Hearing aids question

[pastor]

I recently started wearing the ReSound Linx hearing aids and was told by the audiologist that shooting while wearing them would not be good for ears or for the hearing aid. I need these to hear gobbles, can't hear within 100 yards without them. Does anyone on here wear hearing aids? If so would you share how you shoot with them to prevent damage to both ears and aids?

[Dtrkyman]

Don't wear hearing aids but is there a power switch to turn them off when you have a bird coming?  Otherwise maybe wear hearing protection head set and don't cover your ears until you know a bird is coming.  Probably be an issue at some point if a bird slips in but not sure of another solution?


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[Tom Threetoes]

I use a different brand than you but I've hunted with them for 6 or 7 years and never had a problem shooting with them in. If I'm bench shooting I always wear muffs but not when hunting. I've never noticed a big increase in muzzle blast when wearing them.

[pabossie255]

My buddy wears a hearing aid he takes it out and uses a Walkers amplified ear muff's.

[bad addi-snood]

I wear hearing aids also. however in hunting situations i use an over the ear set of walkers game ears. they provide enough amplification and noise dampening over 95dbs i believe.

[paboxcall]

I don't wear hearing aids, but suffer some mid-upper range hearing loss. So I purchased the Walker Razor XV when Cabelas had them on sale last year (link below). So far they have worked great for me in the spring woods or on the range.

At full volume you do get some background noise, but that is any amplifier device, and with these I can dial the volume to amplify environmental sound compared to background. I wear them in the evening trying to roost a bird, or in the morning locating. The bluetooth is a nice feature, works well with the smartphone.

Cons - For hunting, triangulating the source can be hard at first, and there is a learning curve to them. They come with 3 different sized plugs - they are a bit stiff but will fit well once you find your comfort zone. Lastly, they dampen the turkey calls I'm running, which means the noise energy must be significant (interesting to me).

Pros - I hear birds gobbling further off then I can without. And I can hear normal conversations on the gun range so no need to remove them to talk to the range officer. Does a decent job of dampening gun blasts too. Battery lasts a long while.

https://www.cabelas.com/product/hunting/hunting-accessories/hearing-protection-enhancement/pc/104791680/c/104734980/sc/104381280/walkers-razor-xv-with-bluetooth-reg/2347397.uts?slotId=6

[2eagles]

I have Starkey Z series hearing aids with four different settings where #4 is not off, but more of a mute. My Dr says don't wear them while shooting or hunting so I don't. I've lost hearing of higher pitches and still hear gobbles and honks so I'm good with leaving the aides at home. Going to see my Dr Monday and will double check this info.

[Tail Feathers]

Just had mine worked on last week and the guy said keep them in for shooting, they blank out at like 105 decibels and add a small amount of protection when shooting.

[Tom Threetoes]

I wear aids made by Starkey and my guy told me the same thing as Tail Feathers said. I own some good amplified muffs and they are a poor second choice to my regular aids.

[Treerooster]

I have worn hearing aids for turkey hunting and all my regular hunting (I'm mostly a bird hunter) for around 20 years now. Like you Pastor, I really couldn't turkey hunt without my aids. I've had several styles of aids over the years. It takes me some time to get use to a hearing aid to be able to course a gobbler. A hearing aid that is prescribed to an individual's hearing loss will probably perform better than an "over the counter" hearing enhancing device, but they are much more expensive.


First off you have to define "protect the ears". Totally protecting your ears from a loud impact noise is different than reducing damage to your ears. Not too many devices out there that will totally protect your ears from the very loud impact noise of a firearm. Some are better than others, but total protection is hard to achieve. That means when a person giving advice says their device cannot or maybe it can protect your ear...what exactly do they mean?

Then there are different styles of hearing aids. The "behind the ear" type rests outside the ear and has a tube attached to a dome that goes inside the ear. My hearing aid like this is actually designed to let natural (unamplified) sound get in. This helps a person hear the sounds that he doesn't need amplified, most commonly the lower pitched sounds. The behind the ear will not provide much protection, if any. There are small "canal" type aids that go in the ear. I have no experience with this type at all though. Then there is a larger "in the ear" type that covers the whole opening of your ear. Looks similar to a molded ear plug. This type is what I wear while hunting and it does provide some protection from firearm noise for me. The aid is housed in a mold custom made to fit my ear and it seals my ear opening well to keep sound out. It provides a good amount of protection IME. The aid amplification shuts down when a loud impact noise occurs, like from a gun.

FWIW...As for other hearing protection devices;

Some are rated as to how many DB they will reduce and some reduce more than others. Whether they actually reduce the amount of DB as stated can be up for debate...ie false advertising. However they will not work as stated unless they seal your ear good and are installed by the user properly.

The molded type ear plugs usually seal better.

Foam plugs need to be in far enough and expand properly to seal, old foam plugs don't always expand properly. They get stiff.

Muffs may not seal well if you have a hat on and the rubber is partially up on your hat. The rubber also gets old and stiff after a while.

[Jasonb53]

I use the behind the ear model with adjustable frequency from Walker. I still have trouble hearing a gobble far off,  Im not sure if I have the frequency set right though. I can hear a lot better with them in and birds are fairly close but if one gobbles to close I can't course the direction.

[Poleaxe]

I use the behind the ear model with adjustable frequency from Walker. I still have trouble hearing a gobble far off,  Im not sure if I have the frequency set right though. I can hear a lot better with them in and birds are fairly close but if one gobbles to close I can't course the direction.

Me too. I wish I had another one on the other ear. I think just one will confuse a man on the location. I'm only 37 but eighteen years of train horn have given me a significant loss alread so they're helpful.

[Jasonb53]

I use the behind the ear model with adjustable frequency from Walker. I still have trouble hearing a gobble far off,  Im not sure if I have the frequency set right though. I can hear a lot better with them in and birds are fairly close but if one gobbles to close I can't course the direction.

Me too. I wish I had another one on the other ear. I think just one will confuse a man on the location. I'm only 37 but eighteen years of train horn have given me a significant loss alread so they're helpful.

I have 2 and I think that the best way to go, at least for me it has. I still need to figure out the frequency setting, I can hear the hens talking better but the gobble is hard to hear if its very far. My hearing loss really puts a damper on turkey season, especially on public land when I'm roaming and trying got hear one.

[gtrjames]

I tried one Walkers Game ear several years ago, and it really messed with my sense of direction. It actually cost me a good deer.. I could hear it walking towards me and it sounded directly in front but it was about 40yards to my left. The plug was in my left ear. I bought another and they worked great unless the wind was blowing. The wind noise really bothered me. I bought a set of muffs and am pleased with them. A turkey gobbling behind you at 40 yards sounds like he's at 20. It's quite a blast to listen to the gobbles again and hear their feathers rattle. Every noise is amplified to the point if they're turned up too high you'll be a paranoid, nervous wreck after an hour of wearing them.
I do recommend them though, it just takes some getting used to.

[turkey_picker]

I use a different brand than you but I've hunted with them for 6 or 7 years and never had a problem shooting with them in. If I'm bench shooting I always wear muffs but not when hunting. I've never noticed a big increase in muzzle blast when wearing them.

^^^^This, I've been wearing hearing aids for over 10 years. Mine are Resound brand, but now the model you have.