Hearing Protection Recommendations

[Daz85UK]

Can anyone recommend some good hearing protection to help reduce the decibel level of the grenades?

I have to pass a regular class 1 medical for work therefore don’t want to take any risks!

cheers

 

[Lozart]

What's your budget?

 

[Daz85UK]

Ideally under £100 but would possibly go a little higher if needed. 

 

[Impulse]

On the cheaper end, I have a set of Earmor m31s (not m32s, m32 are the radio comms and I have some of those too) and they're decent enough and can be bought on Aliexpress for £30 + tax. There are definitely better out there, so look around with your budget as your budget is significantly higher, but these work for me and they amplify small ambient noises like footsteps and leaf rustling, while cutting down on pyro boom boom noises.

My next experiment I'm waiting on are a set of Earmor m20s, which are in-ear protection as my ghillie setup uses a boonie and headsets like the m31/m32s don't work well with boonies, especially not since my boonie is my ghillie headpiece and I don't want to cover my ghillie camo with earpro. I can't comment on them though because they probably won't arrive until either late this week (ideal as I'm playing on Sunday) or early next week (more likely because Sod's Law)

 

[Jefferson2000]

Surefire ep4 ear plugs will do the job if you're on a budget.

If you're serious about your hearing then get some Peltor xpi's, expensive but very effective. Try borrowing a pair from someone first and you'll know which way to go. 

 

[Lozart]

Ideally under £100 but would possibly go a little higher if needed. 

If you don't need comms then have a look at the Howard Leight Impact Sport or Earmor as mentioned above.

Second hand Peltors might be a shout but good, high quality ear protection can be pretty spendy!

 

[hitmanNo2]

Recently, a load of new in box Comtac XP and XPIs were dumped on eBay for very cheap. I picked up some XPIs with mic and downlead for £160. I need to change the connector on the downlead to work with my PTT but still a bargain. So take a look, maybe make an offer on one that is on best offer and you'll get a pair of excellent ear pro for pretty cheap.

Understandably, this has kind of tanked the market, even if only briefly so you might be able to get some used XPs for sub £100.

 

[Daz85UK]

Appreciate the replies. How much do the earmor M31s reduce the grenade noise?

 

[Lozart]

Appreciate the replies. How much do the earmor M31s reduce the grenade noise?

I have a pair of the helmet mounted ones and they work pretty well!

 

[Daz85UK]

@LozartDo you have a link to the helmet mounted ones? Can’t find them on their website, all I can find is an ARC helmet adapter?

 

[Lozart]

@LozartDo you have a link to the helmet mounted ones? Can’t find them on their website, all I can find is an ARC helmet adapter?

https://earmorstore.co.uk/earmor-m32h-mod3-1

 

[Krisz]

Ideally under £100 but would possibly go a little higher if needed. 

For that money: Earmor M31, Howard Leight, Walker's Razor.

 

[pyromancer6]

Recently, a load of new in box Comtac XP and XPIs were dumped on eBay for very cheap. I picked up some XPIs with mic and downlead for £160. I need to change the connector on the downlead to work with my PTT but still a bargain. So take an look, maybe make an offer on one that is on best offer and you'll get a pair of excellent ear pro for pretty cheap.

Understandably, this has kind of tanked the market, even if only briefly so you might be able to get some used XPs for sub £100.

Any idea where the listing for the XPIs are? The only one I can find w/ microphone is around the £200 mark on eBay atm

 

[hitmanNo2]

Any idea where the listing for the XPIs are? The only one I can find w/ microphone is around the £200 mark on eBay atm

The best deals have all gone now I'm afraid.  £200 is likely the best price you'll find XPIs with comms.

 

[pyromancer6]

The best deals have all gone now I'm afraid.  £200 is likely the best price you'll find XPIs with comms.

Thanks for the heads-up - I'm not too upset as I can't afford the things at the minute anyway lmao

 

[Emergencychimps]

I've commented on hearing protection threads before, so I'm sure it'll be no surprise that I'll say save your money for something good. 

Don't waste your time and money on sub £100 options. Every time this type of things comes up, people say stuff like, "my earmors are great", then 6 games later the same people are looking for new options cause their earmors failed, they seem to be little better than rebranded z tactical ones. There will then be the people that are like, "well I've had mine for 15 games" and that's great, but they're the exception, not the rule. I'd also suggest that they have been used in 15 good weather games etc. 

Howard leights are good for shooting and robust, but not good enough with their directional sound for them to not be a massive impediment in an Airsoft game. 

If you're concerned about your hearing (and if you attend any sites that allow tags you should be) then the cheaper in ear surefire plugs are the way until you have a bigger budget. 

I went for sordins and even then, after the sweat, discomfort etc they still aren't regular use items for me. 

 

[Daz85UK]

Thanks. Think I’m going to give the Surefire Ep3s a go. 
For grenades would it be best to use them with the filter plug in?

 

[Lozart]

Thanks. Think I’m going to give the Surefire Ep3s a go. 
For grenades would it be best to use them with the filter plug in?

From the Surefire site:

EP3s include attached filter caps that can be inserted for additional protection, blocking out lower-level noise, like that heard on a plane, where hearing ambient sounds or conversations isn't critical. 

The caps are intended to block out low level continuous background noise. The design of the earplug itself is what reduces the impulse of things like loud bangs. I used to use a set in CQB before I started using comms so yeah, give them a go.

EP4s would be better though.