Hear loss related to caliber iN SD?

H

HighValleyRanch

New member
I haven't seen much discussion on this little white elephant in the room.

My brother was telling me about his shootout when he was a LEO back in the 80's. He was shot be he managed to killed a perp in an alley.
But he said that he had hearing loss in his left ear, because he was standing next to a brick wall and the sound of his .357 was so loud echoing off the wall. He got off five rounds, so that is five times the sound of a .357 with hearing protection!

So that got me wondering if different calibers would be more dangerous ( to your own hearing loss)in certain SD situations? A .357 has such a sharp crack, that six rounds in a small space certainly might do some damage.
Especially out of the short barreled snubbies everyone carries these days.

Of course, I can hear the nay sayers saying that better to save you life than to have a little hearing loss. Yes of course, I agree as in my brothers case, but if the incident resulted in nothing, such as shots fired and the opponent running off, the hearing loss might have been avoided by a better choice of caliber.

And then a followup question is that if the blast from the initial shots damaged your hearing, wouldn't that be a detriment to your ability to self defense. Wandering around without being to hear someone come around the corner would not be good.

A .45 has a much different sound blast.

So the question is. does anyone take this into consideration in choosing their
SD caliber.
Is it better to have a .44 special than a .357 just becasue of this factor?

None of us are going to be wearing ear muffs when something happens!
 
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Nearly every centerfire handgun cartridge generates enough noise to cause permanent hearing damage if fired without hearing protection. Auditory exclusion, however, would probably prevent you from being instantly deafened to the point of being at a disadvantage (remember, unless your attacker is wearing hearing protection, he'll be exposed to the noise too).
 
All handguns are more than capable of causing hearing damage. Some calibers and/or barrel lengths may cause hearing loss a bit more dramatically from the same amount of exposure, but any gun is going to be LOUD if fired in a closed setting. I've heard a 357 indoors with no ear protection before and I can say that it was deafening. Especially since it was out of a snub nose. In a life or death situation, you're not going to notice how loud the noise is, imo.
 
It's like hunting. You don't notice the sound of the gun or the kick when shooting it, but sometimes your shoulders and ears hurt later. A 357 is probably the loudest pistol out there. Pop a few off indoors and your ears will not be happy with you.
 
What?
Housing Cost?
Spanish Moss?
Huh?

Oh, Hearing Loss.....

I have less concern for hearing loss causing a disadvantage than I do about the flash from the muzzle blast. The time it takes for your eyes to adjust to light is a bit more incapacitating than not hearing things.

Also, overpenetration with a .357 indoors is a bigger concern than the gearing loss too. I'd feel worse for longer about a stray catching a noncombatant than having to turn up the volume on my TV.

Most of us on here have some degree of hearing loss from shooting sports. Hunters would do well to have even some cheap foam plugs (to take in and out) than nothing at all. Moreover, people REALLY should try to make their hunting dogs wear "mutt muffs" or something similar. Dogs ears are WAY more sensitive AND easier damaged than human ears.
 
All cartridges shot from handguns can cause hearing loss. Even a .22 LR.

That said, some are a whole lot harder on your ears than others.

I've done a lot of hunting over the years, with handguns, rifles, and shotguns. It's very seldom that I wear hearing protection while hunting, and I've suffered some hearing loss from it.

That said, the vast majority of the hearing loss I've suffered is from .357 mag ammo. I shot a lot of it up when I was in my teen-years, shooting jackrabbits and such.

I still hear pretty well on most levels, but there are a few frequencies I can't hear at all. I can still hear geese, quail and such quite a bit better than some I've hunted with.

Even with the hearing loss I've suffered, I still can't shoot a .357 mag without hearing protection, even with a long barrel, without feeling like needles are being shoved into my ear drums. It's a great cartridge, but is one I refuse to shoot any longer. Instead, I shoot .38's.

Even .40S&W and heavy loaded .45 Colt is easier on my ears when I end up shooting without protection. I do wear protection a whole lot more than I once did, and it's certainly a good idea, but it's not practical to wear it at all times when one may or may not need a gun.

I'd rather shoot my snub .38 than a 6" barreled .357 mag if I don't have hearing protection.

Daryl
 
.357 mag is one of the hardest on your hearing, remember 10 decibels louder means 10 times louder. Personally I use .38 special or .45 ACP for HD and car duty, hearing protection being one of the best reasons to do so. Pistols with short barrels can also be louder than rifles or shotguns. One of the worst I ever encountered at the range was a .357 Derringer.

From http://www.freehearingtest.com/hia_gunfirenoise.shtml...

Table 3. CENTERFIRE PISTOL DATA

.25 ACP 155.0 dB
.32 LONG 152.4 dB
.32 ACP 153.5 dB
.380 157.7 dB
9mm 159.8 dB
.38 S&W 153.5 dB
.38 Spl 156.3 dB
.357 Magnum 164.3 dB
.41 Magnum 163.2 dB
.44 Spl 155.9 dB
.45 ACP 157.0 dB
.45 COLT 154.7 dB
 
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Also note the generally stated range where even a single short exposure can cause permanent damage or loss is 140dB. And auditory exclusion refers to your conscious perception of a sound and not on the sound energy's physical effect on your hearing.

'Course if the choice is risk hearing or be killed, well, I think that's a pretty easy no brainer.
 
Regardless of caliber choice, I would rather be deaf than dead
Click to expand...

No doubt, but given the opportunity to prepare there's no reason to kill your eardrums. Of course, I shouldn't go with my son to Metallica concerts either ;)
 
I notice that .454, .480 and .500 weren't on the list.

So those that carry those for Bear defense, take a shot and miss, but the sound scares off the bear will have to tell their friends the story, but not able to hear themselve speak, right!:D
 
As I learned so long ago in debate class, the burden of proof lies on the affirmative. It is up to you and spacecoast to prove your claim; it is not my job to disprove it.

Some basic research will reveal the fundamental flaw in your original statement.
 
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The single biggest disadvantage to .357 as a tactical/SD round is the extremely harsh report. I used to routinely shoot 9mm/.45 ACP/.45 COLT as a teenager without hearing protection while plinking (those days are gone!), but I've only shot .357 unprotected TWICE in my lifetime. Once when I took the muffs off to ask a question and forget to put them back on, and once when I was plinking and someone offered to let me shoot his beautiful '80s S&W .357 with a 6" barrel. The effect was dramatic that I saw COLORS after shooting it (like getting punched!)! :eek: I gave it right back to him.

Love the round itself, but full house .357 is simply too much for unprotected shooting.
 
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