Hearing protection while hunting?

I agree with the last two posts. Don't let anyone tell you that occasional shooting will not hurt your hearing. Nothing could be further from the truth. ONE shot can do a lot of damage. Trust me... I have $7000 worth of hearing aids as a testimony to that concept. I use Starkey Magnum Ears for all shooting, even for .22's. I don't even uses a hammer or a nail gun anymore without hearing protection. My hearing is pretty shot. The Starkeys work very well and are worth all of the $800 I paid for them. Even with them turned all the way up I can't hear as well as I should. Hunting grouse in Saskatchewan last fall our young guide could hear the dog bell 250yds out in timber and I couldn't hear it until 50yds out. I never ever shoot any firearm without hearing protection, period....
 
The "BANG" from some guns are worse than others. If I was just hunting with a 22 I wouldnt worry , & the occassional shot from my 308 or 22-250 I can live with. I once owned a 44 mag S&W revolver that felt like an anvil had been struck with a sledgehammer everytime it was fired. I mostly wore ear muffs with the 44 as your ears would be ringing for several minutes without.
My hunting buddy is a bit deaf - from shooting, & he purchased a pair of those expensive db amplifier ear muffs.I tested them out on his ranch while hunting & you could hear cows chewing 200 yards away while still offering hearing protection. We could also directionally locate feral goat herds in the hills by their calls, which we could otherwise not hear. This was to be our new hunting tool.
Went into the cupboard after that first weekend & hasnt been used since.
 
There are also the benefits of wearing electronic muffs. You not only get hearing protection, but can have improved hearing at the same time, and in winter time, keep your ears warmer!
 
I have a pair of the early Peltor tactical 6? muffs with the single volume control and love them for target shooting. They REALLY amplify your hearing ability. They were, I'm told, designed for the military to be used in listening posts "outside the wire", for which they would be most effective. You can listen to the grass grow with those things. I like them for stand hunting for deer but tried them for pheasants once and that didn't work at all. Every time a plane went over it sounded like they were landing on my head and pushing through cattails was so loud it overloaded the ears. I would use them for chainsawing firewood but they don't suppress non-percussive sounds, unfortunately. I do love those things; they really work. I do not like the twin volume control model except for the lower profile. They tout the dual control as being better for folks with differing loss in each ear but I find them to be a royal PITA. One control works just fine.
 
Get the peltor electronig, around the back of the head ones so you can wear a hat.

I duck hunt a lot, with a lot of 3 1/2 magnums going off, in small blinds and smaller boats.

I'd rather forget my lunch than forget those muffs!
 
The latest rage in Industrial Health is the fact that your hearing is damaged by sound waves that get to your inner ear through the bones in your body. Companies have tried some types of helmets only to find out that sound can still damage your hearing through your entire skeleton.

Protecting your hearing is important. At the range I use double protection. In the bush I use none. I am primarily a big game hunter, a couple of shots per year does not improve the ringing in my ears. A benefit is that most of what my wife has to say is not worth listening to anyway. I just wish my grand daughters would speak up.:rolleyes:
 
So the neoprene head wrap should have the additional benefit of reducing some of the bone conduction as well? It also does a good job of keeping my face and sides of my head toasty. The muffs are Peltor Comtacs.
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off ear

Buzzcook wears one in his right ear. Are you a lefty? Seems the off ear bears the brunt of muzzle blast. Least that's father's case after 65 years of shotgunning without protection.

as for OP, I don't worry or notice in a hunting situation. If I were into fowl hunting doing a lot of shooting as one poster noted I would consider protection.
 
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