Lloyd, I went the hearing aids route several years ago. Figured I had a decent shot with the VA since I'm retired military and my last Army physical showed hearing loss. Young audiologist, maybe mid-20's, gave me a very thorough test. No question about the hearing loss. Then she asked me what I did in the Army. Combat Engineers, then infantry early on. But spent most of my time in Military Intelligence, where we try to be very quiet. She asked about loud noises in that business. I came very, very close to telling her that the manual typewriters were really noisy. (Wish I had. Given her age, I doubt she's ever heard one.) Anyhow, had to buy them on my own dime. Went with Phonak, sort of their mid-range model. Have worked out pretty well for me. I actually wear them hunting because my dogs are in the grouse woods a lot, and I need to be able to hear their beepers to keep track of them. (Yeah, I know about GPS. But up here in wolf country, the experts say that beepers or bells are likely to keep those critters from bothering your dogs. And again due to wolves, I don't want them any further away from me than beeper range.)
Lately, I've been working with a set of Walker Game Ears. They enhance hearing while deadening gunshots. About the only thing I don't like about them is getting a good fit into my ears, which involves rolling the material that covers the earpieces. Even the smallest covers they have require a lot of effort to give me a good fit. But if and when I get used to them, they'll work for target shooting as well. And once more I'll be able to hear what the other shooters are saying. My plugs do a great job of blocking sound. ALL sound.
