doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Best electronic ear plugs

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.