Q.I wear hearing aids and want a recommendation for amplified hearing protection with the best sound quality for wild turkey hunting. What do you think?
I have worn hearing aids for about 5 years. I own the Walker Razor that goes around your neck. Last Saturday I took it turkey hunting for the first time. Using it I could hear more but not good enough to discern the type of turkey call we were listening to. It just sounded like a noise. I want to find something that will increase the volume with better sound quality and protect my hearing when I am shooting my shot gun.
I purchased the Walker Razor because last year when I went turkey hunting my younger brother whom I was hunting with heard about 12 turkey gobbles and I did not hear a thing.
My problem is that we have hunted a lot and never worn hearing protection because we want to hear better. Now that I am older that is probably the cause of my hearing loss. Let me know what suggestions you have.
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A. Though I do not know precisely what the gain level is on the razor, since they are described as high gain, I would guess they are about as good as you can get without going to a real hearing aid. So, here is my suggestion: consider using a combination of an in the ear hearing aid and a shooting ear muff. Walker makes some excellent electronic muffs that will amplify low sounds and then shut off the electronics when a gun is fired, giving you the protection you need. By wearing these over the aids, you should be able to hear better than your brother, and wouldn’t that be sweet?
You could also go with a hunting hearing aid, which would eliminate the need for the muffs. The problem you may run into is that these are all designed to work for those with normal hearing, so they may not give you enough amplification alone. One of these could also be worn under an electronic muff just as with a regular hearing aid.
If you currently use BTE devices, perhaps you can get some low cost ITE aids that you can use for hunting. We have some starting at around $30, and going on up to around $2000. My guess is that most of these would work, and you can get pretty good quality sound from aids costing under $200 these days.
Until next time, be safe and do the right thing.
Tom Bergman, Vice President
Ear Plug Superstore
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