Hearing protection

Good hearing protection is essential for anyone who regularly visits the shooting range or takes part in shooting training. Every shot produces a noise level that can be harmful to your hearing. As hearing damage is often permanent, high-quality hearing protection is not a luxury, but an essential part of safe shooting equipment.

Go straight to the relevant information:
• Why is good hearing protection important?
• What is active hearing protection?
• Why do sport shooters choose active hearing protection?
• Earmor hearing protection
• Professional use
• What should you look out for when buying hearing protection?
• Frequently asked questions about hearing protection

In this category, you’ll find active hearing protection from Earmor, available in Black, Coyote and Foliage Green. These electronic ear defenders combine a comfortable fit with modern technology that attenuates loud, sudden noises, whilst allowing important ambient sounds to remain audible.

Although active hearing protection is widely used in shooting sports, an increasing number of airsoft players are also opting for this type of hearing protection because of its comfort, the ability to still hear ambient sounds, and the fact that it adds a realistic touch to a tactical loadout.

Why is good hearing protection important?

Your hearing is exposed to all sorts of sounds every day, but loud, sudden noises such as gunshots can cause permanent damage in just a fraction of a second. Unlike many other physical ailments, damaged hearing usually does not recover.

That is precisely why it is wise to wear proper hearing protection during every shooting session or visit to the shooting range.

For many sport shooters, active hearing protection has now become the norm. Not only because of the protection it offers, but also because it allows them to communicate without having to remove their hearing protection.

Hearing protection can form part of a complete communications setup, particularly when combined with a two-way radio, Push-to-Talk (PTT) and a tactical headset. Would you like to find out more about how these systems work together? Then take a look at our Tactical Communications & Headsets category.

What is active hearing protection?

Many people talk about ‘noise cancelling’, but when it comes to hearing protection, that isn’t actually the correct term.

Active hearing protection works differently from traditional noise-cancelling technology. Rather than filtering out all ambient noise, the electronics distinguish between safe and harmful sounds.

Soft sounds, such as conversations, instructions or ambient noise, remain audible and are even slightly amplified on some models. As soon as a loud, sudden noise, such as a gunshot, is detected, the electronics react immediately by attenuating the sound to a safe level.

This means you benefit from two key advantages:

• Optimal protection for your hearing.
• Maintaining situational awareness and communication.

It is precisely this combination that makes active hearing protection popular amongst sport shooters, instructors, hunters and professionals who wish to remain fully aware of their surroundings without compromising on the protection of their hearing.

Why do sport shooters choose active hearing protection?

During shooting practice, it is important to be able to hear instructions clearly and to keep in touch with other shooters. With traditional passive hearing protection, all sound is muffled, which often makes it harder to follow conversations.

With active hearing protection, normal conversations and ambient sounds remain audible, whilst loud gunshots are automatically suppressed. This means you don’t have to take your hearing protection off every time you want to have a conversation or understand instructions from an instructor.

This also offers benefits for airsoft players. Although airsoft replicas themselves produce relatively little noise, many players opt for active hearing protection because of the comfort, the ability to hear team communication clearly, and the professional look it adds to a complete tactical loadout.

Earmor Hearing Protection

In this category, you’ll find active hearing protection from Earmor. These hearing protectors have been designed for users who want to protect their hearing as effectively as possible without losing touch with their surroundings.

The model in our range is available in three colours:

• Black
• Coyote
• Foliage Green

This makes it easy to tailor your hearing protection to your tactical gear, firearms clothing or personal preference.

Earmor hearing protection combines a comfortable fit with Active Hearing Protection, which instantly dampens loud, sudden noises whilst allowing conversations and other ambient sounds to remain audible. This makes the hearing protector suitable not only for shooting sports, but also for instructors, range officers and users who spend long periods of time at a shooting range.

Professional use

Active hearing protection is used worldwide by military units, the police, security services, instructors and sport shooters. In all these situations, it is important to protect one’s hearing without being completely cut off from the surroundings. Good hearing protection is also essential at indoor shooting ranges, where sound is reflected off walls and ceilings.

It is precisely the ability to continue to hear instructions, warnings or conversations that makes electronic hearing protection a worthwhile investment for anyone who is regularly exposed to loud, sudden noises.

Active hearing protection is also becoming increasingly common in airsoft. Not because the replicas produce the same noise levels as firearms, but because of their high level of comfort, the ability to continue hearing ambient sounds, and the professional look they add to a complete tactical loadout.

What should you look out for when buying hearing protection?

Not all hearing protectors are the same. Which type is best for you depends on how you intend to use them.

Please note, amongst other things:

• Will you opt for passive or active hearing protection?
• Comfort during prolonged use.
• The fit when worn with safety goggles or a tactical helmet.
• The weight of the ear defenders.
• The power supply (batteries or rechargeable batteries).
• The quality of the electronics in active hearing protection.
• Uses: shooting sports, instruction, hunting or airsoft.

By thinking carefully in advance about how you’ll be using it, you can choose a pair of ear protectors that will serve you well for years to come.

Common mistakes

Although hearing protection seems straightforward, the same mistakes are regularly made in practice.

Common mistakes include:

• Only wear ear protection whilst shooting and remove it immediately afterwards.
• Believing that active hearing protection offers less protection than passive hearing protection.
• Do not confuse Active Hearing Protection with traditional noise-cancelling.
• Choosing hearing protection solely on the basis of colour or appearance.
• Failure to take comfort into account during longer training sessions or shooting days.

Frequently asked questions about hearing protection

Why is hearing protection important when practising shooting sports?
Gunshots produce noise levels that can cause permanent hearing damage. Good hearing protection helps to effectively protect your hearing during every shooting session or visit to the shooting range.

What is the difference between passive and active hearing protection?
Passive hearing protection dampens all sounds. Active hearing protection dampens loud, sudden noises, whilst conversations and other ambient sounds remain audible.

Is Active Hearing Protection the same as Noise Cancelling?
No. Active Hearing Protection has been specially developed to instantly dampen harmful impulse noises, whilst preserving important ambient sounds. This differs from traditional noise cancelling, which filters out as much ambient noise as possible.

Is active hearing protection also suitable for airsoft?
Yes. Although airsoft replicas produce relatively little noise, many players opt for active hearing protection because it is comfortable to wear, allows them to hear team communication clearly, and adds a realistic touch to their tactical kit.

What colours are available?
The Earmor hearing protection in this category is available in Black, Coyote and Foliage Green, so you can match your ear defenders to your kit.

With Earmor’s active hearing protection, you can protect your hearing without missing out on important ambient sounds. Discover our range of electronic hearing protection and choose a comfortable solution for shooting sports, training sessions or to complement your tactical kit.