I know a lot of people that really like the hearing protection provided by Walker’s. If you like in ear protection, the company just announced a new product that might interest you.

Called the Silencer Ear Buds, these new in ear plugs use a digital signal processor for sound compression to diminish the harmful effects of loud noises like gunfire. In my experience, compression does a significantly better job at maintaining a natural ability to hear conversations while shooting than other systems that simply cut out the amplification circuit. I’d describe it as being more of an analog feel than a digital feel.

The Silencer Ear Buds are completely independent of each other: there are no straps, wires or other attachments to require a link the left and right. This means less chance of them becoming ensnared on some bit of gear. However, there is a lanyard that can be attached to help keep the buds together. How you choose to run them is up to you. Each bud has an omnidirectional mic and its own volume control.

Walker’s includes three sizes of contoured fins and foam with each set of ear buds. This allows the shooter to best fit the plugs to his or her own ear size.

According to the company, a set of #10 batteries will power the ear buds for 80 hours. For most folks, that will cover a lot of range time or time sitting in a tree stand.

The suggested retail price on these is $199. A carrying case is included with the Silencer Ear Buds. An official NRR (noise reduction rating) has not yet been provided. While I have no way of knowing what the NRR will be, checking the company’s other ear bud style hearing protection, the Razor X, I see that it has a NRR of 31 dB.