But that's only true in the worst kind of way, the technical one. Yes they aren't literally meant to be hearing protection. Yet, if they work well enough that I'm not hearing any loud sounds, then they're obviously protecting me adequately for the situation.

Side-note: Latency isn't a concern, the electronics are built to process input between mic and speaker at the speed of sound. Otherwise it wouldn't even really work except for static frequencies as I understand it.