By: The Grit Staff
Our crew at The Grit is solidly in the ‘old enough to know better, still too young to care’ age bracket. Midlife is a funny balance between the safe and the cavalier, the sensible and the dynamic. However, our attitudes about hearing protection have trended strongly toward safe and sensible.
In our younger days, forgotten earplugs wouldn’t stop us from popping off a few dozen rounds of .223s (back when ammo was cheap) or even partaking in a duck blind session. Now, vexing tinnitus and mild hearing loss have us wondering if those days were worth the price.
Of course, you don’t have to be turning grey to appreciate the fact that good hearing protection allows us to enjoy hunting and shooting sports, while safeguarding a quality of life that we want down the road. Nor do you have to be old to experience hearing loss. Plenty of young shooters experience the challenges of hearing loss in their daily lives.
A few years back, we set out on a mission to find the best hearing protection for upland hunting. Even more so than other disciplines, upland wingshooting brings high demands for hearing protection performance. Not only do you want your plugs to muffle a volley of shotgun blasts on the covey rise, you also want to hear the covey rise in the first place.
Historically, electronic hearing protection was the only way to achieve this feat. The same technologies that make hearing aids work function in electronic pro. They cut out loud sounds, but let through or even amplify quiet sounds. At least, that’s how the marketing hype goes.
We have toyed around with several electronic models ranging widely in price, but we found they too had limitations. The amplifying technology could be annoying for those of us that still have decent hearing, especially when they heighten wind, grass and snow crunching, and other ambient noise. Some are certainly better than others, but we found ourselves looking for non- electronic alternatives.
So what’s wrong with good old-fashioned foam safety plugs? Nothing, assuming you don’t mind that they cause uncomfortable pressure, are a pain to fit properly, and muffle absolutely everything. Foam plug ARE cheap however, and accessibility is important when it comes to encouraging more wingshooters to adopt hearing protection. Wouldn’t it be great if there was something in between? Something far better than 25 cent foam and 2000.00 custom hearing devices? Well there is.
Marc Mussellman and the team at Alclair made their name making in-ear monitors for some of your favorite musicians, but they have applied the same passion to their line of hearing protection for hunting and shooting. The flagship EXP Pro electronic plugs are setting the standard, but Alclair also makes the static Impact Defense plugs. Always on the hunt for an underdog, The Grit tested the Impact Defense earplugs to see if they are our holy grail of hearing protection for upland hunting.
The Impact Defense plugs feature a molded silicone body that provides a dramatically superior fit to your old foam plugs. Your local audiologist takes custom hearing impressions for a nominal fee. Pop them into a box and off to Marc and his team, then pick your custom plug color or colors. We found this process to be surprisingly simple, and the turn-around time was exceptional given that each pair is custom made for the wearer.
The Impact Defense is made in multiple options, including no filter, 9db filter, and 12db filter. If you choose a filter like we did, your custom plugs will be mounted with small black discs that contain a valve. How exactly these work is proprietary, but they are simple little devices-in a good way. No batteries to change, no controls to adjust. So how well do they work?
We put the Impact Defense through the paces on summer 5-stand and sporting clays courses. Hands down, these are the most comfortable hearing protection we have experienced. Rangeside conversations were relaxed, and we had no difficulty hearing each other talk. Ambient noise is slightly subdued, but we felt that most sounds were easy to hear with the plugs in. We have no concerns about hearing a ruffed grouse or pheasant flush, although fainter noises like chukar talking might be difficult to pick up.
When it came to keeping our hearing safe, the Impact Defense did a good job of muffling gunshots. Even when standing next to uber clays bros with ported 12 gauges, we didn’t experience the ‘flinch factor’ or the ringing that comes after using inadequate suppression. That said, we think doubling up with muffs would be prudent for true high volume shooting.
The silicone material of the Impact Defense slips easily into place, but hugs the contours of the ear perfectly. The ample sound channel is large and easy to clean (a flaw we’ve seen in some of the competition) and one plug is marked with a red dot to differentiate right from left.
While many custom-fit earplugs come with a lanyard, we don’t mind that the Impact Defense plugs do not. That’s because lanyards create a lot of transferred noise as they shift around and rub against your clothes. The plugs do come in a nice zippered case and include cleaning supplies.
At only 150.00 for the plugs with the most expensive filter, the Impact Defense are an excellent option for folks who want to invest in good hearing protection, but either don’t like the cost or the aforementioned drawbacks of electronic plugs. While no hearing protection will ever be perfect, we think the Impact Defense plugs represent a Goldilocks option that is a good fit for the needs
of most bird hunters.
*The Grit was supplied with testing samples, but was not otherwise compensated for this
review.
