Customer Reviews

Pro Ears Ultra 33 Passive Hearing Protection

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

These pro ears work very well at noise suppression. The manufacturer has significantly scrimped on the basic design. The part holding the two ear pieces is made out of thin plastic. It breaks very easily. This renders the unit more or less useless as it can not be worn. They offer to replace the unit for a small shipping charge, but the part is replaced with the same weak piece, which does not last very long. My replacement broke within two weeks. They should have spent a few more pennies on the plastic holding the earpieces.

The Pro Ears Ultra 33 is not worth the money and is poorly made of cheap plastic. The pivot that attaches the ear muffs to the headband broke on one side after about two weeks. Terrible product. Don't waste your money. Zoom in on the picture provided and you will see what I mean.

Purchased two different brands of hearing protection. This brand and the Peltor Optime 105. The plastic piece on the earpiece broke after a couple of weeks. Right now it is halfway attached. I'm waiting for it to break completely. No comparison, the Peltor is much quieter and cost less too.

I've used Pro Ears products for years and have found them to be the highest quality and the electronic models ( I use a Stalker 'Gold') are second to none. Their technology is far more advanced than other electronic models I've seen and I've compared them all. I use my Ultra 33's for indoor shooting and I've had my current set for over 5 years. I just bought another set for my girl friend. The noise protection is awesome, the headband is adjustable and comfortable and the ear seals are 100% more comfortable than the vinyl plastic used by other brands. If I had to give up my Pro Ears, I would probably stop shooting. Also, customer service is top notch. I've have my Stalkers reconditioned for a small fee and they were done quickly and returned to me within a week. I also bought a set of Pro Slims but decided, when I got them, I would rather have another color. I called the plant, got a return number shipped my current set back and they sent me the color I wanted. No questions, no hassles, just took care of me. The Ultra 33 carries a 1 Year Warranty but I know if something were to break, the company would take care of me. Outstanding product, great customer service.

Note: I have posted this same review to the product pages of all the products listed below.

I reviewed the following products, and have listed them in my order of preference:

1. Howard Leight R-03318 Leightning L3 Shooter's Premium Earmuff ([...])
2. Bilsom 1010970 Thunder T3 Earmuff NRR30 ([...])
3. Pro Ears Ultra 33 Passive Hearing Protection ([...])

I put them on and snapped my fingers. 1. was definitely quieter than the others. 2. and 3. were about the same, but 2. had space for larger ears. As such did 3. have the largest dampening number, but that didn't correlate to actual sound dampening.

I have the Pro Ears Ultra 33 and also the slimmer Ultra 26. Unlike other reviewers I don't mind the plastic. What I do mind is that neither model gives me a good seal. The rectangular shape of the seal seems to be the culprit. I do much better with the oval shape of another brand. Also the Ultra 33 is just too bulky for me. The Ultra 26 is a nice slim size but that too does not seal for me. I can't use either in noisy environments. An unfortunate waste of money for me.

I bought a pair from Amazon and like the noise dampening and comfortable fit. However, after two years of light indoor use the plastic yoke broke at the swivel, where it connects to the headband. With a little prodding, the customer service folks sent me a new headband even though I was outside the one-year warranty (exact replacement, value $16), so I'm back in business. I bought these headphones to counter the kids' noise and TV while working on my MBA and they worked great - much better than a $350 pair of noise canceling phones from Sennheiser. I'm thankful for Pro Ears' good customer service, but cautious about giving more than three stars due to the durability issue.

I use these when working with power equipment. Recently I started listening to my MP3 under the muffs when mowing. I wonder what people say when they see the grin on my face. It has completely changed my attitude about noisy power equipment. The music is at a fairly low volume and I can't believe I'm actually working with, for example, an ECHO string trimmer engine a few inches from my head. Exceptional noise suppression with a snug but adjustable, comfy fit.

Purchased a year and a half ago. The headband broke recently where the yoke holding the ear muff connects to it. Emailed customer service about a repair/replacement. The almost instant reply was that even though the warranty had expired, they were shipping a new headband assembly at no charge. Simple to install. Outstanding customer service.

The positive:
1) They work very well. I have used them with hot .357 ammo in a Ruger GP100 and the noise level was much lower than with other hearing protection I have used. 357 ammo is very loud...FYI.
2) The leather is especially nice.
3) Fit and finish is very good.

The negative:
1) They are physically HUGE. Great for handguns...probably will not work well for rifles due to the size. They take up a lot of space in my range bag.
2) I have a large head (7 and 1/2). The top band is sized for a smaller head...not too bad though.

I would recommend these and would buy again. I have high standards, thus the 3 stars. I got exactly what I expected to get.

PS- The vendor I used was great: fast shipping and well packaged.

I fly a Quicksilver ultralight. The engine is positioned just above and behind my head. It is a two cycle engine running at 6250 rpm on takeoff. This motor puts out an ugly, grating sound. I generally cruise at a setting of 4650. In addition I have a 68 inch Powerfin propeller that puts out its own brand of noise. I love flying this airplane but hate the noise. This hot summer I decided to try flying without my helmet which I have reinforced with a lot of soundproofing. I bought some goggles from a motorcycle shop for my eyes. I tested the concept by using some ear muffs I have had for years. They were OK but I wanted better. After no small bit of research I found these 33 db drop ear muffs. As far as I can tell they are the best sound attenuation you can buy. Now that I have been using them for a couple of months I can say they really perform as advertised. They are excellent. Now, saying that I must add a codicil. I combine the wearing of these ear muffs with the insertion of some 33 db earplugs called Hearos. This is a standard procedure for maximum hearing protection. So, you want to do both. But, I guarantee you the wearing of the earplugs by themselves is far less effective than the combination of the two and possibly the ear muffs are the more powerful protection of the two by about 55% to 45%.