Video Transcript
If you're looking for a good set of in-ear hearing protection, our favorite right now on the market is the Otto NoizeBarrier Micro's. So, if you're not sure if you need in-ear hearing protection, then you probably don't need them. But they are very, very comfortable in comparison to headphones for some people. Now, in-ear hearing protection is not as good as over-the-ear hearing protection, and that is because noise actually penetrates into your eardrums from various holes in your face. So, around your ears is another way that sounds and impulse noises can penetrate into your eardrums that cause hearing damage. So, obviously, over-the-ear ear protection just protects your ears a little bit better. But also, your eyes, your nose, your mouth, and your eye sockets. Basically, all of this soft tissue around your skull allows noise to get into your brain, into your eardrums, and can cause concussions. They can cause hearing loss and all sorts of things. So, in-ear hearing protection definitely does have a place, but just note that it's not as good as over-the-ear hearing protection because those headphones compress onto your ears, and they cover a lot more of that soft, bony tissue that's around your ears that will help prevent hearing loss and then things like concussions.
So, with that being said, who are in-ear hearing protection for? So, if you're on the range shooting just a lot of pistol, you know, you're doing a lot of USPSA style shooting, for example, in-ear hearing protection is going to be great for you. You really only need over-the-ear hearing protection if you're going to be shooting rifles a lot, specifically like short barrel rifles or just AR-15s in general. Or if you're shooting indoors, especially, these are definitely not for people who are doing anything indoors. These are really just an outdoor solution for people shooting pistols or for shooting things like bolt guns or long precision guns that are, you know, suppressed. And even bolt guns that aren't suppressed because, you know, you're not shooting a ton, it's a bolt gun. So, basically, to summarize, in-ear hearing protection is great for people that shoot pistols, people that shoot long guns and bolt guns, and also people who compete in the tactical game. So, if you're someone who competes the tactical games, obviously, something over the ear is going to be a little bit more hot, a little bit more uncomfortable comparatively to something that's just in-ear protection. That's actually what I have these for. These are my backup. I still prefer over-the-ear hearing protection, but these are a great solution for competing in The Tactical Games as well.
So, before we get into the box of the NoizeBarrier Micro's, I just want to go over some of the noise reduction ratings that these advertise. So, if you look at these, just go ahead and check out the product page for all of the exact numbers. You're going to notice much higher numbers comparatively to over-the-ear hearing protection. And I'm just going to say, just going to advise you guys to ignore those numbers because of all of this information that I already talked about earlier. So, in-ear hearing protection can produce a really, really good seal to prevent in a laboratory less noise from getting to your eardrum. But, like I said, you still have all of these other areas that noise can penetrate, and that is why in-ear hearing protection is not at all recommended for things like indoor shooting, for example. So, all that to say, take these numbers with a grain of salt. They don't actually mean better ear protection comparatively to over-the-ear hearing protection.
Going through the actual product itself, finally, it's going to come with a package quite like this. It's going to, a box is going to slide out of the sleeve, and then inside the box is going to be all of the goodies. So, once you open the box, you're going to notice the actual hearing protection here, and it's going to come in a case like this. I'll go through that in just one second. But also, what's in the box is you're going to have your user manual. You're going to have your charging cable for the box itself, and then you're going to have some additional flanges and a little brush for cleaning. Ttself is actually the power supply and how you charge the actual in-ear hearing protection devices. So, when you open the box, you're going to notice first an LED screen that's going to light up, and there's going to be three numbers on it. There's going to be a number that represents the charge of each hearing protection device, so left and right. You're going to notice a percentage for each, and then at the top right corner of the LED screen is going to be a smaller percentage number, and that is going to be the charge of the overall case itself. So, if you need to charge this, it's micro USB.
You just plug it in, plug it into your phone charger or something like that. Charge the case up, and you're good to go. Now, I will say I've had a set of these for almost two years now, and I've charged the case once. I don't use them all that often, but I will say that these last a very, very long time. You probably charge them if you use them on a weekly basis once every two to three months at the most.
So, what comes in the case are going to be, obviously, your hearing protection in-ear pieces. So, these come with both flange tips and also the foam tips. The foam tips are going to offer much more protection compared to the flange. The downside to the foam is they do wear out, so you will have to get replacements. I want to use them. They can get a little nasty with earwax, and also, these can be a little bit more difficult to insert into your ear. So, when you insert these foam tips into your ear, what you're going to want to do is you're going to want to roll them up, get them nice and tight, so basically flatten them out. You're going to stick your opposite arm over your ear, pull your ear up, place it in there, hold the hearing protection in place, and let the foam expand inside your ear, and that's going to give you the best seal for your hearing protection. Now, I do recommend using the foam only. The flange, in my opinion, is just isn't as good, comparatively, to the foam.
So, once you get these guys in and you're wearing them, they're pretty simple. You just hold the button on each of these for two seconds. It will turn them on. They're going to turn on individually. And then, if you just push the button, you can cycle through the two modes. The two modes, they're actually displayed on the inside of your case, if you ever forget. It's just high mode and low mode. It's basically going to increase or decrease the volume. That's going to be the biggest thing that you notice between the two different settings. If you want more information about the different settings, check out the Owner's Manual and our product page. But all I have to say is that the two settings are basically high and low for low volume, high volume for your ambient noises. Now, you're going to experience a very similar noise or sound as you would with your over-the-hearing protection. So, if you own Peltor's or Otto's or something else, when you put your headphones on, you have that noise come on. It sounds like you're not wearing headphones. And that's one of the best benefits to over-the-year headphones.
That is what these do as well. And that's kind of why they're so expensive. It's a lot of technology packed into such a small package. So, just understand that the price point is because you're getting that electronic feature in a very, very small package, basically. So, just please understand that.
The last thing to note with what comes in the case is this little maintenance kit. So, in this maintenance kit is a couple really, really small parts. So, just be careful when you open this. They are actually filters for the hearing protection itself. So, if they get clogged up with wax, you start to notice your sound is a little weird and it's not really capturing some of that ambient noise like you like. You may just want to check to make sure there's not a ton of earwax in there. And then also, what's in here is a little tool to replace that filter. So, it's just this little metal guy. You just thread it in there, pull out the filter. And then one of the three little filters that come in here should be three, maybe two.
Yeah, three. They are very, very tiny. So, just be careful. Like I said, we'll get some b-roll of these, but they are itty bitty. So, just make sure, like I said, you're careful when you open these. Now, I will say, like I said, I haven't used mine a ton. I used them exclusively for a while while I was testing these. I never had to clean them or anything like that. So, this is probably something you're never going to use. And I've actually never heard of anyone actually needing these, but it's here just in case.
All right, there you have it, guys. These are the Otto NoizeBarrier Micro Headphones. These are extremely, extremely common. If you guys ever want to look for outside reviews, aside from T.REX, there's plenty of them out there. These are actually the best-selling piece of equipment from Otto. And I think that says a lot because Otto makes some really, really good equipment. So, if you're looking for any or hearing protection that's electronic, it's going to offer good protection. You can buy with confidence with these. They are very, very popular and well-known at this point. So, if you guys have any questions regarding these hearing protection devices, you know, any of the others that we sell on the website, you know, really anything at all, just go ahead and shoot us an email at [email protected].