I'm interested in your experience with the electronic plugs that serve both as hearing aids and loud noise suppressors.
TIA

I can't hear ya Jimmy.

I've wondered about those too Jim. I really wish I could make these jar flies quit "singing" inside my ears.

I have had a set of E.A.R. electronic ear plugs for many years. I have even had to have new molds made when the originals wore out. I think they are about 12 - 15 years old now. Their service, when I finally wore out the original molds, was excellent and the new material is quite a bit more comfortable and should be more durable.

Mine are "old technology" and definitely not as good as the new digitals, but I have no plans to change. They work great for target shooting, letting me hear the traps release. They also let me hear things when hunting in the woods which I never knew existed and serve admirably as hearing aids when I get stuck in meetings where I am having trouble hearing (although I'm trying to quit that).

They are in my pocket as I typs and generally go everywhere I go.

I recently bought a pair of the digital Starkey plugs offered through the NRA (apparently about a 50% discount?) So far I am badly underwhelmed with Starkey's customer service. No instruction manual, snotty, ill-informed custservreps who may be knowledgeable about hearing aids, but not about the ear protectors. I'm still in a wrestling match with them

Starkey is not in the business of dealing directly with the consumer. Normally, their products are only available through audiologists, and the audiologist is responsible for making sure the user is satisfied. I have two pair of Starkey analogs, and have been generally very pleased with them. Was talking with a different audiologist (not my guy) last weekend, and she told me that Starkey is moving away from analog products to all digital. I have never worn their digitals, but have discussed them with guys who have tried both digital and analog, and the preference is for analog.

Re Starkey customer service, Starkey is based (I think) in Minnesota, but the Magnum Ear (shooter's plugs) are made in their Texas facility. Most of the folks at the corp HQ don't even know the Magnum Ear product exists. Try calling Mark Berger at Starkey in MN, 800-328-8602. He should be able to take care of your issues.

I worked through a Starkey-authorized audiologist. It was her first attempt at this product. She has been very attentive, but isn't getting any help from HQ.
My only prior experience with electronic products is a pair of "Mickey Mouse" muffs, which obviously "clip" the blast. These new Starkeys do not "clip" the blast, and as a result, I'm not sure I'm getting the reduction I want. Sent them back to Stuckey, and will pick them up in a month (am presently in FL) Will give a report when I get back. Am distressed that Starkey doesn't have a dedicated product brouchure describing how they are supposed to be tuned and used.

Mine are analog so may not work the same as yours. Having said that, there should be no "tuning" required. The audiologist should have tested your hearing, made silicone molds of your ears and sent all off to Starkey. Starkey made the shells to fit your ear molds and programmed the electronics to boost your hearing in the ranges where you need help. Mine provide a max boost of 26db, and attenuate the sound at 92db. The attenuation happens in milliseconds, and I still hear the shot at 92db, but nothing above that volume, so no hearing trauma. If you have a volume control on the units, you can adjust the gain on each side, but nothing above 92db should get through if you have a good fit. These don't work the same as Mickey Mouse Muffs; you should still be able to hear everything going on around you, but not at a volume that will cause damage. If you don't want to hear ambient sounds, just turn off the gain control and they will work like static molded plugs. You will still hear loud noises (like gunshots) but it will be muffled, just like wearing the molded plugs that you can get fitted for at the big shoots.

The effectiveness of these units is closely related to the quality of the fit, so if you are getting leakage (usually accompanied by the typical hearing aid feedback screech), then the audiologist may need to take another set of impressions and have Starkey make new shells for you.

Once you get a good fit, these things are low maintenance. Just keep them clean and change the batteries when they stop working. The earpieces used to be molded only in silicone, but they are now also available in a harder plastic that is more durable. My silicone molds split after about eight years, so they are going back for new molds in the harder material. As your hearing changes, the audiologist can reprogram them to match your new hearing loss. Most audiologists have never seen shooters' hearing protection, so no surprise that yours is fumbling a bit. But, it's just not that complicated.

There was no testing by the audiolgist - Just took the impression for the mold. There is some sort of small toggle switch on each unit which no one has been able to describe to me yet.
Will try calling Mr Berger. Thanks for the help.

Not a good sign. No wonder you are not real happy.

Starkey has/had several different models of protection, ranging from static plugs to ported (non-electronic) plugs, to analog and digital plugs to RF plugs for law enforcement. Your comment about the on/off toggle makes me a bit curious about what you actually have. What is the model name or number on your units? What was the price of these things? The analog plugs seem to retail between about $800 and $1200 per pair, depending on where you buy them. The digitals are around $2K +/-. Can you post a link to the NRA discount (I have not noticed these plugs in any of my NRA communications, but I have not been looking, either).

Here's the NRA link:
http://www.nrahearingbenefits.com/
I don't have the units with me, but I beleive they are called Magnum In-ear Digital models. Paid about $600-700.

Sounds like the right unit, but none of the pics on the NRA link match mine, which are Magnum Ear analogs. Under the link for "HOW OUR PLAN WORKS" the site says "An audiologist or board certified hearing instrument specialist will conduct a hearing evaluation and determine if hearing correction is indicated." So, it looks like that part of the process might have been missed. If you got Magnum Ear digitals for $600-$700, that is extremely cheap. A friend has been planning to buy a pair of analogs, and the best price he can find locally is $800. I paid a lot more more than that a few years ago.

Replacement - Tried to PM you - don't think it went thru. Please contact me at jdallas1@msn.com. Thanks.

Email sent.

Didn't come thru

Just sent another one through a different server.

I too have the analog units. Mine are about ten years old and work very well. I prefer them to the digital and do not plan to replace mine until I have to do so. They work as described in detail above to cap loud noises.

Try googling Mead Killon. Mr. Killon is THE guru of hearing assistance devices.

That should be Mead Killion of Etymotic Research.Apologies for the poor typing.

I just called Starkey. The NRA price for two in the ear Magnum Ear ITE digitals is $699.99. They recommended a place near me who will do the impression for $50. They then take the impression and make one piece units of hard plastic unlike the others that take a unit and add a soft plastic outer shell that fits your ears. They clip the loud sound shutting off for that brief moment. They have a volume control for adjusting outside noise but everything shuts off when the shot goes off and then comes back on.

Mine were $700, including fitting. My first time using them, I was not getting the "clipping" function, as I have experienced with the electronic "Mickey Mouse" ears. Sent them back to be checked. They have been returned, but I have not had a chance to use them - sometime in April

I emailed through the NRA site yesterday, got hearing aid info today (nothing about hearing protection). The NRA program is provided through American Hearing Benefits, Inc., which is not an insurance company. It is wholly-owned by Starkey and appears to be what is known in benefits circles as an access plan (i.e., if the NRA can deliver enough member traffic, Starkey will offer attractive prices). I called American Hearing Benefits today to ask about hearing protection, and the person answering the phone knew nothing about the products; she suggested that I email again to the person who sent me the hearing aid info. Sent that email this afternoon.



Based upon my personal experience, that is an astoundingly good price. The impressions are normally included in the cost of the Magnum Ears, but at $700 I wouldn't quibble. Make sure they do a hearing test on you before they order the plugs; per the NRA website the test is part of the program. Without a hearing test, the units will not be matched to your specific hearing loss (and you do have loss, even if it doesn't seem like it yet).

In today's email, I requested technical specs on all of the analog and digital units that are currently available. I have not looked at the specs since I bought my last set, and they have probably changed. I would recommend that you specify the units be molded in the harder plastic compound, because there are known reliability problems with the softer silicone molds. I think they still use the silicone if you don't specify otherwise. Both of my pairs are silicone and they are quite comfortable; I have been told that you do not sacrifice comfort with the harder plastic.

According to the person I spoke to the Magnum Ear are not adjustable for hearing deficiency. They said they do clip the loud sounds totally turning off for that brief period. They also said they are done in hard plastic only and they thought it was better since it did not shrink over time leaving a loose fit for sound to enter.

They only come in digital.

I have no idea if they are as good as other brands such as E.A.R.

Interesting. I had sent my older pair of analogs in for repair after the 2008 dove season, and they came back 10/9/08 with silicone shells and two sets of electronic test specs. There is a lot more to the specs than I feel like typing here, but the Peak Full-On Gain for the right (R) was 23.6db at peak frequency of 2700hz, and for the left (L) was 24.1db at 2700hz. Frequency range for both is shown at 200hz-6400hz, and there are four sets of frequency response graphs for each side. The L unit shows about 5db of additional gain above the 2700hz peak, compared to the R. Makes sense, because my left ear has more hearing loss at high frequencies than does my R. Units are shown on the reports as Magnum Ear Automatic ITE. There is also a line that shows "The hearing aid is set to []Best Fit or []Patient Settings," so it appears that they do (or did) have the ability to change the settings, although it's not user adjustable except for gain. These were originally ordered in 1999 or 2000, accompanied by a hearing test.

Perhaps the NRA versions are relatively inexpensive because Starkey does not customize the electronics to the individual user? When I bought mine, I went through the same process as if I were ordering hearing aids, which these actually are. If the NRA versions are just noise supressors, the process would seem to be simplified and thus cheaper for Starkey. I should know more when I get a response from NRA/American Hearing Benefits.

The problem with the silicone units is not so much that they shrink over time, but that Starkey has had problems keeping the silicone securely attached to the outer hard plastic cover. Mine exhibited that problem on one side, and then the silicone split, so I had them remolded (way out of warranty, so I paid for it), and they were supposed to remold them in the harder compound but they goofed. That's why they are being redone again in hard plastic. The electronics should last longer than I do.

Supposedly these were being made in Texas but all the others which are hearing aids are made in their home factory. They stopped making them in Texas recently and the main office is trying to get up to snuff on them. I imagine for $700 you are not going to get adjustment for deficiency. A pair of Walker in the ears cost 2 grand.

I think I'm beginning to appreciate my old Starkeys even more than I used to. Built in Texas by Texans.

BTW, Starkey now owns Siemens' hearing aid business.

When I bought my second pair of Starkey analogs around 2005(?), the Starkey digitals were $2K+. Even with advances in technology, it does not seem likely that they are selling the same units now for $700.