Modern hearing protection does more than protect your ears from the loud report of gunfire. It also has the ability to enhance your hearing between shots. This means you can not only shoot safely and hear what’s going on around you but also hold a conversation with your buddy or others nearby. For years, we’ve enjoyed this kind of functionality with electronic gun muffs. The only problems included muffs that were too tight on your head, too sweaty because they put a layer of vinyl around your ears, and too obtrusive, especially if you were shooting a rifle and trying to get your head as close to the stock as possible. Then there were electronic earbuds. These were lightweight and eliminated all the aforementioned problems with muffs. But some electronic earbuds didn’t reduce the noise as well as the muffs could. Today, we have a variety of choices in electronic earbud quality and price. And many are so good — with muff-like decibel reduction — that they’re demoting electronic earmuffs to second place on the list of options for hearing protection.

One of my favorite electronic earbuds is the Axil Ghost Stryke Essential Universal Hearing Protection and Enhancement ($139.99). I’ve used this unit a couple times, and I’m ready to say, “Enough with the muffs, already.” Ghost Stryke looks simple and functions simply, but the functions are plentiful. The earbuds are small and comfortable, the lanyard is retractable, and the buttons are easy to understand and use. Pop them in your ears and turn them on, and your hearing is protected from loud reports. And when there are no loud reports, your hearing is enhanced.

Here are the specs from the Axil website with my commentary:

  • 6X Hearing Enhancement for Normal Hearing to Moderate Hearing Loss — The hearing improvement is significant. I have slight hearing loss in one ear, and wearing the Ghost Stryke was a great help just in hearing regular conversation.
  • Autoblocker Hearing Protection™ — This advanced system did a great job of regulating the noise levels that actually reached my ears. Almost immediately after each shot, the audio levels were ramped up to normal so that I was hearing the echo of each shot.
  • Shuts Out Sounds at 85 dB or Louder
  • 30 dB NRR with Foam Tips — These were really comfortable. Couldn’t really tell that much of a difference between these and the silicone tips.
  • 22 dB NRR with Silicone Tips
  • 6.5 Premium Dynamic Speaker — And it sounded great as I listened.
  • 0 Hz-40,000 Hz Sound Spectrum — Translation: Very clear with rich, vivid range of sound.
  • Rechargeable Lithium Battery on Lanyard — One charge lasted well beyond my two-hour range session. And the battery recharged in minutes.
  • 12 Hours Hearing Enhancement & Protection Run Time
  • 120 Hours Standby Time
  • Patented In-Ear Design for All-Day Comfort and Performance
  • ABS, Medical Grade, Non-Allergenic Acrylic Shells — Strong, durable and easy to manipulate.
  • Control Stick for Volume — Responsive and easy to use.

The Ghost Stryke earbuds come with a handy carry case, micro USB charging cable, instruction manual and SecureFIT™ ear tips for more active activities. Once you use them, you too might say, “Enough with the muffs, already.”

More info at: www.goaxil.com