Reviews - Pro-Ears Ultra Passive 33 Shooting Hearing Protection Headsets PE-33 Reviews - RO-HP-FDAABC-PE-33-U-B-Black

Author: Daniel (verified customer) from Prairieville, Louisiana on Aug 28, 2009
Pros:  Good Noise Reduction
Cons:  A Little Bulky
Would recommend:  yes

Daniel wrote:

Overall I like the headset. It provides very good noise reduction inside the pistol range but the size is a problem for shooting long guns.

Author: 4thetruth from NH on Jul 16, 2009
Pros:  Comfortable, Quality, Very Good NRR
Cons:  A Little Pricey, headband too large for tight fitting wide brimmed hats
Would recommend:  yes

4thetruth wrote:

Very nice product but please read on for some tips. 1) You have to realize that you are foolish not to have hearing protection of the highest quality on all the time the minute you step outside of your car on the range. I have seen guys wearing junk on the range (with a NRR <20) or because they were 50ft from the noise source they wore nothing and thought they were ok--WRONG! One impulsive noise from a firearm at only 140db (all major caliber firearms are much louder than this even at 5 ft distance) creates as much hearing loss exposure as 1 week in a noisy factory! 2) I have read a number of academic articles on hearing protection and there are really no good studies on whether a certain NRR protects you from impulsive noises for long term exposure--even the NRR of 33 on these Pro-Ears. So to be extra cautious I wear 28NRR+ ear plugs in ADDITION to these pro ears when near noise sources (less than a couple hundred feet--ie all the time at the range). For all major rifle calibers the best recommendations from experts is to wear BOTH ear plugs and ear headsets in combination. If you wear a combination of ear plugs and over the ear hearing protection then you really do not need headsets with a NRR above the mid 20's because bone conduction of the skull puts a limit on the noise reduction that can be achieved through the ear canal sealing. (You can never reduce noise exposure to 0 because of this fact.) However, the NRR of 33 provides extra insurance and the option to wear without ear plugs. 3) A properly fitted and high quality set of ear plugs (28+ NRR) by themselves can approach the protection given by these Pro Ears for cheap but beware that the lab NRR of ear plugs in the real world varies greatly due to improper or variations in fit; in other words what is your hearing worth! 4) Some other products with an NRR that is lower may exceed the performance of these 33 NRR rated headsets IN SOME AREAS of the frequency spectrum. This was especially true in the lower frequencies. The NRR by specific frequency can be checked on the manuf. website or box. The headband is really too large for tight fitting wide brimmed hats but most of this design are. Be safe.

Author: lhwahl (verified customer) from western Michigan on Mar 11, 2009
Would recommend:  yes

lhwahl wrote:

Comfortable and effective at least in cold weather. Haven't tried in hot weather,but I suspect sweating will be a problem in summer during which I'll use foam plugs. Also,they're quite bulky, which I'm willing to live with for the degree of protection offered.