I was always been torn with wearing hearing protection while guiding waterfowl and yes the indecision seems really silly now.. Waterfowl hunting is a very social sport and being part of conversations in the field has always been my first choice. After guiding hunting for 23 years my hearing has left me and now that I’m in my 40’s I’m a full time hearing aids guy now…
The sharp high pitch sound of a short reed goose call and the bark of a shotgun rings in my ears 24/7 365. The condition the audiologists say I have is called Tinnitus, it’s a ringing / hissing noise in my ears that never goes away, it’s something I wouldn’t wish on anyone. Annoying.
My only option at this point was to find a product on the market that acted like a hearing aids but also reduces the loud damaging noises in my environment. I know what you’re thinking – I won’t be able to hear the tone of my goose call or even how my hail call sounds when it’s that deathly quite first light time. You don’t need to be worried any of this, the hunting amplifiers / suppressors only cut x percent out leaving you with some sound so you can still hear the tones.. They do not deaden the sound.
The company I ended up going with was WildEar Hearing Boosters, check them out at http://wildear.com/ Zach Meyer zach.meyer@wildear.com is the contact guy for WildEars. After wearing them for a season and feeling horribly stupid that I didn’t purchase them sooner the entire Birdtail staff now wears them so the don’t end up like me, deaf annoying guy. “Say what?”
Solid product and great company.. Your hearing is not as tough you are.
This video is a review of WildEars Hearing Boosters by Paul Conchatre of Birdtail Waterfowl, Manitoba Canada.
