In February I wrote about a new custom fitted, electronic hearing protection device called Wild Ear. The uniqueness of this device is that they are custom molded to your ear and offer hearing amplification. This is great on the range when under the control of a trainer or range officer but its also great when hunting. This is particularly true if you suffer from old ears that have been exposed to too much gunfire.
I’ve logged a lot of hours with the Wild Ears in my ears, but as I mentioned in February, I’ve never owned a set of electronic hearing protection that I did not manage to break. Well, I broke my Wild Ears. The strange thing is I have no idea how it happened.
If you’ll notice in the picture there is a small activation switch on each ear piece. (The two smaller buttons control the volume.) When I arrive in Nebraska at Hornady to do some test shooting back in March I took out my Wild Ears and noticed the activation lever was missing. Somehow I had broken it off or I was sabotaged by the TSA. I betting on the former but would not be surprised of the latter.
At any rate, I contacted Wild Ear and shipped them off for repair. In about a week they were back and good as new. No charge, no questions asked. I did suggest they look at a more robust switch but this might preclude easy activation. Still, I have no idea how the damage occurred. It could have been from normal use or I could have just been treating them like I do my guns – hammer rough.
Everything is prone to breakage but my Wild Ear experience so far would not deter me from recommending them. I won’t go to the range or hunting without them. (They make you feel like you have bionic ears!) They work exceptionally well and warranty service like that is rare these days. Kudos to Wild Ear for standing behind their product!
