Hunting requires a sharp sense of hearing, yet you need to protect your ears while firing your guns. Here, we will discuss hunting hearing protections you can take to protect yourself from hearing loss.
Earplugs, earmuffs, and electronic earplugs are the three most used hunting hearing protections used widely. There are specially designed hearing aids available to give you a better hunting experience. Here we will discuss these useful gadgets in detail.
Hunting Hearing Protection
You will need to follow the faintest sounds to spot your prey for hunting. However, the firing sounds can disrupt your hearing and cause substantial damage.
Hearing experts say sounds higher than 85 dB can damage your hearing while firing a firearm can generate sound around 120 to 130 dB. Therefore, your hearing can scramble for good even if the weapon is fired from twenty to thirty meters away. The common trend is to use hearing aids for hunting. However, there are some other measures you can take to protect your ears.
Protect Hearing While Hunting: 3 Gadgets You Should Use
So, here are three devices you can use to protect your hearing:
● Earplugs
● Earmuffs
● Electronic earplugs
1. Earplugs
These are the most common hearing protection devices used by hunters. They are made of foams and are guaranteed to stay in your ears securely.
Many brands are developed specially designed earplugs for hunting. The effectiveness of these earplugs is measured by “noise reduction rating”.
However, earplugs cannot reduce the vibration impacts from gunshots. Therefore, your ears can be impacted by those vibrations and get damaged.
2. Earmuffs
Earmuffs are great devices to reduce both sound and vibration impacts on the ear. It can provide full protection for your ears against gunshot sounds. Additionally, earmuffs are designed to amplify ambient noise to keep you aware of your surroundings.
If you are a serious hunter, make sure to give smart earmuffs a try while choosing your hearing protection protocols.
3. Electronic Earplugs
Electronic earplugs are recently developed technology, and many hunters are adopting these devices for better advantages.
These devices almost look like hearing aids and are adjusted to block certain sound frequencies. It will enhance ambient sounds from your surroundings to keep you alert while hunting. At the same time, your ears will be protected against gunshot sounds as the electronic earplugs will block the high sound frequencies.
The problem with this device is that it doesn’t protect your ear much from vibrations. Hunters who like to be mobile and alert all the time prefer this device more.
Hunting with Hearing Aids
Hunting may pose some challenges for hearing aid users. Your hearing aid may not detect loud, rapid sounds and can overload the microphones. Therefore, you may damage your hearing more than before.
Some hunters may think the noise cancellation feature will protect their hearing, but this case is very rare. Additionally, this noise cancellation feature may reduce their alertness about their surroundings and make them fall in danger.
There are several hearing aids nowadays that feature highly sensitive noise cancellation. These devices will be the best choice for individuals with hearing loss who want to hunt. Also, many manufacturers are now offering hearing aids specially designed for hunting.
Other than specifically designed hearing aids, electronic earplugs resembling hearing aids can come in very handy. These devices will enhance your ability to follow faint sounds and will block high-frequency sounds to keep your ear protected.
Importance of Protecting Your Ear While Hunting
Over 13 million people enjoy hunting as an activity every year, and it is one of the national sports of America. While the activity itself is fun, exposure to loud noise can bring massive consequences.
Many excellent hunters of America have suffered from the negative effects of loud sounds and developed hearing loss. The hair cells of your inner ear are very sensitive to loud sounds and can easily get damaged.
So, it is necessary to protect your ear from the loud noise of a gunshot. It is true for anyone who is using a gun either for their job or for casual recreation. Once your hair cells go under damage, they will never get healed or regenerated.
Having good-quality hearing protection gear is necessary if you enjoy participating in hunting. Low-quality gears may not protect your ears or stop working in crucial moments. Also, you may avoid investing a substantial amount of money in fixing your hearing loss by investing a little amount in hearing protection gears.
Bottom Line:
Hunting hearing protection is a must-have for any hunter. Electronic earplugs will be a great addition to your hunting gear if you are a professional hunter and prefer to stay mobile. On the other hand, if you prefer to stay in one position while hunting, earmuffs will best suit your requirements.
If you occasionally hunt, investing in good-quality earplugs will be best for you. Make sure to check out the “noise reduction rating” while purchasing your earplugs.
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