For years I've been on the fence as to purchasing electronic hearing protection - specifically earmuffs that have built-in speakers that quickly reduce the volume when exposed to a loud noise. However, I recently found a set of Howard Leight (Honeywell) Impact Sport Bolt earmuffs for a very reasonable price and decided to give them a shot.

The "Bolt" model is an upgrade to the basic Impact Sport with a faster reaction time and improved sound reduction.

Does anyone who uses/have used these (or similar) have any strong opinions or suggestions? I would be interested to "hear" what you have to say...

I have the standard Howard Leight Impact Sport muffs. I think they're worth it. On a noisy range it makes it easier to hear range commands. I think they're also indispensable when taking a shooting course to make it easier to hear and understand the instructor(s).

Just my opinion.

I have three pair of electronic Howard Leight hearing muffs, my wife, my grandson and I. I have a severe hearing loss from my career in the military, with ear plugs and standard muffs all I hear is tinnitus whistle, I need to be able to hear the range officer or my grandson.

The only downside I see might be the ear muff and the gun stock. I have one pair which is mainly used with hand guns.

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U.S. Coast Guard, retired CPO

I have the HL Impact Sport and Peltor Tactical 7 muffs. I've had the Peltors for close to 25 years now. I recently bought the HL Impact Sports a few months ago because I wanted something with a slimmer design when firing shoulder mounted firearms. They work Ok. I haven't found anything yet that I personally prefer, or, work better than my Peltor T7.

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*NO QUARTER GIVEN*

I don't remember what brand I have but they're 3 or 4 years old now. For me, they're excellent even if I wear my hearing aids to the range.

My adult kids borrowed them and ended up buying some for themselves too.

They block the harmful loud noises perfectly yet you can carry on a normal conversation when folks aren't shooting.

I just dug mine out of the range bag ...... Caldwell is the brand. I went ahead and threw new batteries in them too cause I believe they were still running on the originals!

I've tried two - about fifteen years apart and returned them both. The most recent tryout was last year. It was a Leight model and I don't think it was a cheap one. I don't remember the brand from years ago, but it wasn't cheap either. I was less than impressed with these electronic gizmos. Earplugs and a good muff are far better and require no batteries or controls.

If you're shooting something that isn't very loud like a .22, the electronic wonders are probably fine.

I teach NRA Basic Pistol and double up with custom ear plugs and electronic muffs, Peltor Sports. I've tried Walkers and Pro Ears which I keep on hand to loan to students I'm line coaching. I much prefer the Peltors. My experience is that electronic muffs are at least as good as the non electronic ones I've used in the past.

Yeah, the batteries and on/off switch and volume control can be a hassle. IMHO, the benefits far outway the drawbacks.

I have a Walker's Digital Razor PRO Electronic Earmuffs bought @ Midway worth the $$

I just received an e-mail from Midway . Walker Ultimate Earmuffs 50% off= ($54) if anyone is interested.

After my Wolf Ears died (just short of 30 years) I went through a long and frustrating search for a good replacement. The big issue is that the market driving this type of muff isn't actually shooting, it's industrial needs. A lot of products get all atwitter about maintaining your "connectivity" to radio, cell phone and other audio inputs and ignore impulse sound protection. I tried one product that actually amplified gunshot noise.

I ended up with the Peltor Tactical Pro and am very happy with them. Once you set the basic sound level, it saves your setting and goes to it once you hit the one button needed to turn them on. At least until you have to change the two AA batteries. Very good battery life.

I got a pair of electronic muffs in an estate buy. They were still new in the package and were from Harbor Freight of all places and they work about as well as the expensive brands. I mostly use them when shooting handguns. They do hit on the stock of rifles...but then...most do

I have a set of these

Noise Canceling Electronic Ear Muffs
my only complaint I have about them is that the batteries fall out of their little holder inside when they are being carried in my range bag.
Pretty hard to beat for 15 bucks.

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Send lawyers, guns & money...

I have walkers quad speaker digital muffs. The amplify x7 and shut off at the shot.they are directional so I can tell where sounds are coming from . I can here a squirrel fart at 50 yards and they keep my ears warm

I am working on my second pair of electronic ear protectors. I purchased my first pair from Brownells. When they stopped working after at least 5 years I returned them to Brownells for a free replacement. They are a great company to do business with.
When I was a kid my parents would take me to the local range on Sundays. We had no hearing protectors in those days, which was the 1950's. When we would go home at night it was almost 8 PM (time for Ed Sullivan) before my hearing got back to normal. Thats why I wear two hearing aids today.

I have some Walkers Razor electronic ear protection muffs that i have yet to be able to really try out. The ammo shortage has me not wanting to use what i have, in my little test here at home they are worlds better than the cheap ones i had.

I have a set of the basic Howard L???? amplified muffs. Never been happy with them, of course, if the US Army had been safety conscious in 1963, I could still hear. I found the cheap Midway branded non electronic work better than the others.

Have a blessed day,

Leon

They're hard on batteries, but worth the extra money. Used them for years, several varieties, most often the Peltor. Don't really have a favorite.

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Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

The first air pair of electronic muffs I bought were Peltor and they are OK, but don't drop noise enough in my opinion. I then bought the Howard Leight Pro electronic muffs and found that they gave much better noise reduction, especially with noisier calibers such as 357 Mag and 44 Mag and I didn't have to use inside the ear foam plugs along with the ear muffs like with the Peltor e-muffs. The only down side to the HL Pros were they are on the bulky side, which works against you when shooting rifles. But I have found that I can work around the bulkiness issue with them when shooting rifles.

I particularly like electronic ears while handgun hunting. Its amazing what sounds you can pick up with a good pair while sitting in the woods.

Larry

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Until the NRR ratings for the electronic earmuffs are as high as the best passive earmuffs I won't be buying any.

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Unarmed and Unafraid (RA5C)

I've also noticed this but have not checked any recently. Perhaps the decibel ratings have increased on the electronic models. Whether they have or haven't, maximum hearing protection should be the most important factor in selecting what you use.

Wear ear plugs under muffs - Regardless whether the muffs are electronic (amplified) or not and regardless of what their NRR is. Electronic muffs are great. Whether running a range/firing line as an Instructor, or, just a shooter on the line. As a shooter, they allow you to hear range commands. As the Range Officer/Instructor, they allow you to verbally communicate with students without having to remove your hearing protection. ANY hearing protection is better than NO hearing protection at all.

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*NO QUARTER GIVEN*

I'm on my 2nd set of the HL Impact Sport muff's. The first pair still work fine, but the ear pieces are getting hard and the liner in the headband is peeling, (after only about 15 years of constant use). I have hearing loss from the USAF, Tinnitus ringing. The only thing I don't like is they work so well, if you are talking to someone and a near by shot goes off you just see the lips moving and hear nothing! Great muff's.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

It took me a long time to give 'em a try but I finally got some. I wish I'd done it years sooner. I have 2 pair, They are different kinds but I don,t know the brand names. They both work well but one pair is a little too tight and are uncomfortable after a few minutes.

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Real men love cats!

Some may cringe at the price, but MSA Sorin electronic muffs are a very nice piece of kit. Superior electronics and really comfortable. They just don't fold up as well as my old Howard Leight muffs.
I find that the electronic muffs are an essential tool in teaching a novice person at the range.

I don't have a pair myself (I rely on the top 3M/Peltor non-ampliied muffs) but the MSA Sordins are supposed to be the best, but they're not cheap! Specs for the Supreme Pro series is here (PDF)

Noise reduction depends on frequency, the higher frequencies (1K and up) being easier to suppress. These run 25dB@ 1k and go up from there. Their spec sheets are very detailed, with both European and N.A. measurements.

I have used Peltors for years and am a fan, but for awhile now I’ve gone in a different direction. Here is a review of the product I am using with great results. No electronics, no batteries, and zero interference with long guns.
Review: Decibullz Custom-Molded Ear Protection | RECOIL OFFGRID

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!אחרי
144:1

A local company here does a similar type of mechanical ear-blockers and they're supposed to be pretty good. I have their solid (non-mechanical) plugs in custom moulds and find they provide good protection for handgun shooting, although I sometimes use the big Peltor muffs and they're much better. On the rifle range I use both. I'd probably want both on an indoor pistol range that has no absorptive panels.

I find the various noise reduction standards and measurements pretty confusing. The Decibullz only measure about 15dB and 24dB reduction at 1kHz and 2kHz respectively, which isn't all that good on paper, but they may work better than the specs iindicate. I guess only a hearing test before and after will tell.

I am amazed that hickock45 only uses Howard Leight banded "foamies" and can hear anything at all. I've used them when I've needed to shoot a predator in the back forty, but that's just one or two shots and the adrenaline seems to help as well. Given the amount of shooting he does I can't figure why he isn't totally deaf!

...so this thread is very valuable to me.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

I've got three different makes of electronic muffs. The Pro Ear has best NRR, the Impact Sport is slimmest, and the Peltor w/optional gel cups are the most comfortable and better NRR than the Sport. That said, I use Peltor TEP-100 electronic plugs when its hot out.

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The triple smoker