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Was reading on another thread about a hunting elk with hearing loss. Have any of you ever used the walker game ears? I understand in a pack in hunt you leave the extras out, but I have a pair, I got them for shooting, but I have used them on occasion hunting, (initially to keep my ears warm)and they are pretty good. The wind does make noise in them to a point. Just wondering if those would be something a guy could use if he has some hearing loss.
Pure personal preference, of course one could use them but for me they are too bulky esp when you anchor. I've used the small individual ear pieces (probably bass pro knock offs) and was not impressed at all.
Necessity is the mother of invention, you'd be surprised what some people come up w/ to help them in the field. Some ideas are great and you end up w/ an elk or antelope hat, other ideas are off the wall but they work for some or don't work at all but it boosts confidence. If it helps you physically or mentally thats all that matters, and by all means go for it.
The ear muff types are definitely a problem with anchor point, I bought a pair like that for duck hunting but no good for archery. So I use the small type (similar to photo) that looks like a behind the ear hearing aide on my left ear (in the worst shape) when I'm bowhunting. It was about $200 but I used Cabelas points so it was "free". I found the silicone tip more comfortable than the foam thing shown in the photo. Bottom line is it is a big improvement for me, now I can hear leaves crunching that I could not hear before. I now use it when I'm duck hunting also, put a regular plug in my right ear. Wind noise in this type is not as bad as the ear muff types. In a crowded room full of people talking I still have trouble with all the background noise, but that's not what I bought this thing for.
I should probably get a real set of hearing aides at some point, but in the short term this thing really helps me.
When you wear a hearing device like that can you still tell what direction the sound is coming from? Me hearing is getting bad, and I always point in a little different direction than everyone else when we hear a bugle
"When you wear a hearing device like that can you still tell what direction the sound is coming from?"
I was concerned about this also, but it seems with some practice and use I have reasonable directional hearing. But it is not perfect, sometimes I'm off 180 degrees the first time. If the elk is bugling a bunch, and loud enough you can always just pull out the hearing aid.
In any case it sure beats not hearing the bugle at all. And like I said earlier it is the leaves crunching/footsteps that I was really missing before, I had a herd of elk walk up 15 yards behind me a few years ago, before getting one of these things.
I know with the muff type you can definitely hear what direction sound is coming from, and at the gunshot they cut out to muffle the sound, they work very well.
I use Peltor muffs when shooting sporting clays, but never have used them hunting. I did try hearing aids a few years back, but they were a pain in the butt. Always having to pull them out when using the phone, and I never did get used to them being in my ears although I wore them 4 or 5 years. Still got them, and thought about just breaking them out for bowhunting. That's the one thing about them I really enjoyed when I wore them regularly, I never knew there were so many bird sounds at daylight ! Newer technology might make them easier to wear, but they are very expensive and now that I'm retired, that money is not easy to come by.
