Hearing Protection

[Marc]

Let me ask it this way.

Has anyone used a lower end hearing device that they abandoned and regret purchasing in the first place or is a moderately priced unit still a worthwhile improvement?

Obviously most of you have gone high end.

This is my perspective from someone with some hearing loss and tinnitus...

The moderately priced units I have tried act as hearing protection, that you can still hear with.  Some sounds you can hear better, and some units you can turn up the volume.


Higher priced units act as hearing enhancement that also act as hearing protection. 

Tetras sound much more natural, less wind interference, and rather than still being able to hear while protecting me, I can hear the sounds I want much, much better.  (You still have to get used to hearing with them on, but it was a much more natural experience for me).  The fact that they were customized to my hearing loss made it strange for me to put them on and hear equally well out of both ears, while maintaining the ability to tell direction.


I am frugal, and it took me some years to make the plunge.  I sometimes use them at home and work as hearing enhancement...  They are used for all my shooting activities...  Wish I had made the purchase years ago, as I might not have the severity of tinnitus I currently do.

I did not "need" Tetra's till I had them...  But after hunting with them on, I would definitely feel at a disadvantage without them...  Never felt like that with the Walker's...

[Tail Feathers]

NEhomer, many of us have tried lower priced options first.  I had a single ear Walker's Game Ear.  It barely amplified anything and did nothing to enhance my turkey hunting needs.  I used Howard Leight electronic muffs.  The amplified everything, including the wind.  It was harder to determine direction, tho not impossible.  When using them hunting with my grandson or friends, I learned I wasn't hearing near as much as I was still missing.  Tetra put my ability to hear gobbles back up with others.  Including my 15 year old grandson.  We have tested it for a couple of seasons now.

[ruination]

I've tried to get myself to use hearing protection for waterfowl before and everything was pretty terrible.

The tetras were great though.  Worked in 30 mph wind.  I could tell direction.  Often heard wings way before blind mates.

Looking forward to trying them while turkey hunting.  Don't really need them, but maybe I'll be able to hear a drum now.

Tried axil and walkers.  I like the Bluetooth for the range, dove hunting, and the lawn mower.  That's about the best I can give them.  They are useless in a wind.  They are useless for directional hearing.  And I'm not wearing/carrying bulky muffs.

Bought a used pair (hadn't even gotten through the batteries it came with) of custom alpha shields with all the bells and whistles of eBay using HSA money for $700.  I don't regret not having the molds, they don't feel like they are going anywhere.

[wchadw]

I've tried to get myself to use hearing protection for waterfowl before and everything was pretty terrible.

The tetras were great though.  Worked in 30 mph wind.  I could tell direction.  Often heard wings way before blind mates.

Looking forward to trying them while turkey hunting.  Don't really need them, but maybe I'll be able to hear a drum now.

Tried axil and walkers.  I like the Bluetooth for the range, dove hunting, and the lawn mower.  That's about the best I can give them.  They are useless in a wind.  They are useless for directional hearing.  And I'm not wearing/carrying bulky muffs.

Bought a used pair (hadn't even gotten through the batteries it came with) of custom alpha shields with all the bells and whistles of eBay using HSA money for $700.  I don't regret not having the molds, they don't feel like they are going anywhere.

Did you send them back to tetra to reprogram to your hearing loss?
I bought a used pair of ampod75s and contacted tetra and they want $300 to reprogram
Not sure the tetras are any better than the walkers I have. May be able to tell direction a little better
I did tetra online hearing loss test with tetras in and without. No significant difference
The ones I have there is no volume adjustment. Wonder if it would be worthwhile to pay the $300


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ruination]

I've tried to get myself to use hearing protection for waterfowl before and everything was pretty terrible.

The tetras were great though.  Worked in 30 mph wind.  I could tell direction.  Often heard wings way before blind mates.

Looking forward to trying them while turkey hunting.  Don't really need them, but maybe I'll be able to hear a drum now.

Tried axil and walkers.  I like the Bluetooth for the range, dove hunting, and the lawn mower.  That's about the best I can give them.  They are useless in a wind.  They are useless for directional hearing.  And I'm not wearing/carrying bulky muffs.

Bought a used pair (hadn't even gotten through the batteries it came with) of custom alpha shields with all the bells and whistles of eBay using HSA money for $700.  I don't regret not having the molds, they don't feel like they are going anywhere.

Did you send them back to tetra to reprogram to your hearing loss?
I bought a used pair of ampod75s and contacted tetra and they want $300 to reprogram
Not sure the tetras are any better than the walkers I have. May be able to tell direction a little better
I did tetra online hearing loss test with tetras in and without. No significant difference
The ones I have there is no volume adjustment. Wonder if it would be worthwhile to pay the $300


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I don't have any hearing loss.

I just can't hear the low end for w/e reason.

So no, I didn't pay for reprogramming.  I'm sure they could be tuned a little.

Bummer about it costing $300 though, scummy.

Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk

[NEhomer]

Let me ask it this way.

Has anyone used a lower end hearing device that they abandoned and regret purchasing in the first place or is a moderately priced unit still a worthwhile improvement?

Obviously most of you have gone high end.

This is my perspective from someone with some hearing loss and tinnitus...

The moderately priced units I have tried act as hearing protection, that you can still hear with.  Some sounds you can hear better, and some units you can turn up the volume.


Higher priced units act as hearing enhancement that also act as hearing protection. 

Tetras sound much more natural, less wind interference, and rather than still being able to hear while protecting me, I can hear the sounds I want much, much better.  (You still have to get used to hearing with them on, but it was a much more natural experience for me).  The fact that they were customized to my hearing loss made it strange for me to put them on and hear equally well out of both ears, while maintaining the ability to tell direction.


I am frugal, and it took me some years to make the plunge.  I sometimes use them at home and work as hearing enhancement...  They are used for all my shooting activities...  Wish I had made the purchase years ago, as I might not have the severity of tinnitus I currently do.

I did not "need" Tetra's till I had them...  But after hunting with them on, I would definitely feel at a disadvantage without them...  Never felt like that with the Walker's...

NEhomer, many of us have tried lower priced options first.  I had a single ear Walker's Game Ear.  It barely amplified anything and did nothing to enhance my turkey hunting needs.  I used Howard Leight electronic muffs.  The amplified everything, including the wind.  It was harder to determine direction, tho not impossible.  When using them hunting with my grandson or friends, I learned I wasn't hearing near as much as I was still missing.  Tetra put my ability to hear gobbles back up with others.  Including my 15 year old grandson.  We have tested it for a couple of seasons now.

Thanks so much you guys.

My next line of thinking is where's the line between hearing a bird and not hearing a bird? 200yds...400yds? I'm 64 and I don't have hearing issues though I'm sure that I don't hear as well as I used to. It would have to be a marked difference between kills for me to justify the expense but you've definitely put the tetras on my wish list and I'll consider them at some point.

Again, thanks and good luck this season.

[JeffC]

Marc said it best" Higher priced units act as hearing enhancement that also act as hearing protection."
I am looking at the many years of not having protection and now regretting and getting added enhancement for now and future. 

[Tail Feathers]

Beginner, I learned a couple years ago how many gobbles I was missing when I hunted with a friend and my grandson. Gobbles as close as 200 yards-zero for me.  Tetras allow me to hear them as well as my teen grandson and friends.  Tested in the woods for two seasons and a few states now.
I wear hearing aids daily due to loss. The high end aids don't help much in the turkey woods. Tetras sure do tho.

[Marc]

My next line of thinking is where's the line between hearing a bird and not hearing a bird? 200yds...400yds? I'm 64 and I don't have hearing issues though I'm sure that I don't hear as well as I used to. It would have to be a marked difference between kills for me to justify the expense but you've definitely put the tetras on my wish list and I'll consider them at some point.

Again, thanks and good luck this season.

Tetra's are not magic...  You are still to some degree limited by the physical landscape.  If you are hunting next to a river, it will still be difficult to hear birds long distances, same with wind.  If you are hunting a canyon, you will be able to hear them further.

Last season I hunted with a good friend...  I worked a bird for 20 minutes before he finally heard it...  I could hear it clearly LONG before he could, and his hearing is far, far better than mine.

I know that I killed a bird last season, I would not have heard or gone after with hearing enhancement.  I was walking out, and barely heard it with the Tetra's...  Decided to head back down 100 yards and see what happened...  To date, it is the best bird I killed.

I carry binoculars in large part due to my enjoyment of observing and interacting with nature...  They are a key piece of equipment for me...  Last season, I heard critters I never heard before, and that in and of itself increased my enjoyment...  There was a bird making sounds, I am determined to find the source of...  Heard it on several hunts in the area, and part of the reason I will return this season it to lay eyes on whatever it is...

For most people, they are not a necessity, until you use them.

[crow]

For gunshots, do the tetras block the sound as good as a decent pair of regular shooting muffs.



For anyone with tetras hunting with a trumpet or wingbone,
Do the tetras block some of the trumpet sound like it would with a gunshot,
Or will it amplify the trumpet making it louder to your ear than the normal sound

[Tail Feathers]

Crow, they partially block the shot sound.  They don't advertise them as protection, but they do cut the gunshot sound in half by my estimation.
I use a mouth call, not a trumpet, and they don't cause me any feedback or overamplication issues.  Not with a pot call either. 

[Marc]

Crow, they partially block the shot sound.  They don't advertise them as protection, but they do cut the gunshot sound in half by my estimation.
I use a mouth call, not a trumpet, and they don't cause me any feedback or overamplication issues.  Not with a pot call either. 

I believe they do advertise protection.

For me the test was target shooting...  The sound of gunfire does not seem to bother me when I am shooting (although I know it is deleterious).  But it sure bothers me standing next to someone shooting when I am not...  I can very comfortably shoot clays with Tetra's in, and standing next to someone shooting does not bother me at all with them in.

Blowing a duck call, the call does sound different (so I would assume the same with a trumpet call), and to some degree "muted," less so with a mouth call, but the call does sound different.  Friction calls do not seem affected. 

But remember, for any call we "blow" the call sounds different in reality than it does in our own head...  The adaption for any mouth blown calls was very quick for me (turkey or duck).

[crow]

Thanks for the replies.
Last year I tried decent electronic shooting ear muffs while predator calling with a hand held mouth call.

Instead of blocking the dying rabbit screams like it would for a gunshot, it magnified the noise making it way too loud and uncomfortable.

Was hoping the tetras would not amplify the trumpet sound, it sounds like if it dulled the sound from a duck call it might work for a trumpet/wingbone

[bwhana]

Another freebie for anyone getting Tetras - get a professional hearing test done. They told me to do that since it is much more accurate than their online test and will give you the best results. Sam's Club does them free if you are a member, and likely Costco and others do as well. Also keep tabs on their site, they have a 5% discount right now, but I got mine with 15% off during a special.

[slicksbeagles1]

All you guys talking about tetras do any of you have sever hearing loss? If so what are your opinions? How much farther do you think you can hear a gobble with tetras versus your own hearing?