Thread: In ear hearing protectors - Recommendations

Hi all,

I’m looking for recommendations on in ear hearing protectors. The type I’m looking for are the electronic ones which block sound as you fire the rifle to protect your hearing.

I’ve seen some of the prices here in New Zealand and wonder if anyone recommend any particular brands and models. Also, there seem to be knock off products (Temu etc), which also reduced decibel levels and maybe just as good for a lot less money.

Any information appreciated. Cheers


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I've tried the Peltor Sport Tac liked them but found they interfere with your cheeks to stock positioning. Tried a set of Howard Leight Impact Sport and found the same issue they both do the job but I liked the Peltor more.

Fine for bird shooting, but will find when walking with them in, sweat can be an issue.

had axill ghost stryke? in ears, great for hunting as they also amplified general sounds. On the range they suppress the shot noise on your rifle/shotgun very well but...................
on a range not so good. When I used them for sporting clays they tend to amplify the shot noise from those shooting on other stations. Quite annoying.
Enough to stop me replacing them when I broke them.

these ones
https://goaxil.com/products/gx-extreme

Originally Posted by sjjs

I've tried the Peltor Sport Tac liked them but found they interfere with your cheeks to stock positioning. Tried a set of Howard Leight Impact Sport and found the same issue they both do the job but I liked the Peltor more.

Great feedback re the stock hitting them, I hadnt thought of that thx.

Peltor do an electronic earplug, two volume settings, a little case that recharges them and they come with different sized earbuds. Very good, haven't used them much but they have been good so far.

The sporttac and Howard Leight ones are over ear earmuffs, not earplugs so if you are looking for electronic plugs you shouldn't have an issue with the stock? To be fair as well, I use the full size Grade 5 Tactical earmuffs from Peltor and have no issues with stock clearance.

Post #4 in this thread gives my experience which you might find useful: https://www.nzhuntingandshooting.co....arplugs-62842/

One of those did stop working in 2023 (12 years) and I looked around the options again before replacing them with a set of Starkey Soundgear Platinum. These are better than my originals in terms of battery life, otherwise very similar. I don't tend to use the extra modes much.

In-ear are not protection. A lot of damage comes from pressure around the ear

Originally Posted by caberslash

In-ear are not protection. A lot of damage comes from pressure around the ear

'Protection' is not binary - it's a question of degree. Nothing is perfect, but to equate in-ear protection with no protection is just silly.

Noise attenuation through bone transfer (around the ear) is about 40dB anyway as far I know. Putting that aside, a shot with and without plugs in will quickly demonstrate a significant difference!

Originally Posted by caberslash

In-ear are not protection. A lot of damage comes from pressure around the ear

Sorry, you're barking up the wrong tree there.

For std shoulder-fired arms, air conducted ( ie through the ear canal) sound is what does the damage. Bone conducted sounded is irrelevant as there is a good 50dB impedance mismatch at the skin/bone interface.

I use custom-moulded electronic plugs made from high end hearing aids. These aren't a commercial item. I fire thousands of rounds a year and cop a far greater number of close reports from F-Class shooting. These plugs provide quite adequate protection for me.

BTW, I'm a retired clinical audiologist

This is part of the reason really noisy environments use shields over the mouth when you are expected to talk to someone else a lot while in the noise - airline aprons and the like are a good one. If you have a look the guy marshalling and on the headset has a mouth shield containing the mic just to drop the noise going into your gob down a bit over the course of a shift. That's continuous noise, constant exposure which is way more than the average shooter experiences as each gunshot is as loud as a really noisy aircraft but only an impluse, where the aircraft is continuous noise.

Originally Posted by 6x47

Sorry, you're barking up the wrong tree there.

For std shoulder-fired arms, air conducted ( ie through the ear canal) sound is what does the damage. Bone conducted sounded is irrelevant as there is a good 50dB impedance mismatch at the skin/bone interface.

I use custom-moulded electronic plugs made from high end hearing aids. These aren't a commercial item. I fire thousands of rounds a year and cop a far greater number of close reports from F-Class shooting. These plugs provide quite adequate protection for me.

BTW, I'm a retired clinical audiologist

Great post could you supply details on your ear protectors they sound very good.
I play drums and used musician ear plugs -I think 25db? They had a filter so I could still hear the singers but they saved my hearing big time from my drum kit (it’s LOUD back there).
Also what’s your opinion on the fb level minimum to look for re electronic ear plugs? I want to be able to speak quietly and hear people close by me, but save the damage from shooting.


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As I said, the plugs I have (two pairs actually) are entirely custom built from high-end hearing aid components. Not only were they one-offs but the custom shell fabrication was another challenge. The mics were shifted from their normal place to give far greater wind protection.

Before I retired, I tried to get some more made for a mate but even by calling in some favours, it just wasn't possible. Without getting into the specifics, ironically the current electronics lack a feature necessary to handle that sort of impulse noise.

There are clearly some current options for electronic plugs but getting these built into decent custom shells is the real problem. Many of the "fit-all" proprietary options use multi-flange soft tips that either don't seal well and/or don't anchor securely.

Good luck in your search. I'm guessing the musician's plugs you mention are the Etymotic Research ones? I don't understand what you mean by "fb level minimum".

Originally Posted by 6x47

As I said, the plugs I have (two pairs actually) are entirely custom built from high-end hearing aid components. Not only were they one-offs but the custom shell fabrication was another challenge. The mics were shifted from their normal place to give far greater wind protection.

Before I retired, I tried to get some more made for a mate but even by calling in some favours, it just wasn't possible. Without getting into the specifics, ironically the current electronics lack a feature necessary to handle that sort of impulse noise.

There are clearly some current options for electronic plugs but getting these built into decent custom shells is the real problem. Many of the "fit-all" proprietary options use multi-flange soft tips that either don't seal well and/or don't anchor securely.

Good luck in your search. I'm guessing the musician's plugs you mention are the Etymotic Research ones? I don't understand what you mean by "fb level minimum".

Meant fb (decibel) level.

My stunning ones were an older brand called Earsavers.

Will keep looking in the market to see what suits -Pelotor may have to be the option


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Originally Posted by 6x47

There are clearly some current options for electronic plugs but getting these built into decent custom shells is the real problem. Many of the "fit-all" proprietary options use multi-flange soft tips that either don't seal well and/or don't anchor securely.

FYI, the ones I mentioned in my post above are custom shells and readily available. Just not particularly cheap!