I bought one and used it a couple or maybe three times. You are correct that it messes up sound orientation too much for my tastes. I hear something, but often times it would be a bird digging under the leaves, or something else...like my breathing that I was hearing.
I put it back in the package and stuck it in my box of "stuff I got suckered into buying".
Maybe it works for some people, but I just couldn't get the hang of it.