OTTO Engineering NoizeBarrier Micro, Black, V4-11029

First, let me say I am NOT a professional shooter. I'm just an average Joe who likes to shoot clays in my backyard. I've tried several different electronic earmuffs and while they work great at protecting my hearing and amplifying ambient sounds, they interfere with getting a good cheek weld on my shotgun. So I decided to try electronic in-ear hearing protectors. The OTTOs looked nice and got good reviews, but the price was a little more than I could justify, so I went with another brand that was heavily marketed on social media. I received them, tried them out, and wasn't very impressed with the sound quality. The wind noise was terrible and, when one of them completely stopped working after only the second use, I returned them. After watching countless YouTube videos and reading every review I could find (all of which said the OTTO ear plugs are worth the price), I bought some. These things are nothing short of AMAZING! The difference between the OTTOs and the cheaper (but still not cheap) brand is night and day. Sound quality is amazing. On the low setting, I feel like I'm not even wearing earplugs. I can communicate normally with those around me, and the sound is totally natural. IMO, there is not even a need for the high setting. It's like having bionic hearing, yet it still works fine in the wind. I shot a couple of hundred clays and when I put them back in the charging case, the digital readout showed they were still at 90% charge. So I'm not at all worried that they won't make it through a day of shooting. I do wish they came with better foam earplugs. The included ones work fine and offer good protection, but the Comply foam plugs are a great upgrade in fit and comfort. It would be nice if those were standard. Not a big deal, though. Just buy the Comply ones when the originals are ready for replacement. All said, I couldn't be happier with my purchase. These things are absolutely a worthwhile investment.

I've been a professional shooter since 1986...military spec ops and both local and federal law enforcement. I now run my own shooting school where I shoot indoors and outdoors. I researched like crazy to find the best in-ear hearing protection and landed on the OTTO Engineering NoizeBarriers. Outdoors is where these shine folks, they will handle everything in that environment you can throw at them. The thing I love the most is I forget they are even in my ears; they are that comfortable! I can wear whatever hat or headgear I want, and nothing gets in the way. Indoor shooting ranges are a mixed bag though. To tell you the truth, I have two pair of high-end hearing pro that professionals wear and they struggle indoors as well at times. I didn't expect these to be able to handle indoor shooting at all, but they did just fine if it was just me and a buddy shooting or if I only had 4 or so students and I could stand about 10' behind them. But, when I had more students I had to push back about 20' or more to even be tolerable noise reduction levels. So I set these to the low amplification, threw on my over the ear muffs on top of these and BAM! Perfecto combination. With them doubled up I had very good amplification and perfect noise reduction. People comment about these not being updated over the years and they don't have some of the "bling" that other in-ear devices have...such as bluetooth connection or multiple levels of amplification. These have 2 levels...low and high. The low should be called "normal" because it amplifies to a normal hearing level and makes it seem like you aren't wearing hearing protection at all. This is where I run this pretty much all the time. High is like the high end of a good pair of hearing protection. A bit too high for me for "normal" shooting on the range; I don't need to hear every pebble move as I walk. I could see the High setting great for hunters sitting in a blind or even home protection when you are barricaded and waiting for law enforcement to arrive....you will hear everything in your home! If you shoot a lot, especially outdoors, these are an amazing investment in a quality in-ear hearing pro. The build quality, reliability, and track record of these stand out ahead of all the rest on the market for a reason....they didn't change what works for a trade-off for bling you don't need when shooting.

I shoot a LOT and over the years have tried all kinds of protection. Electronic ear muffs, electronic in the ear noise blue tooth capable- recargeable hearing protection and plain old semi soft ear plugs that live on a plastic ring that fits around my neck. They all have issues. These do not. When I bought this set I ordered a couple of sizes of the black foam moldable pieces that slip onto the tube that goes in the ear. Did not like them because my ears were sore by the end of the day, save your money. I finally woke up and used the flange type that come with these and loved them. They are comfortable and easy to use. I put these in at 8am and take them out at 8pm after a full day of shooting chucks. Besides providing solid noise cancellation they have two levels of sound amplification so that I can hear my hunting partners talk or chucks chirping in the rocks. They recharge overnight when placed back into the carrying case and that case is capable of 20 recharges. I called the company, in Indiana if I recall, to ask about the batteries if they should fail. They don't warranty those but urged me to contact them and send them in. I had the feeling that there was a wink at the other end that assured me they would fix them. These are a bit pricey but as they say, buy once - cry once.