Hunting with Electronic Hearing Protection

[BBURN]

I'm at the point now where I have to do whatever I can to protect what hearing I have left.  I have tinnitus pretty bad and I can tell my day to day hearing is starting to diminish.  I researched previous threads so I know this topic has been discussed at length, so my question does not center around which brand or style is best.  I have pretty much decided I'm going to try the Walker Ultimate Power Muff Quads because they seem to have the options I want for the price I'm willing to pay at this time.  I understand there is going to be a learning curve and may be issues with white noise and directions to pinpoint what I'm hearing.  My question to those who use electronic hearing protection to help hear gobbles more so than shunting the loud gunshot, how loud is it when calling with your friction and mouth calls?  Do you have to continuously turn the volume up and down or, once you get the muffs dialed in to your optimum setting, can you just hunt?  I'm hoping that I will be able to hear better than my normal now, but it's a lot of money to spend only to slide them on for the shot.  On a side note, I cannot hear drumming whatsoever even when I watching it at 20 yards, so I'm sure I missing some gobbles too. Thanks for any insight.

[Tail Feathers]

I use my muffs until i get close to hear the bird OK without them.  Direction finding can be a bit off using them, but not so bad you can't get closer and narrow it down.
I usually take them off when the bird is close enough to hear easily without 'em.
And drumming?  Not gonna hear much with or without 'em it appears.

[DerekDixon]

i have been using the Howard light impact sport  muffs for a few years, you can pick those up for around 50.00 maybe cheaper if you search around.  Takes a little while to get used to them be cause they amplify everything. I have some hearing lose in my right ear, which is why i started using them for deer hunting and turkey.  what I notice with direction with these the sounds will be louder on which ever side it is coming from. My dad has a set of the walker game ear muffs not sure which model, do know they have control knobs for each ear, i have used these and dont like them as much because of that because you can have the volume turned up or down between the sides.

[Old Timer]

BBurn I went a number of years not hearing birds. The last straw was when the grand old master came in spitting and drumming and I never heard a thing. I started out with cheap muffs but had hard time with what direction the bird was. I then went to a Howard L impact which was a big improvement on hearing direction. One tip when you start using them do not turn volume way up you will get a better feel on distance.
I finally bit the bullet and went with Wild Ears, very expensive but form fitting and directional. The Howards are a good place to start. Good luck on your search.

[tazmaniac]

I lost a lot of high frequency sounds in my left ear when I shot a tom perpendicular to a 200 yr old oak I was set up against.  The sound must have bounced right off the tree and back into that ear.  That ear rang deafeningly for a week.

I noticed in the years that followed, I could no longer pinpoint the direction of gobbles, as my right ear was much better than my left.

I finally went to my ENT and had my hearing checked and got a pair of Soundscopes hearing aids made specifically to my canals.  I could hunt with them turning up my left ear to full volume and my right ear to half volume and tell exactly which direction a gobble came from.  I used them for a decade or so, then lost them in a field working around a bird.  At $400 wholesale, I've been too cheap to replace, so I now use a walkers alpha 360 earmuffs.  Again, turn up the left ear volume to full, and the right to half and works fine.  Way more bulky, and gets hot in the second half of south MS season, but at least I know which direction to head when I hear that first gobble.

I can hear drumming when the bird is within 50yds, but can hear the spit from 80 yds away.

I may bite the bullet and get another pair of custom made hearing aids sometime.

They do cut out with loud yelping, but usually stay on with soft to mid volume calling.

Sent from my SM-G970U1 using Tapatalk

[BBURN]

Thanks for the feedback fellas.  Good luck this season!

[albrubacker]

Got me thinking now. I have some I use for deer hunting, because this damn 450 BM will ring my head!  May need to try them for turkey hunting.