck hunting in lousy conditions (my friends and I tend to hunt in miserable, cold, windy conditions without blinds), or is there something with better wind-muffling protection that you've enjoyed?

Thanks in advance!!
Nate

 

[NatefromVT]

Edit: I just realized that the most expensive ear protection in your review is $2100. Gulp. My original questions still stands - I am sure there are folks out there who would love to know your thoughts on what $2100 vs $999 vs $299 buys you. Seeing the price range has me leaning more toward the Etymotics, but I'd still love to know how they stack up against the high end stuff.

 

[larryschwartz]

Nate, see my answers in red text after your questions...

First off, thank you Larry for taking the time to procure and test so many of the ear-protection models on the market, then sharing your experience.
I use Decibullz for shooting clays almost exclusively, and over the ear protection for the rifle range, so I'm familiar with both. But hunting ducks at the end of the season recently, I got my bell rung pretty good - my right ear rang for a few hours, and it sobered me up to the reality - I need hearing protection in the field too.

I'm a top-down guy. I want to know what the best is, then figure out if I can afford it. Most of my hunting is for upland birds in VT, where the sound of a leaf crunching can signal a grouse getting ready to flush. Of all the devices you tested, and if we (laughingly) assume money is no object, which option would you choose to allow you to hear sounds while walking a good deal? Well, it will be difficult to hear a sound like a quail stepping on a dry leaf while you are walking even for someone with ears like a rabbit. But, if you are standing still and want to hear a soft sound any of the lower cost models would do as they all offer a feature to boost the volume you hear.

Second question - would you recommend that same option for duck hunting in lousy conditions (my friends and I tend to hunt in miserable, cold, windy conditions without blinds), or is there something with better wind-muffling protection that you've enjoyed? I think that they would work for duck hunting as well. Since the microphone is inside of your ear the wind noise would be no different than if you were not using ear plugs. If you want to get more sophisticated then checking into the custom molded earpiece models might reveal something that can filter out wind noise.

Thanks in advance!!
Nate

 

[larryschwartz]

Edit: I just realized that the most expensive ear protection in your review is $2100. Gulp. My original questions still stands - I am sure there are folks out there who would love to know your thoughts on what $2100 vs $999 vs $299 buys you. Seeing the price range has me leaning more toward the Etymotics, but I'd still love to know how they stack up against the high end stuff.

The Etymotics product is a very good one. Actually, they are all effective with everything I used for testing them; a .40 M&P pistol, a Remington 870 12ga shotgun, and a Ruger .308 carbine. To address the price difference, the higher cost is due to two things, the more sophisticated circuitry in them and the fact that they all have custom made earpieces to fit your ear. The advanced circuitry may provide the ability to filter out wind noise and the models that offer different programs might be useful for different kinds of hunting. The real advantage comes from the custom earpiece though. I have found that something that fills your ear completely, the canal and also the outer ear, works better to keep out noise. Something that the models that have flanged ear tips don't do as well. Keep in mind that they all do the job, but the custom earpieces work better. Sort of like the difference between the Gold medal and the Silver medal at the Olympics, the difference is there but it isn't very much.

 

[NatefromVT]

"Sort of like the difference between the Gold medal and the Silver medal at the Olympics, the difference is there but it isn't very much." GREAT analogy - thank you Larry!!!

 

[larryschwartz]

I am going to be checking out the bluetooth inserts for another article. I agree that I don't think the bluetooth are also hearing protection. I will let you know after I test them out.

Larry

For those of you who were interested in the bluetooth earphones, I contacted Decibullz and got the details. I also got a pair to test out and I will let you all know what I find out.

As for using them to protect your hearing from gunshots and loud noises like in a machine shop, that is NOT what the bluetooth earPHONEs and regular earPHONEs are designed to do. They provide noise or sound ISOLATION, but not protection. Sound isolation means that they will keep out the ambient sounds that you often hear through regular earphones; things like people talking, traffic noise, that sort of thing. Since the earphones fit into a custom molded earpiece they are more effective than just regular earphones that fit in your ear like earbuds. Reviews have stated that the sound quality is pretty good.

The earphone inserts and the percussive filter inserts will both fit into the same custom molded earpiece, but you can only wear one type of insert at a time.

Larry

 

[COlineman78]

For those of you who were interested in the bluetooth earphones, I contacted Decibullz and got the details. I also got a pair to test out and I will let you all know what I find out.

As for using them to protect your hearing from gunshots and loud noises like in a machine shop, that is NOT what the bluetooth earPHONEs and regular earPHONEs are designed to do. They provide noise or sound ISOLATION, but not protection. Sound isolation means that they will keep out the ambient sounds that you often hear through regular earphones; things like people talking, traffic noise, that sort of thing. Since the earphones fit into a custom molded earpiece they are more effective than just regular earphones that fit in your ear like earbuds. Reviews have stated that the sound quality is pretty good.

The earphone inserts and the percussive filter inserts will both fit into the same custom molded earpiece, but you can only wear one type of insert at a time.

Larry

I'm not sure if either you or them understand what I and I assume many of us are looking for. I am not looking for noise isolating or canceling headphones. I am looking for electronic earplugs with bluetooth functionality to overlay audio on top of ambient noise. This would be most useful to be combined with Cobra HH500 radios so that you can still use your radio along with electronic hearing protection.

 

[larryschwartz]

I'm not sure if either you or them understand what I and I assume many of us are looking for. I am not looking for noise isolating or canceling headphones. I am looking for electronic earplugs with bluetooth functionality to overlay audio on top of ambient noise. This would be most useful to be combined with Cobra HH500 radios so that you can still use your radio along with electronic hearing protection.

COlineman,

I understood what you were looking for, but I may have not presented it well. The current bluetooth earphones made by Decibullz should connect to a radio, assuming the radio is a bluetooth transmitter. I looked at the Cobra HH500 and talked to their customer support folks and their radio is designed as a bluetooth receiver; it receives a signal from a mobile phone which is the bluetooth transmitter. So, if you have a HH500 it may not do what you think it will do from a bluetooth perspective.

The Decibullz bluetooth earphones are also bluetooth receivers, so any radio you wanted to use with them would have to be a bluetooth transmitter as well. And, as I mentioned, the Decibullz bluetooth earphones do not provide any hearing protection so they won't meet your needs. I will tell Decibullz about the desire for a hybrid product that combines the bluetooth earphone capability with the hearing protection of their percussive filter earplugs.

Larry