EHP Hearing Protectors

Max Michel wearing his new EHP Hearing Protectors.

A week or so ago I saw a press release saying that Max Michel had signed on as the first Pro Staff shooter for EHP Hearing protectors. For those of you unfamiliar with Max and his shooting, at the present he is just about unbeatable in IPSC and Steel Challenge, shooting at speeds most of us can only dream about. Max just recently joined SIG to head up their competition efforts, and he is already winning with the SIG's. For Max to endorse a new hearing protector, it would have to be pretty good.

For the last couple of years I have been using the Pro Ears Dimension Plus hearing protectors, and although there are things I'd like to see improved, they are, at least in my opinion, the best you can buy. Seeing how many of the top shooters also use the Pro Ears protectors tells me they really are very good.

Last year I was talking to one of the guys from Pro Ears about developing a frequency filtering circuitry that would allow you to tune the hearing protectors to amplify the frequency signature of a bullet hitting steel, while blocking the muzzle blast, possibly through some sort of slot filters and/or digital signal processing. They seemed to think it was an interesting concept, but didn't seem much interested beyond that.

Reading through the press releases on the new EHP hearing protectors, it sounds like they were listening in on my conversation! The Top models of the EHP protectors have four microphones and are tunable for frequency amplification and blocking. Digital signal processing is used! YAY!

As we age (koff Koff) we tend to lose our upper frequency hearing, and apparently more so for men than for women. I think KeeWee can hear bats, whales, and possibly radar, and I can't hear any of it. On the other hand, at night I can hear the engines and propellers of the freighters out in Puget sound as they pass, and KeeWee can't hear a thing. I can even hear the ultra low frequency submarine communications. So, KeeWee can hear high frequencies and can't hear low frequencies. I can hear low frequencies and can't hear high frequencies. She has a high voice, and I have a low voice. No wonder we don't hear each other sometimes!

Anyhow, back to the hearing protectors. I contacted the EHP company, and a set of EHP hearing protectors are on the way for testing, evaluation, and review. I sent the company a "Shooting Resume" of the matches I've shot over the last year and how I finished, and if all works out as planned, I may Start representing the company in my territory and perhaps become "Pro Staff" (Well, more likely Semi-Pro Staff!) for them . If all goes REALLY well I may even start representing them for Europe. Would that be cool? I thought so!

All of this depends on how well the hearing protectors work. I absolutely will not endorse a product unless it is exactly as it represents itself to be, and it's a company that stands solidly behind it with good warranty and customer support. From my telephone conversations with the head of the company, it looks like these guys are the real deal. Another thing in their favor is that the hearing protectors are made here in the USA.

Keep your fingers crossed, this could be a lot of fun!