Upland hunters: use hearing protection?

If I ever shoot a firearm bigger than .22lr -copied from JamesH

James et al-you get it from a 'little 22' also. Decibel is about 135-like a jet engine.

I have been wearing for couple years now when mowing the lawn.. Wish Id started 35 yrs ago.

Young guys-always wear and get some for your wife/kids.
 
Crankylove brings up a good point. I also want to know where other hunters are, even if I hear a faint shot from a mile away. Guess I'd just have to try the electronic ear protection to see for myself if it can do what I want it to do.
 
Countertop...I've always found that my left ear suffers the most when I shoot without hearing pro. It's mostly been shotguns and rifles the past 20 yrs, and I'm right-handed, so my right ear is closest to the firearm, but it's always the stock. My left ear gets more exposure to the sound waves coming from the muzzle and action. Might be a good idea to protect your left ear more than your right.
 
I never use ear protection when hunting, especially if there are other hunters around. I like to be able to hear if somebody is trying to warn me about something, or be able to hear the other hunters moving if they are not in my line of sight, or hear game moving through the brush/trees, all without being muffled and distorted by the ear plugs/muffs.
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Crankylove brings up a good point. I also want to know where other hunters are, even if I hear a faint shot from a mile away. Guess I'd just have to try the electronic ear protection to see for myself if it can do what I want it to do.
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Guys, as I mentioned above, there is NO REASON to sacrifice your ability to hear while hunting and NO REASON to expose your ears to the damaging report of a rifle. With electronic hearing protection, not only can you still hear what is going on around you, often you can hear even better than without the hearing protection because the sound picked up by the microphones can be amplified above normal. You really do get the best of both worlds.

The downside I experienced is that on one particularly quiet night (hog hunting at night), I had turned up the volume too far. With super hearing, the sound of an armadillo coming through the leaf litter at 30 yards sounded like it was a 400 lb hog or some giant unexpected very large animal. :o I waited on the edge of my seat, trying to see the monster approaching me. Finally, I noticed the leaf litter moving. The dillo was under several inches of leaf litter, hence the noise and why I could not see any critters.

Generally speaking, you can get decent stereo electronic hearing protection from around $50 and on up. It is really a worthwhile consideration.
 
At the range, I wear foam plugs, and the ear muffs. & some times I wish I had more at the indoor range with guys shooting 12ga slugs.
 
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