Active Hearing Protection Compatible with Radio?

[Lollingsgrad]

After ending up with tinnitus for a couple of days from being in a building when a grenade went off I'm keen to start protecting my hearing. Active protection looks like it would help whilst being useful in other ways (and the enormous cans look cool to boot). Does anyone know of any that allow you to connect your radio/Walkie Talkie?

 

If it's important then my radio has one of those rectangular ports that separate the headphones and mic but I suspect I can find an adaptor for whatever the cans have.

[Adolf Hamster]

most of the ones i've seen (including the ones i own) have a standard 3.5mm headphone jack for an audio input, so i'm assuming it shouldnt be too hard to get a radio cable

 

the amplifying ones are awesome, you can hear EVERYTHING except grenades.

[Lollingsgrad]

What do you do about mic if you only have audio input on the cans?

[ImTriggerHappy]

  On 04/09/2018 at 12:09, Lollingsgrad said:

After ending up with tinnitus for a couple of days after being in a building when a grenade went off I'm keen to start protecting my hearing. Active protection looks like it would help whilst being useful in other ways (and the enormous cans look cool to boot). Does anyone know of any that allow you to connect your radio/Walkie Talkie?

 

If it's important then my radio has one of those rectangular ports that separate the headphones and mic but I suspect I can find an adaptor for whatever the cans have.

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Look up JCI comms on facebook. He built me a PTT with Racal Frontiers in ear noise cancelling buds. All connects to a Baofeng radio but he can change to what ever connections your radio requires.

[Adolf Hamster]

  On 04/09/2018 at 12:16, Lollingsgrad said:

What do you do about mic if you only have audio input on the cans?

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i assumed you're meant to run a seperate mic, throat mic or handheld etc

[Lollingsgrad]

So for reference my radios are,

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B06VWNRJDY

 

A way to side step the problem, think I could just cut off the ear bud it comes with and attach a 3.5mm male jack? It looks like then I'd be able to hook it up to these without further faff or expense,

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Honeywell-1018953-Howard-Leight-Defender/dp/B00D3FG2SS

[ImTriggerHappy]

  On 04/09/2018 at 13:03, Lollingsgrad said:

So for reference my radios are,

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B06VWNRJDY

 

A way to side step the problem, think I could just cut off the ear bud it comes with and attach a 3.5mm male jack? It looks like then I'd be able to hook it up to these without further faff or expense,

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Honeywell-1018953-Howard-Leight-Defender/dp/B00D3FG2SS

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Bettet option if you want to run those cans

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/BAOFENG-Speaker-MIC-UV-5R-5REPLUS/dp/B00BYMKKT4

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/World-Data-3-5mm-Stereo-Meter-Black/dp/B00077DC3S

[Lollingsgrad]

  On 04/09/2018 at 13:19, ImTriggerHappy said:

Bettet option if you want to run those cans

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/BAOFENG-Speaker-MIC-UV-5R-5REPLUS/dp/B00BYMKKT4

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/World-Data-3-5mm-Stereo-Meter-Black/dp/B00077DC3S

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Oh nice tip! That is a better option since finding the button on the little mic can be a right pain.

[Albiscuit]

Been thinking of something like this for when I play. Has issues with tinnitus myself (years of raving by the bassbins) and fed up of the shock to the system when nades go off at The Mall.. the sound amplifying cans would be a benefit too!!

[ImTriggerHappy]

  On 04/09/2018 at 17:07, Albiscuit said:

Been thinking of something like this for when I play. Has issues with tinnitus myself (years of raving by the bassbins) and fed up of the shock to the system when nades go off at The Mall.. the sound amplifying cans would be a benefit too!!

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When you see me next have a look at my set up.

[Lollingsgrad]

These things are almost half the price and have good reviews,

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B07BSB7YW4/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?smid=A24AEIIXDULKWI&psc=1&th=1#productDescription_secondary_view_div_1536081008998

 

22dB noise reduction vs 33dB but the reviews of the 33dB one suggested they were very heavy and not great for extended use. Considering I just want to avoid hearing damage, not necessarily achieve total sound isolation, do we think these would do the trick?

[Albiscuit]

  On 04/09/2018 at 17:19, ImTriggerHappy said:

When you see me next have a look at my set up.

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Will do!!

[Druid799]

  On 04/09/2018 at 17:22, Lollingsgrad said:

These things are almost half the price and have good reviews,

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B07BSB7YW4/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?smid=A24AEIIXDULKWI&psc=1&th=1#productDescription_secondary_view_div_1536081008998

 

22dB noise reduction vs 33dB but the reviews of the 33dB one suggested they were very heavy and not great for extended use. Considering I just want to avoid hearing damage, not necessarily achieve total sound isolation, do we think these would do the trick?

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Me personally bud if I find safety equipment that’s half the going price of the rest of similar products then I’d be VERY suspicious of quality of build and or longevity of use . 

PS I treat Amazon ‘reviews’ with a big pinch of salt , I only go by actual face to face or read trusted site reviews . 👍

[Lozart]

  On 04/09/2018 at 17:22, Lollingsgrad said:

These things are almost half the price and have good reviews,

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B07BSB7YW4/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?smid=A24AEIIXDULKWI&psc=1&th=1#productDescription_secondary_view_div_1536081008998

 

22dB noise reduction vs 33dB but the reviews of the 33dB one suggested they were very heavy and not great for extended use. Considering I just want to avoid hearing damage, not necessarily achieve total sound isolation, do we think these would do the trick?

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Yeah....no.

 

Howard Leights are very good, but also check out the Earmor range. I have the M32H helmet mounted ones and they're very good. They do need their own PTT if you want to use them with comms as they work with "proper" style ones not the Ztac style. https://www.camoraids.com/product-tag/Opsmen/

[Musica]

  On 04/09/2018 at 12:17, ImTriggerHappy said:

Look up JCI comms on facebook. He built me a PTT with Racal Frontiers in ear noise cancelling buds. All connects to a Baofeng radio but he can change to what ever connections your radio requires.

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Hey, looking at getting racals to use with my radio while wearing my dye mask. Can you advise if they fit well without discomfort? I tried a pair of AKG IEMs I got with my Samsung and they are fine but I don't know how much the racals stick out or not hard to find people talking about them online let alone in combination with a paintball helmet. 

 

Not sure what tips fit them as they seem to require external ones some people wear https://www.amazon.co.uk/Surefire-Sonic-Defenders-Black-Medium/dp/B004DH0YOS/ref=pd_ybh_a_8?_encoding=UTF8&refRID=DCM1P28WEXFYCHHWSN19&th=1&psc=1 but I hear regular buds work on them as well. 

[Cnskeldon]

  On 08/08/2019 at 09:21, Musica said:

Hey, looking at getting racals to use with my radio while wearing my dye mask. Can you advise if they fit well without discomfort? I tried a pair of AKG IEMs I got with my Samsung and they are fine but I don't know how much the racals stick out or not hard to find people talking about them online let alone in combination with a paintball helmet. 

 

Not sure what tips fit them as they seem to require external ones some people wear https://www.amazon.co.uk/Surefire-Sonic-Defenders-Black-Medium/dp/B004DH0YOS/ref=pd_ybh_a_8?_encoding=UTF8&refRID=DCM1P28WEXFYCHHWSN19&th=1&psc=1 but I hear regular buds work on them as 

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[Supermoose]

  On 04/09/2018 at 17:22, Lollingsgrad said:

These things are almost half the price and have good reviews,

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B07BSB7YW4/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?smid=A24AEIIXDULKWI&psc=1&th=1#productDescription_secondary_view_div_1536081008998

 

22dB noise reduction vs 33dB but the reviews of the 33dB one suggested they were very heavy and not great for extended use. Considering I just want to avoid hearing damage, not necessarily achieve total sound isolation, do we think these would do the trick?

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I had a pair of these they lasted the day and worked well, had them connected to me speaker mic so i could talk, the problem was when i came to use them the next time.

no radio or hearing amplification.

 

 

[Enid_Puceflange]

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F192954689499

 

a pair of these and a PTT for my Baofeng works wonders

Ok, no electronic ambient amplification or protection, bit for the price

they look the part & work nicely 

[Musica]

Won't work with my paintball mask unfortunately and I've been hit with enough  xx brand of paper pyro to want to consider protecting my hearing and I have enough trouble hearing people speaking to me currently without putting earphones in/on to block out more noise. 

[DopeYourScope]

For those considering Racal Frontiers, I use mine with Surefire EP.4s they stick out from your ear slightly however when the noise cancelling kicks in you know you’re safe had mk5s go off at my feet whilst crouched with no issues. They comfortable enough to wear all day long but make sure you get the correct size buds. 

To answer the question yes they can be used with ‘normal’ ear phone tips however you will have less protection as they don’t fully “plug” your ear canal and they may not hold them self in correctly. 

I got my Racals from JCI comms with a standard NATO plug so I could use a standard PTT and I will be buying a set of comtacs for use with a helmet soon.

[Musica]

  On 08/08/2019 at 12:45, DopeYourScope said:

 

I got my Racals from JCI comms with a standard NATO plug so I could use a standard PTT 

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JCI sell the racals as well as wiring them? I was thinking I would need to get them to wire me a PTT to accept the lemo connector in to the kenwood for the baofeng.  Might be worth me just getting all the kit of them minus the radio

[ImTriggerHappy]

  On 08/08/2019 at 13:53, Musica said:

 

JCI sell the racals as well as wiring them? I was thinking I would need to get them to wire me a PTT to accept the lemo connector in to the kenwood for the baofeng.  Might be worth me just getting all the kit of them minus the radio

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Pm me and I will discuss with you, he is a mate.

[DopeYourScope]

  On 08/08/2019 at 13:53, Musica said:

 

JCI sell the racals as well as wiring them? I was thinking I would need to get them to wire me a PTT to accept the lemo connector in to the kenwood for the baofeng.  Might be worth me just getting all the kit of them minus the radio

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I discussed it with Jon (JCI) and he advised that if I got him to rewire the headset I would be able to use other headsets with the same PTT whereas I would be limited if I kept them Lemo wired.

[Lasbrisas17]

Don't get ztactical, they are shit and I don't think they are the best for blocking out loud noises, earmors are also kinda bleh (not much better). I've heard the TMC RAC's are good but I got a real peltor XPI /w boom mic and its the most comfortable and has great sound reproduction/amplification. You can get a kenwood PTT to work on baofeng radios but also you can get PTTs for pretty much any radio. It's very expensive, if you buy new it probably all together will be around £500 but you get warranty, they will survive anything you throw at it in airsoft and they block out loud noises and reproduces sounds naturally unlike earmore and ztactical that have a really strange and unuseable sound reproduction, might as well play without them turned on. You can find used peltors for around £200 on facebook. Not to mention you can get gel cup upgrades to make the headset so comfortable that you forget your wearing them.

 

Honestly, don't waste money on ztactical or earmors, you'd wish you would have saved money and got something better. Besides, this is something you'll use probably everygame and hearing is very useful in airsoft lol.

 

 

[Lollingsgrad]

  On 08/08/2019 at 12:45, DopeYourScope said:

For those considering Racal Frontiers, I use mine with Surefire EP.4s they stick out from your ear slightly however when the noise cancelling kicks in you know you’re safe had mk5s go off at my feet whilst crouched with no issues. They comfortable enough to wear all day long but make sure you get the correct size buds. 

To answer the question yes they can be used with ‘normal’ ear phone tips however you will have less protection as they don’t fully “plug” your ear canal and they may not hold them self in correctly. 

I got my Racals from JCI comms with a standard NATO plug so I could use a standard PTT and I will be buying a set of comtacs for use with a helmet soon.

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I'm actually looking for an in ear solution now; this looks good but I don't know if I can use them. Can they be plugged into Baofengs? Also I don't understand how you're wearing these and EP4s at the same time?