PMCI September 2016 | Page 23

While in either mode, another positive benefit of the EB 15 is your ability to track the location of where an unknown shooter just fired. Etymotic has done extensive scientific testing with existing military hearing devices versus several of theirs. Etymotic’s openly published the impressive results along with the processes on their website. Needless to say, the results give a huge advantage to military and law enforcement to maintain communication, situational awareness and hearing protection with an added benefit of hearing enhancement. OVERVIEW FROM ETYMOTIC EB15•LE electronic earplugs are designed for those who want to maintain natural hearing while protecting their ears from impulse and continuous loud noises like gunfire, explosions, vehicles, and machinery. Primitive hearing protection devices plug, cover or plug and cover our ears. These devices create a comical scene of people trying to communicate with no sense of hearing. This is just not practical and compared to today’s technology, it is completely out of date. Have you ever had a person in your group talking so loud, everyone in a half square mile radius could hear them? Sometimes that can be embarrassing, such as a guy yelling, “Hey man, I think that girl is checking me out!” Well, if she wasn’t, she and everyone in the restaurant are now. In the tactical community, communication and stealth are vital to the operation, yet the need for hearing protection not an option, it is an absolute must. PROTECTION AND ENHANCEMENT GEA The challenge with hearing protection lies in trying to retain total environmental awareness without the risk of either acute or chronic hearing loss. So how can we improve our hearing and the minds ability to process what we hear while protecting a valuable sensory tool like our ears? The answer comes from the good folks at Etymotic (https://www.etymotic.com) . They have many high quality products to offer at affordable prices that will not only protect your hearing but improve the quality of the sound you hear to acceptable levels for the best interpretation. I personally have been using the “ETYMOTIC High-Definition Electronic EB 15-LE Blast PLG Earplugs”. These plugs are created for Law Enforcement, SWAT teams and anyone that may be in a combat environment. The EB 15 Blast Plugs are designed so you maintain your natural hearing while protecting your hearing from continuous and impulse noise above safe levels. When wearing the EB 15, you are still able to communicate without yelling, provided everyone in your party is wearing a pair. The sound is uncompromised even though you have the device in your ears. There are two modes on the EB 15. The first setting is an adaptive hearing protection while maintaining blast protection. The second setting offers 5 times the hearing enhancement while still maintaining blast protection. So what can the EB 15 offer for you? As a tactical squad commander, you could communicate with your team while maintaining normal hearing. Also, you could enhance your hearing by 5x the normal level with the same benefits, while being protected from damage caused by flash bang deployment or gunfire. Another added benefit with the EB 15’s enhanced mode comes in equipping you with the ability to hear more efficiently than your adversary, in turn giving you the advantage in detecting him before he does you. pmcimagazine.com