Hearing Protection with Hearing Aides

As hard as it is to swallow I had to get some hearing aides etc.. They have their pros/cons so far but I have only had them a week so time will tell. My question to those of you who have hearing aides is what kind of hearing protection do you use (BRAND etc) and do you take your hearing aides out when shooting/hunting. My audiologist really could not give me a straight up answer so I'm reaching to you fellas for some real life input.

Thanks Amigos,
Lance

I went to the range with my FIL last weekend. I offered him hear pro, and he said no, thanks. His hearing aid cancels out any loud noises.

I had my hearing checked last week. Not good! They offered hearing aids with a protective circuit that depresses loud noises. I’m not sure if yours does that. Also with extremely loud noises ( like in a closed shooting range) wearing muffs on top of that would be advised. I would ask your provider if your aids offer any protection. Good luck. I’m going to join you soon.

Mine do not offer protection is what I understood from my provider. She stated that I might be able to keep hearing aides in while using muffs but there is a possibility that the aides might squeal etc..

To bad your provider didn't tell you more about different hearing aids.They make some that cancels out loud noises and they also have bluetooth which is nice if you use cell phone a lot as they double as a headset.Mine will squeel sometimes if my head gets close to a headrest and forget using any kind of ear muffs.

I wear a set of the bluetooth, phone-streaming kind. If I plan on doing something where there may be multiple shots (dove), I take them out and use foam plugs or Leight Electric muffs. When I'm sitting out deer or hog hunting I leave them on and then slip on the Leights or other muffs before shooting.
You can turn the aids off with an app but the fit of the insert in your ear canal is not solid enough to really reduce the noise of a shot.
I get a little squeal in one or the other ears occasionally when putting on the muffs over active aids but it's not bad. Since I've had them I have fired maybe 1 shot "unprotected" and regretted it for days. If your ears are bad enough to need hearing aids, you dang sure don't want to make them any worse.

I use PHONAX non rechargeable, I like being able to put in fresh batteries and you get those free. When I'm driving around the ranch I leave them in when I shoot, they have the decibel limiter in them . If I'm doing extended shooting I just take them out and turn them off, don't want to damage them with too much noise, then use a good pair of muffs. Most of the time I just leave them in and I've shot pistols and rifles with them on no problem, hell I was already deaf!

I have Resound hearing aids. I got them from the VA. I have only forgotten to take them out once. Fortunately for me, I was only shooting a 22LR. It is something I will never do again. Only took one shot but I was lucky it was just a 22. Now, I leave them at home just to be sure I never do that again. I use sound suppression/enhancement muffs at the range. I should add, although they are high end hearing aids, they do not have sound suppression. So if you’re in doubt whether they have it or not, do some research but don’t test them by taking them to the range.

I have a pair of top shelf hearing aides I need to get fitted and tuned.

They have the noise cancelling and bluetooth. IIRC, they were over $4k a couple years ago. My FIL got them and never used them, then he passed away. I was the only one interested in them.

I just need to get with a hearing specialist and get my hearing checked (what's left of it), and have the aides adjusted and tuned for my ears.

Thank you all who took the time chime in here! That's the kind of "real world experience " I was looking for. I think when I'm deer/pig hunting, I'll wear noise canceling muffs over aides and during dove season etc... I'll take the aides out and wear the muffs etc.
Thanks again guys!
Lance

They can change out the ear piece if you like. They have solid ones that seal out all noise and they have perforated ones that let in some outside noise, I prefer the perforated ones it seems to be a little more natural sounding. One thing I would recommend and I'm sure the audiologist already has, "wear them as much as possible". Some things will not sound the same and you have to train yourself to recognize the change. My next set will be the same brand but I'm going to change to internal aids, that seems to help with the directional hearing. With outside the aids the mic is on the outer piece behind the ear and makes it difficult to determine the direction the noise is coming from. The need to put the mic in the earpiece for outside aids. Finding a gas leak at a tank battery can be down right difficult at times, I've had to turn my back to the leak to determine where it is.

As much as hearing aids cost, you would think suppression of damaging noise would be installed on all of them. Must be some reason it is not. That will be a good question to ask the audiologist next time I’m there.

On the top of mine I have up and down buttons that I can change the volume level to crowd (low) normal,which I leave most of the time and tv (loud). Most hearing aids have buttons but they are disabled by the provider and my first pair he wouldn't enable them.Now my hearing is worse and his daughter enabled these. It's easy for them to do, I had them on and she programmed the high and low levels to suit my needs. The rubber tip that goes inside the ear comes in different sizes to make them a tight or snug fit so all sounds come thru the aids.

Mine are Oticon, the left ear is really bad so they gave me one that transmit sound to the right ear aid. yes I take them out 99% of the time.

Walker game ear noise cancelling muffs, around $40-50 on Amazon. I also use them in the boat fishing if the wind is blowing.
For me the wind sounds like a little tornado in each ear with my aids in.

Not to worry you'll like the hearing aids. You'll see how much you've been missing. I can't live without mine now.

There is only one reason for not having the noise canceling type & that is cost. If cost is not the reason then you need a new provider plus provider should know if aids are noise canceling. Not being ugly but I have worn hearing aids for over 25 years

Huh?

Hand blow dryers in public restrooms, weed eaters, landscape blowers, shop vac and compressors kicking on will drive you nuts. Have to turn mine off to get past these noises.

I pull my aids when shooting, most times no muffs or plugs since I am pretty much deaf any way.

pull them, use muffs or better is plugs and shoot away. I carry a case for my aids and keep some spare batteries etc. when done shooting just put em back in and you are good to go.
the sound of a shot from a centerfire on the electronics can not be good.


wait till you realize you left them in just as you step in the shower.

My wife can hear a fly fart at 50 feet and that makes shooting uncomfortable and inaccurate for her. We purchased a set of custom molded ear plugs for her ($200), that shut off when sounds are above 75db but allows her to carry on a conversation with others at the range and she wears them when hunting. She loves them, no more messing with muffs or plugs that don't fit properly. The customs have a 30 db attenuation and you can get higher IIRC.
The customs have improved her accuracy while hunting, took me a while to figure out why she could put 3 in an 1/2 inch at the range & miss/cripple a hog at 100 yds. She was doubled up at the range, plugs & muffs but it took FOREVER for her to get on target now the customs solve the problem for her.

Hop, does your hearing provider know that you are pulling the aides when shooting? Do you know that you are damaging what hearing you have left EVERY TIME YOU PULL THE TRIGGER with no protection? Ask me how I know????? I am Deaf in my left ear because of that practice and will probably be deaf in the right ear before I die. We all lose some of our hearing as we age.

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Good input. Thanks