Duck hunting is fun, but it also needs preparation for the season. When you go duck hunting, you should always wear protective gear. Ear plugs or earmuffs are essential to protect your hearing from the loud calling and gunshots in the blind, but not the sharp whistling sound of ducks flying away.
There are many types of hearing pro available, but not all of them work as well as others. I’ll compare the top styles in this article and explain why each works better than the rest.
I’ll also share some experience using these earplugs while shooting ducks and what makes them the ones you should have in your blind bag for dunk hunting season.
Best Hearing Pro for Duck Hunting
The best hearing protection for duck hunting must provide situational awareness and impulse noise protection from loud shotgun blasts. Read our reviews of earmuffs and ear plugs below for waterfowl hunters to keep in their blind bags.
Walkers Silencer
The Walker’s Silencer BT 2.0 is a more expensive but everyday Bluetooth model of the Walker’s Game Ear, perfect for waterfowl hunting. They amplify low-level sounds, suppress gunfire and have Bluetooth features for syncing with a mobile device. Read our review of Walker’s Silencer BT here.
Peltor Tactical 500
Our first ear muff for waterfowl hunting introduction, the Peltor Tactical 500 is low-profile, has active sound-cancelling and amplification, comes with Bluetooth and AUX, and runs on two AA batteries.
The only downside to earmuffs is they can be a bit heavy in the blind bag compared to a nice pair of Bluetooth earplugs or foam plugs. But these Bluetooth headphones provide certified hearing protection while hearing a normal conversation and are made by a great company.
Howard Leight Impact Sport
Like other forms of electronic hearing protection, Impact Sport delivers superior performance by blocking out loud sounds and amplifying all different sounds. These sound-cancelling muffs provide passive protection and impulse cancellation from loud sounds like shotgun blasts.
Walker’s Razor Slim
Like the Howard Leight Impact Sport ear muffs, the Walkers Razor electronic muffs are excellent for waterfowl hearing protection. While non-electronic muffs and many earplugs do a great job cancelling harmful high-decibel noises, you can buy shooting ear protectors that do much more. And low-profile ear pads keep the ear muffs from hitting the butt.
Peltor EEP / LEP
The moment a gunshot is made, the active sound cancellation keeps your hearing protected. These are worth the cost.
For those who want the performance of electronic ear pro in a smaller package, there are several types of 3m Peltor earbuds like TEP-200 on the market today that are a good choice for duck hunting ear protection. With an NRR of 22, they provide adequate hearing protection in most situations but can also be combined with earplugs for extra protection in very noisy environments.
AXIL GS Extreme & XCOR
The AXIL GS earbuds allow you to talk on the phone and listen to music, all while providing active and passive noise reduction. They also have the ability to amplify sounds. These ear plugs are important for your next hunting trip.
The obvious answer is to block out the sound of shotgun blasts with plugs, shell casings, and other protective devices. AXIL advertises a 6x improvement in hearing with GS Extreme and an NRR of up to 29. In addition, alpha shield waterfowl are optimized to isolate duck quacks and wing rattles and minimize distortion within the trunk, making it challenging to call ducks while wearing hearing protection.
A single shot from a rifle, shotgun, or handgun on the range or while hunting can cause hearing damage, so you should wear ear protection whenever you fire. While I think the AXIL GS Extreme is the best ear protection for hunting, the Howard Leight Impact Sport Electronic earmuffs are a great value-for-money option. However, the Impact Sport electronic earmuffs also protect the ear ossicles behind the eardrum from damage caused by the pressure wave generated by the shots.
Walkers Game Ear
These hearing aids enhance your hearing and amplify sounds; they are used for big game, when the hunter needs to make sounds louder and have protection from gunshot fire.
They have a passive NRR while amplifying sounds and cancelling wind while you hunt. You can read more about Walker Game Ear Amplifiers here.
AXIL Trackr Earmuff
Axil is a great company for hunter ear pro; along with the ear plugs they offer, Axil has the Trackr earmuffs.
Passive Muffs and Foam Plugs
These are the most cost-effective but have the least situational awareness when you hunt. They will block loud noises and are comfortable in or over the ear canal. These are the minimum requirement if you want to prevent hearing loss and the pain of ringing ears.
What to Look for in Waterfowl Hunting Hearing Protection
Protection From Gunshot Fire & Loud Noises
Without hearing protection, you risk hearing loss and tinnitus, which can cause pain and ringing in your ears. Recent Studies also show early hearing loss can lead to more problems in old age. Loud gunshot noises must be brought to safe levels to prevent hearing loss when you hunt.
The ear muffs feature a sound-activated compression circuit that protects your ears from dangerous sounds or explosions. Unfortunately, the more shotgun blasts your ears get, you will have hearing loss.
Situational Awareness
Hunters can have a normal conversation with another person and make soft sounds louder while providing protection from shotgun blasts and loud calling.
Hunters must also be able to hear the sounds of game (such as waterfowl) and sense what’s happening around them. Some of these options allow ambient noise to be heard, so you can still notice a lot of stuff while you protect your hearing. The Best Hunting Hearing Enhancement provides great situational awareness and ear protection.
Some may surprise you, so it’s important to hear what’s going on in the environment, even with ear protectors, to hear commands and warnings and, to a lesser extent, be able to listen to those ducks. It is also crucial. Higher-end hearing protection includes earplugs and electronic earmuffs, which allow low-decibel sound into the ear but block high-decibel sound.
So the ear protection reduces noise to a safe 82 dB when you’re shooting, or someone else is hunting but boost conversation noise when you’re not shooting. In this case, you’re better off using cheap disposable foam ear tips and good-quality ear cups for double protection.
Comfort
While you’re sitting in the blind, you want something extremely comfortable. Not long ago, protecting your hearing meant wearing bulky, heavy muffs or using uncomfortable and uncomfortable earplugs. Any pair of plugs or muffs on our list will give you the ability to have great comfort all day.
Ear muffs for shooting have Ultra-thin ear cushions with cutouts, meaning they won’t get in the way when shooting. Customized fit for maximum comfort. Soft and telescoping headband adjusts for a comfortable and non-slip fit.
Battery Life
Long battery life is important when you cannot recharge for two days. Most people recharge between hunts, but you never know when you’ll need them to last.
What Ear Protection for Hunting Waterfowl?
Electronic ear plugs and ear muffs are best for waterfowl hunters as they can suppress gunshot fire and other loud noises while providing situational awareness or amplification of low sound waves to need to be heard.
Thus, active ear muffs and ear plugs will operate over the entire frequency range without increasing the size or weight of a small microphone. Ear muffs provide the same protection as earplugs but are easier to use and more comfortable to wear.
First, the earmuffs have a built-in AUX jack that allows you to connect an MP3 or mobile device. They have the added bonus of hunting as I can turn them on and hear a mosquito walking on the velvet, or turn them off and only listen to what’s in my head (which gets pretty loud). It is one of the smallest and most discreet full-featured digital hunting hearing aids on the market.
The Best Electronic Earbuds for Shooting are the perfect solution for your next duck hunting trip.
Stop Noise-Induced Hearing Loss When Duck Hunting
Why Protect Your Ears While Shooting? I’m sure everyone knows that gunshots are loud – loud noises can damage your hearing and cause hearing loss. I wear passive muffs when using power tools. When shooting waterfowl, I have no problem putting on electronic muffs. However, I found them very inconvenient for mountain hunting.
I lost my hearing while hunting, but nothing stops the muzzle blast and eliminates tinnitus as they do. When hunting, sometimes you don’t wear an effective model, so you can’t feel what’s happening around you.
Given how devastating gunshots can be to the ears, one would think that most hunters use hearing protection, but according to Hanrahan, 80 to 90 percent don’t. Solid padding around the headset is critical to block out gunshot sounds and to ensure you wear hearing protection during those long hours on your feet or blindly waiting for a game to appear.
The best protection for your ears on the shooting range is electronic protection, be it a cuff or earplugs. Many shooters are looking for electronic hearing protection that can block harmful gunshot sounds and amplify the voices of nearby teammates, but it’s all in a product that fits the ears.
Like many experienced duck hunters, I suffer from Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL). The downside of the cord is that if you have to fiddle with the layers that cover your ears, it can be challenging to take out or put in.
Then straighten your ear canal by pulling the top of your ear up and back—ideal for hunting, target shooting or any outdoor activity requiring noise cancellation. If I don’t do anything about it, I get worse.
On the other hand, they are great for hunting in a group because you can listen, and when they shoot, you will not go deaf. The bottom Line, the Best Hearing Protection for Duck Hunting has two important features. If you’re planning to go duck hunting and you’re exposed to gunshots, they can quickly damage your hearing. Electronic noise canceling earbuds are an excellent choice for shooters who need to hear low voices and sound clear.
Sources
- https://forum.ultimatepheasanthunting.com/threads/hearing-protection.23595/
- https://www.hunttalk.com/threads/hearing-protection-for-waterfowl-hunting.279530/
- https://www.ducks.org/hunting/waterfowl-hunting-tips/waterfowlers-notebook-dont-go-deaf-in-the-duck-blind
- https://thewaterfowlhunter.com/best-ear-protection-for-shooting/
- https://scducks.com/forum/showthread.php?194642-Hearing-Protection-While-Duck-Hunting/page2
- https://earstoday.com/best-hearing-protection-for-duck-hunting-2/