This is going out mainly to you old farts that have lost your hearing, but I’m thinking that some of you younger guys have shot at so many chukars you have blown your ears.
I didn’t think I was having any hearing problems until today. I took Barbara up on the mountain with Grady and me. We had just started hiking, and she mentioned hearing chukars on the other side of the canyon. I didn’t hear a thing. Twice more, before we split up, she mentioned hearing chukars. I didn’t. We met up later at the truck, and she said she heard them a lot. I didn’t.
I know I have a little trouble with directional hearing, but I thought I was still hearing sounds from outdoors quite well. After thinking it over, I realized I hadn’t heard many chukars this year. So I’m hoping that some of you have dealt with this problem and have the solution.
Way back, at least 15 years ago, I tried one of those hearing enhancement aids that fit over my ear with a sponge-like thing that went into my ear. I tried it for turkey hunting. It really helped hearing turkeys way off, plus everything else. I could hear sparrows talking and many other unwanted sounds. The worst thing about them was that I couldn’t walk with them in my ear. All I could hear was my heavy breathing as I walked. I soon gave them to a friend who did a lot of stand hunting. He loved them.
So my question is, do any of you have the same problem? I don’t think my hearing is bad. I hear music, the t.v., others talking, and my wife calling me to dinner. I must admit that there are often times when I don’t hear her well. But that’s another issue. I just don’t want to be missing something if there is a simple solution.
What say you?
The Reigning Chukar Champions 
For me 40 years of heavy construction no hearing protection used and 50 years of heavy shotgunning no hearing protection used , there is no doubt I have impaired hearing
it would be hard for you to be in your mid 70’s without some kind of hearing impairment. Almost impossible.
as far as chukar go , I don’t give a darn if I hear them or not , I don’t chase them, my dogs hunt them. Years ago I used to head up where I could hear them and they’d not be found , then I’d leave and they’d start calling again!😂😂 . I’ve had phenomenal days of dog work and shooting without hearing them . Good dogs will locate them , as you well know , whethrr they are noisy or not!
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Boy howdy. If it weren’t for my dogs, I’d never find birds. In fact, I’d never see a lot of the animals I do see. Because I’m getting more clumsy as I age, my eyes are usually looking at the ground to make sure I don’t trip over something. I’ll look at Grady, and he’s looking off in the distance at a deer or coyote or some other wildlife I wouldn’t have seen. And at times, he’s tuning in on the sound of chukars. I listen hard and finally hear them.
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My strong advice is to go to an audiologist and have a good hearing test to find out which frequencies you have developed loss. There are all kinds of “cheap” hearing aids on the market. they are simply amplifiers and are not set up to enhance the problem areas in each ear.
I’ve worn hearing aids for the last 30 years. I noticed that often when birds flushed, I couldn’t hear the wingbeats which made me figure there were birds flushing I never saw. Then one day I watched a rattlesnake from about six feet shaking its tail and couldn’t hear a thing. That got my attention.
The importance of an audiologist hearing test is that you probably have more loss in probably your left ear due to shooting right handed. Left hand shooters would be right ear. The audiologist would program both devices so there is BALANCED adjustment and or improvement.
The aids which I used for years were set up to fit my ear canals and greatly helped but had one bad problem when chukar hunting. Wind created a such a loud noise I couldn’t hear birds flushing. A few years ago I went to COSTCO, had hearing tests and bought new ones. They were economical ($1,600), I’ve had great service and would recommend them as a starting point.
Hearing gobblers and hens in the spring is very important to me. The hearing aids are essential for me, but when someone else is along with “normal” ears, they always hear birds I can’t.
Don’t put it off!!! Get the test done and wear the hearing aids a lot. It takes the brain a while to adjust to sounds you have not heard for years.
CLIFF
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Cliff, you’re right on. I shoot left-handed because of my left eye dominance. And I know I hear less with my right ear, which may explain why I have a problem with directional hearing.
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I bought a Walker’s game ear to help with spring gobblers. I could definitely hear better but had a real problem with the direction. At a local sports show Paul Walker listened to my issues and explained I had created a more severe imbalance by using his game ear. Hearing aids that are properly tuned for each ear make a big difference in directional hearing.
As for not hearing what your wife says, I speculate that’s a genetic and gender thing. If a husband walks out of a room and his spouse starts talking as we go out the door, its expected we heard everything. When Barb is rattling pots and pans at the sink with her back turned to you, with the TV on, a fan running, clothes washer and/or dryer running, dogs barking, roadside vehicle noise, etc. it is expected that you hear and comprehend every word she uttered. Hearing aids can’t solve this problem.
CLIFF
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The Walker game ear was the one I tried many years ago. Sounds like you know my wife well.
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I’m lucky that my hearing is still good and I think that’s because, more than 10 years ago, I bought custom-fit, in-ear hearing protectors that amplify enough to undo the effect of wearing them. At some volume, the amplification cuts out and the mass of the unit dampens the noise. (I can hear when they do this and learned there are a lot of noises that are louder than is good for your hearing. Like, picking something totally at random, two dogs that bark like crazy when the truck stops.) Basically, they’re old-fashioned hearing aids with circuitry to cut off the amplification. Every couple of years, I send them in for a maintenance (basically cleaning out the ear wax). They use disposable, but cheap batteries. The company I bought from shifted that part of their business to https://defensehearing.com who did a good job on the last cleaning. These are *not* cheap—a few grand.
I recently tried an “XCor” unit from Axil. They were not as comfortable, but not as bad as I expected. Sound isn’t as good and they make a hissing noise that apparently try doesn’t bother some people but which bugged me. Wind noise was my dealbreaker. Their mic is outside the ear so it picks up wind a lot. Also avoid their “Pro” model unless you plan on carrying your phone. When the paired phone is out of range, the unit beeps in your ear every few minutes, which drove me crazy. They have a trial period and they honored that with no hassle.
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Thanks Ben.
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