Electronic earplugs

[DCSigCZ]

I was interested in electronic earplugs for a while, they became necessary when I started shooting rifle because my earmuffs got dislodged when they hit the stock of my rifle.  I know I could use regular old foam earplugs, they work well when I’m shooting by myself, but I was scheduled to take a two day rifle class and I needed to be able to hear the instructor clearly when he spoke without taking my earplugs in & out dozens of times per day. When I started looking at electronic earplugs, I was disappointed they cost so much.  Then I saw a Midway USA email with an affordable pair = $39.  We get what we pay for is an accurate statement.  There are also times when we run across a great value and that was the case for me with these electronic earplugs. 
Note 1 - I have no affiliation with Midway USA, I’m simply trying to help out fellow firearms enthusiasts.

Note 2 - What follows is a message I sent to a relative. When I copied and pasted it here, it increased the font size and I can’t figure out how to reduce it using my phone. 

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1020574653 are again on sale for $39. They are rechargeable and advertised as having a 15 hour battery life. I’ve used them for as long as 8 hours and they were still going strong.  I agree with their 3.6 star rating.  To me, that means they are good and work as advertised.  I found it interesting that this pair was rated higher by those who purchased them than by those who purchased most of the other, more expensive electronic earplugs on the Midway site.  They are not fantastic, but those that might be fantastic and rated at 4-5 stars can cost $250-$450.  Again, I am very happy with these.  The best feature of this pair is their very high 29dB noise reduction.  I leave them turned on except when I am around extreme rifle blast like next to a guy with a compensator on his rifle or when shooting between walls at a match.  I turn them off at those times, then turn them back on as soon as that shooting stops.  The 29dB sound reduction rating does its job really well when they are off.  On the other hand, their ability to magnify sound when needed is also good.  The cons about this pair is that my own voice sounds “scratchy” when I talk and once in a while they have a little electronic squeal to them.  To fix the latter, I just take a second to turn them off and then turn them back on again.  In high winds, wind noise is notable, but I haven’t found that to be a problem.  While typing this, I just realized I can look for some small porous foam to put over the outside barrel of the plug to mitigate that if it ever gets to the point that I must.  Bottom line, they are not awesome, but to me they are 80% of awesome and getting that for $39 is absolutely perfect for me.

 

Edited May 10, 2022 by DCSigCZ
Clarified max length of time I’ve had them on.