What Are The Best Electronic Ear Plugs For Shooting?

If Your Considering Using Electronic Ear Plugs These Are The Best By Far…

Technology is progressing fast. With the way miniaturization is going, within a few years, we’ll undoubtedly have ear plugs with microphones on the outside and small speakers on the inside.

Such marvels will be able to pick up speech and ambient sounds and relay them to your ear while blocking loud noises like gunshots, airplanes, and saws. Unfortunately, we’re not quite there yet. It’s difficult to find a consumer grade set of electronic ear plugs right now.

The Walker Razor XV Electronic Earplugs

The closest thing that’s readily available is the Walker Razor XV. This neck-mounted device is similar to other Bluetooth ear bud sets you might use with your phone, except that the ear buds themselves work as ear plugs.

They’re reportedly rated at 31 dB of noise reduction, which is very impressive. You should be able to use these at an indoor range just fine.

Admittedly, the Razor XV is a bit on the pricey side. To compensate, it comes with an array of features that are virtually unrivaled in the world of shooting hearing protection.

It has Bluetooth connectivity, a microphone for use with your phone, and multiple volume settings to help you get the right level of ambient sound.

The Walker Razor XV is still a little bit of a work in progress. Stereo sound isn’t great, and removing the ear buds from your ears could be easier.

Still, it’s one of your best options if you want a set of electronic ear plugs for shooting right now.

 

3M Peltor Combat Arms Earplugs

If you’re a bit less worried about the electronics and more concerned with the functionality, 3M’s Peltor Combat Arms Earplugs can let sound through while still protecting against gunshot noise. These ear plugs have two sides, one with a constant 22 dB of noise reduction and another that’s designed to respond to noises.

In practice, it’s great at letting quieter noises through while blocking out gun shots — in fact, it might be better than many of the electronic ear muff sets on the market today.

While the Walker Razor XV mentioned above is pretty expensive for what it does, these ear plugs are fairly cheap. If you want to shoot outdoors while being able to hear things, they’re a great option.

If not, they’re still great to have in your shooting bag to lend to a friend or use under a set of ear muffs. If you plan to use them like that, do be wary that they stick out from your ears a little bit more than you might expect.

 

DUBS Noise Cancelling Ear Plugs

Finally, products like these DUBS Noise Cancelling Ear Plugs have begun to spring up. These ear plugs offer between 12 to 24 dB of noise reduction depending on the frequency of the sound that you’re listening to.

Although the DUBS are made for musicians or individuals that work in the music industry, they can work for shooters as well, since they seem to protect a little over the recommended shooter decibel range of 22db to 24db. They are specially designed to let sound through in a way that doesn’t damage your ears while still letting you listen to it.

As a primary means of hearing protection, these ear plugs are probably not up to snuff. The manufacturer claims that they filter out frequencies that are more likely to cause hearing loss better, but that claim seems dubious.

Under a set of low noise reduction ear muffs, however, they’re a great second line of defense. They’ll help dampen gunshot noises a little bit more while preserving a little bit more of your ambient hearing. For the low price, they’re worth a shot.

 

Earmuffs As The Alternative To Ear Plugs

Howard Leight Impact Sports Electronic Earmuff

If you’re going to go with an electronic device to protect your hearing while you shoot, this Howard Leight set of earmuffs is a great choice. It’s specifically designed with shooting in mind, featuring slim cups so you can use a stock and durable parts that will stand up to frequent outdoor use.

The 22 dB of noise reduction is perfect for shooting outdoors, and with 350 hours of battery life, you won’t spend very much when it’s time to replace the 2 AAA’s that power these ear muffs.

The electronic parts in these ear muffs are functional and well designed. There’s a microphone in each ear to provide true stereo, and Howard Leight has helpfully provided an aux jack to plug your phone or mp3 player into.

Many people buy these for shooting and also use them around the house to mow the lawn or do any other intense noise type of work while listening to tunes or podcasts.

You can read a more detailed review of the Howard Leight Impact Sport Headsets here.

 

Final Thoughts

Unfortunately, these ear muffs are not ear plugs. If you insist on finding a pair of ear plugs with full electronic features, the Walker Razor XV’s are your best bet and it’s what I would personally choose if I was to use any electronic earplugs for shooting.

If you’re willing to use external protection, however, the Howard Leight Impact Sports will do a great job of keeping your ears healthy while enabling you to talk and stay aware of sounds around you.

I personally do not like to use earplugs alone for shooting. What I personally do and recommend for all shooters to do as well, in order to add that extra layer of hearing protection is put on a set of passive over the head earmuffs with a set of passive earplugs underneath them that don’t stick out of the ear.

This, of course, is recommended if you know you will be shooting a noise intensive type of weapon for extended periods of time.

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