Smaller, Lighter Hearing Protection Devices Catching on with Hunters and Law Enforcement Officials
OutdoorHub 07.07.14
As with other forms of wearable technology, Etymotic’s electronic earplugs are rapidly gaining popularity with gun sport enthusiasts and law enforcement professionals. These tiny marvels resist movement from a firearm’s recoil, and provide comfort on the run, which are proving to be compelling attributes. Outdoor Life Magazine raves, “Get a pair of these in-ear noise-canceling earplugs and watch hearing acuity improve. The tiny units amplify sound up to five times but they switch to noise-canceling units when a blast occurs. And they are much more natural looking than either oversized muffs or those orange foam plugs.”
Adding electronic hearing protection to one’s arsenal isn’t new, and hunters, marksmen and armed first responders have long been using static plugs and over-the-ear style hearing protectors. However, an inability to communicate while wearing some of these products, and, in the case of bulky headphone-style muffs, their instability on the head, is clearly an impediment. Consequently, Etymotic’s in- ear electronic earplugs have distinct advantages.
Properly sealed in the ear, electronic earplugs don’t move around. They’re lighter, smaller and discreet and certainly blend in better with a uniform. More importantly, their ability to pass through normal sound automatically or amplify for better situational awareness, as well as protect against continuous loud noise and blasts make Etymotic’s EB-LE for law enforcement professionals and GunSport-PRO electronic earplugs for hunters and sport shooters a particularly good choice. At $399 per pair, the two products are marketed separately but share specifications and are available at etymotic.com.
