I recently had a chance to interview Wes Harris, Founder and CEO of AXIL Hearing Performance who’s been in the business for 26 years. I asked him for his expert advice on hearing protection for shooters.
GJS—What are the major advantages of a shooter using electronic hearing protection?
WH—Maintain situational awareness, 360-degree hearing and that competitive edge in all your shooting activities, while protecting the hearing you have at the same time!
GJS—Without diving too deep into the technology, how does electronic hearing protection let conversations and range commands pass through while blocking the dangerously loud report of a firearm
WH—Modern electronic and digital technology allows the simultaneous advantage of enhancing your hearing to hear the desired sounds around you, i.e. range commands, general conversation and the detailed sounds you need to maintain the edge in your sport, while automatically compressing the loud sounds that bombard your ears/hearing.
GJS—Is there clipping or filtering involved, and if so it the blocked noise determined by frequency or loudness?
WH—Electronic hearing protection works on ‘clipping’ the top of the loud sounds to make them less damaging. Digital technology ‘filters’ or ‘compresses’ loud sounds, by actually converting physical sound waves entering your ears into digital code, which can then be changed to be an entirely different sound via the program that has been programmed into the digital circuitry—this is the absolute best hearing protection you can buy.
GJS—Does that filtering begin with the microphone and is there an advantage to more than one mike?
WH—Additional ‘filtering’ is available through directional microphones on various ear pro devices to help filter the oncoming sounds through the use of two microphones. This is helpful for larger ear devices, i.e. ear muffs, etc. but is not needed for small in-the-ear hearing and protection devices.
GJS—Should shooters be concerned about battery life?
WH—There are several great options on various ear pro for satisfactory battery life, i.e. hearing aid batteries for small in ear devices, AA or AAA batteries for ear muffs, rechargeable lithium batteries in the lanyard for new electronic earbuds are the main options that work well.
GJS—Getting a good cheek weld with some electronic hearing protection when shouldering a rifle is a real challenge. Does your company have models that address the problem?
WH—AXIL Custom Edge Series (Custom 360 is most popular and absolute top of the line in the field)
GS EXTREME Earbud is the most cutting-edge earbud available and for a great price. GS Digital gives all the advantage of digital and small in the ear for a very affordable price. All above 3 models and styles have 0 interference with cheekweld as all ear muffs do. These options are also far more comfortable to wear daily without the bulk of the earmuffs.
GJS—Is the decibel reduction about the same in all electronic hearing protection and how much of it is determined by the seal/construction of the ear muffs?
WH—Good hearing protection ranges between 20-30 dB Noise Reduction Rating- the higher the number the better the protection. There are a few options that go as high as 31-32 but 20-30 is the general range.
Many ear muffs do not seal the ear adequately and leave space for unnecessary exposure to sound. Getting a proper seal on ear muffs or in ear products is everything to getting great hearing protection. Well fit, great sealed in ear protection gives you the best seal available and therefore the best hearing protection. Sealing the ear canal off is the first and most important level of hearing protection you should always focus on.
GJS—Do you recommend doubled up with foamies when using hearing protection, say for example when shooting a .50 BMG at a firing line with a metal roof?
WH—If you are shooting indoors with concrete or metal surroundings make sure to seal the ear canal off properly and then doubling up with ear muffs on top of that is always a good idea to have the highest protection possible.
GJS—When selecting a set of electronic hearing protection, what are the most critical ratings they should look for?
WH—There are two types of hearing protection:
1. The physical blocking of your ear canal to minimize oncoming sounds. This is rated as the Noise Reduction Rating (NRR) which means the amount of dBs the physical plug minimizes the oncoming sounds by. Make sure your ear pro has 20-30 dB NRR- the higher the better.
2. If it’s electronic or digital hearing protection, then when sounds come out of the hearing device, you want them to be limited to a max of 85 dB to protect your hearing. This essentially is the technology shut off level. So just look and make sure you can see at what sound level by dBs the technology will shut off at- there is not a rating for this- just a number to watch for.
GJS—Is there anything you’d like to add that I didn’t ask?
WH—There is a long floating misconception that the bigger the ear pro and earmuff, the better the protection and that ear muffs give the best protection. We constantly see ‘The Top Ten’ Ear Pro of the Year and it’s all ear muffs that are listed.
The path of least resistance is where the greatest exposure to the inner ear happens and thereby damage to the cochlea/inner ear occurs. The absolute best and most critical hearing protection is to seal the ear canal off. Properly fit in ear protection is the best there is, then if you have extreme situations, i.e. large calibers, indoor shooting ranges, etc. and you have sensitive hearing, then doubling up with ear muffs gives added, excellent protection.
Then pay attention to the two types of hearing protection-see above-Noise Reduction Rating (NRR)- preferably between 20-30 dB NRR and then the Technology Shut Off-, preferably around 85-90 dB. Then add the features that you want, i.e. volume controls, push buttons, Bluetooth audio, type of battery, type of fit, lanyard, etc. to your ear pro and you will have ear pro that will last you a long time and you will be happy with and get the advantage of great hearing and hearing protection in all your shooting activities.
Plus, if you need hearing aids for hearing loss and daily hearing aid wear, you can now get them with hearing protection built in, so you have the best hearing aids and hearing protection money can buy and have the best hearing system on the planet through custom fit in ear and behind ear hearing aids with protection.
I interviewed more experts on today’s hearing protection for shooters. Here’s what they told me.