Ear amplification...

[GF.]

Having a kid with hearing aids has made me more conscious than ever about the fact that I don't hear what I used to be able to. Not by a damn sight. I don't think I've heard a deer coming through the woods in about 4 or 5 seasons.

So here's the question - in the interest of hearing more of what I'm missing, and of protecting what hearing I do have left, are the different OTC hearing aids worth messing with?

My son's set-up runs about $2k/ear (which made it real interesting when he flushed one down the toilet after about two weeks. He's almost 4- whatcha gonna do? Thank God for insurance, for starters....)

Anyway....

I see some "hunters' friend' hearing aids out there for about 1/10th what his cost, and I have to wonder if they're worth the postage to get 'em here... Using binoculars as a point of comparison, $2 grand gets you about the best there is. $200 binocs aren't worth fartin' around with, IMO, and for $20 you can buy yourself one woodsy-lookin' paperweight.

On the other hand, hearing aids are digital devices, which means computer chips, which means 2-year-old technology is really amazingly good compared to 4 or 5 years ago, but it's also completely obsolete and priced accordingly. Which probably explains the $15/pair Lee Majors autograph model Bionic Ears you can buy on TV (even though those should be Lindsay Wagner's bit....Guess they're selling 'em to folks who are old enough to be a little fuzzy on thee details).

So who has tried any of these (or know somebody who has), and at what price point do you think you start getting into the equivalent of some $400-$500 birdoculars? Obviously, they'd have to have an actual noise reduction rating, but beyond that, I'm not real demanding as far as features go--they just have to work right...

[ncboman]

waste of money imho.

[dave-t.]

You can still hunt successfully with reduced hearing.

My father inlaw is about half deaf, but is a long time gun and bow hunter. He told me while we were heading to the stand once, that you'll see a deer long before you ever hear one comming through the woods. :rolleyes: I thought he was just having a bad day, but it turned out they guy just can't hear very well ever since his service in the Navy.

In thick woods I hear deer long before I see them, but I've been around enough deaf old guys to know that I need to protect my hearing. I won't so much as shoot a .22 or run a weed eater without ear plugs in.

My advice is to work on saving what you've got, and keep your head on a swivel while hunting.

[Phil T]

See an audiologist and ask about "military" hearing aids. They amplify low sounds, but cancel loud ones. Starky is a brand I've seen recommended on different hunting websites. They are likely more expensive than your son's hearing aids.
Once I'm retired from my the industrial job, I'm getting a pair (stereo sound).

[sharpshooter94]

there are some hearing amplifiers/noise reducers at sporting goods stores like gander mountain and dicks. Granted they are about $15 per ear. They should be better than nothing. You could also look for the "Sport Ear" They are about $1100-1200 per pair. check em out http://www.sportear.com/index.php

[Hi Ball]

Some things will help loss of hearing, provided you don't have the medical condition called "Tinnitus" which is a ringing of high and low pitiches in the ear 100% of the time. Those so called helpers like "Walkers Game Ear" only magnify the high and low tones you now hear......so they do NOT work ok. There is nothing available if you have this medical condition sorry to say.:eek::(:(

[GF.]

No, nothing cures Tinnitus, and I've got a pretty good dose of it. I actually was doing pretty well (for a guy who used to wear ear plugs every day at work!), until ONE FRIGGIN' DAY at the range with a 'flash suppressor' on my right. Ear plugs just weren't enough, and my 'good' ear has been pretty bad ever since. Now I wear plugs & muffs every time out, but that's mostly just keeping the pigeons in the barn while the horse drops over yonder ridge....

But the Starkeys? No more expensive than anything else, I'd bet, and all of them have an upper-limit suppressor built in these days. Once the hearing aid companies have a customer, they've got 'em for life, so they're plenty good about helping their users keep what they've got, and I'm sure their corporate attorneys have been quick to remind them to do just that. So I'm not positive about this, but let's say I'm pretty damn sure that the suppression mode was baked in a long time before anybody thought to market these non-prescription aids to hunters as 'equipment'.

Probably a moot point for me, at least this year; I'm already stretching my budget just picking up some broadheads, limbsavers and a dozen new arrows :D Maybe the solution is to score a job with better bennies and let the insurance cover most of it, 'cuz I'm pretty sure I qualify...

Besides, if I can't hunt with diminished gearing, I'll never be able to teach my boys how to do it, will I?:rolleyes:

[crawfish]

I've got a pair of Walker Game Ear Power Muffs. I use them mostly when I'm sitting by the bird feeders in my front yard. They do work well in hunting situations. They have high sound db cut off and adjustments on each ear. They cost about $190.00 IIRC. I use those if there is a chance I'll get caught in rain. Can't risk $3K per ear aids to rain.