My first post; A question on handgun shooting/hearing loss.

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PADave90

Inactive
Hello everyone. My name is Dave, I'm 20 & I am from Northeast, Pennsylvania. About 5 months ago, a friend of mine had purchased a Glock 27 .40S&W. After purchasing, we had gone up to a spot on the mountain in which I live next to (We have permission from the land owner).

It's about a 25 yard clearing in which people go up & plink around. Being excited to shoot, none of us had ear plugs/muffs, but decided to shoot anyways. I took 4 shots of my own, which left a bit of discomfort in my ears. When they had shot, I had my ears cupped over with my hands.

The second time I'd shot the Glock was at the same area, but I had only taken 2 shots this time (we were up camping, not shooting). All in all, I've taken about 8 shots with this gun with no hearing protection. I've never experienced ringing surprisingly, but I'm sure it's no good nonetheless.

Yesterday, another friend of mine had purchased a .380ACP in which I've never seen/shot, so he'd brought it down & we went up to shoot again. I took 3 shots this time, which again left no ringing in my ear, but it was loud. After I had gotten home, I noticed a very slight pressure/fullness in my ears that I began panicking over, and I still have it as of now. I did some reading, and I was quite surprised at what I'd found. I'd read that as little as one shot (depending on conditions, indoor/outdoor) can be enough to really impair your hearing.

I felt very guilty about taking something so valuable as my hearing my granted. I had always used earplugs, always, but these moments were spur of the moment so I had been empty handed. The question I have for each of you is, do you think, say.. 12/13 shots with no hearing protection could have ruined my ears forever? Keep in mind, I always blocked my ears when others were shooting, I was only fully exposed when I was doing the shooting myself. Although I did have a hood on, I'm sure it didn't help.

Before this, I never used hearing protection with .22LR either. I am just dealing with severe regret over this, because once you lose hearing, it's as good as gone, and I am only going to be turning 21 this December. I kid you not, after all I've found out doing reading I will never shoot again without protection, maybe even when cutting the grass, I am just curious as to what you guys have to say. I was wondering if the little shooting I've done in the past few months could have impaired me for the rest of my life. Thank you guys.

Also* I am not just joining to ask this question, I will try to participate in as many other other discussions as well. Have a good night everyone - Dave.
 
do you think, say.. 12/13 shots with no hearing protection could have ruined my ears forever?
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Could it have ruined your hearing? No.

Could it have damaged it? Absolutely.

By the time I was your age, I'd shot many thousands of rounds of .22, .38, .357, and another several thousand rounds of centerfire rifle ammo; mostly without hearing protection. It was stupid, but that's what we did.

About the time I reached your age, I realized what I was doing, and started wearing hearing protection. I suffer from some hearing loss, but it's mostly certain frequencies that I have trouble hearing. Overall, my hearing is still pretty good, but I try to not shoot without hearing protection these days.

That's not always possible when I'm hunting, but I try.

Hindsight is 20/20, for what little good it will do. For the future, keep some plugs or muffs handy. Even for a .22. Nothing you can do about what's already done, so save the rest of your hearing. ;)

I keep a set of muffs in my gunsafe, and in my truck. I also keep disposable plugs handy; in the pockets of jackets and so forth. They're handy for protecting my hearing from all sorts of loud noises, so I keep them around.

Daryl
 
I'm trying to recall my old AF training, I'll give it a try:

There are a bunch of tiny hair like things floating in a fluid way deep in the ear. Each hair (for lack of a better word) picks up a frequency of sound. When one of those hairs is damaged or breaks, it doesn't get replaced, it's gone for good. Long term hearing loss usually results from these hairs being damaged over time (more and more of them).

It is very important to wear proper hearing protection when shooting.
 
Ear plugs (they are actually better than ear muffs too by the way) and shooting glasses are cheap.

Ive been shooting for 50+ years now, and I have all the crickets from every John Wayne movie chirping in my left ear, and now have an electric motor hum from the last Terminator movie going on in my right ear. The world is NEVER quiet now. Ever.

Ive also had two pairs of shooting glasses that saved my butt (well, my eyes actually :)).

Youre lucky enough to be at the point you can do something to prevent it. What are yours worth?
 
I will make it simple for you, I am going on 60 and I can hear ringing in my ears that when I get into a crowded room I can’t understand people unless I actually see their mouths move. The ringing never stops,,, ever.
This is not from guns but from jet engines back in the 70’s.
I am so protective of my hearing now that I use hearing protection even when I mow.
Hearing damage is accumulative. And it gets worse over time.
Never shoot or be around loud devices without some kind of protection.
 
I ALWAYS carry a pair of plugs in the watch pocket of my jeans. (Actually three, in case one should become lost.)
 
This is a lesson learned.

Always use eye and ear protection when shooting guns.

You definitely did some damage to your hearing but most long term damage is done over many years of neglect.

Incidentally if you don't have ear plugs or muffs, you can use any kind of foam or other material as a makeshift ear plug in time of need.

I would suggest though that you always have ear plugs on hand, especially if you love shooting.
 
Never shoot or be around loud devices without some kind of protection.
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Pay attention to this. It's not just shooting. While I'm sure that 22 rifles and shotguns when I was young contributed, I started wearing ear/plugs/muffs early on. What I didn't wear them when doing was fishing.

Yes, fishing. Who'd have thunk it? But years of high powered outboards, as well as high speed wind over my ears have left me with that constant ringing others have mentioned. My left ear is worse, which tell me that driving with the window down (mostly in Jeep CJ's) didn't help.

I found a product at the drug-store that MIGHT help. It's called Ring-Relief. I've used it off and on, and it does seem to help after a few days/weeks, but it's a pain to keep up with, and to remember when to use. I've stopped bothering now, and the noise is just in the background all the time now.
 
I'm 64, worked as a commercial pilot around jet engines for forty years and have tintinitis...now whether it's from shooting or prolonged exposure to jet engine noise, I can't say, but I suspect the former. I've always worn plugs or ear muffs, and now I wear both.

I'm a Harley rider as well, and find that the wind noise around my helmet is annoying and stay with me after I ride. I wear a full face helmet, and plugs but it's still there. I'm thinking of getting a fitted pair of plugs to help.

If you're addicted to hard rock at impossible decibel levels...you'll have the same problems when you reach your forties...and podnuh,,,that ain't that far off.

Wear the protection, condoms for you ears if you will...the consequences are virtually the same. Rodfac
 
I'm another old guy with tinnitus for the past thirty or so years. Whether it was shooting 357s and 44s with cigarette filters for ear plugs when I was a young fellow or 20 years of structural steel erection, beating pins into connection points, I don't know. What I do know is once you've got tinnitus you'll never be alone again and when the hearing degrades it doesn't regenerate. Get you some hearing protection before you have to pay the piper.
 
Consider you experience a lesson. Ear plugs are cheap. I carry a pair always.
Yes, pistol, or rifle, shooting can permanently damage your hearing. That one time probably did not affect your hearing but more of the same and you are on your way to saying "WHAT?" whenever folks speak to you.
 
The only caliber I've ever been comfortable shooting without hearing protection is .22. And then only outdoors.

I have at times found myself in a situation where I didn't have earplugs and needed them. What worked at the time was placing a spent casing inside each ear, (loosely). It reduced the noise level considerably.
 
Range commands, EYES & EARS the RANGE is going HOT:eek:

Only deaf people shoot without hearing protection and continuing to do so will put you in that category.:rolleyes:
 
PADave90 said:
I felt very guilty about taking something so valuable as my hearing my granted. I had always used earplugs, always, but these moments were spur of the moment so I had been empty handed. The question I have for each of you is, do you think, say.. 12/13 shots with no hearing protection could have ruined my ears forever?
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"Ruined forever"? - No.

Permanently damaged? Yes.

The key point is that such damage can be progressive, so it will be even more important for you to always wear hearing protection in the future. Personally, I usually double up -- I wear foam plugs in the ears, and muffs over the ears.
 
Hearing loss

The biggest problem with this issue is you wont notice hearing loss until you start not hearing things (sounds stupid but hear me out). i worked in radio for a few years building sound effects, and i wore headphones every day and blared sounds at high volume into my ears. i rarely noticed any ringing but after a few years i noticed i had a harder time hearing people in conversation. at the age of 23 my doctor recommended i get some hearing aids, and i haden't noticed any hearing loss until recently before that. at a hearing test i had lost about 20-30% of my hearing. i don't wear hearing aids but it gets annoing from time to time saying "what?" protect your ears!!!
 
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Interesting comments on substitutes for plugs.

I've used pieces of wet paper towel at times; never an empty case.

But I reckon anything is better'n nothin'.

Daryl
 
What didita you say?

While I'm sure the primary damage was done at the Emerson, Lake and Palmer concert, while sitting 6 rows away from the speaker set, there was additional damage caused by years of shooting all sort of weapons, lawn mowing, weed eating, cranking up the rock music, shop tools, such as saws, sanders, shop vacs and screaming routers. The dirt bike was “cooler” sounding without a muffler, the multiple Detroit engines on the drilling rigs and the list could go on from a while, but I think you get the drift of an old guy speaking of his young, dumb self from 30 to 40 years ago.

By the time I realized my mistake, significant damage had occurred. In my mid-20s I started using hearing protection. I currently get my hearing tested every year to check for further deterioration. The constant ringing, crickets, needing close captions and not being able to understand someone in a crowd is a real bummer, but the upside is I can legitimately tell my wife, “I didn’t hear you.” :D
 
I will join the chorus, if you can still hear it. I am 54 and have been wearing hearing aids for about seven years, due to being in and around loud music groups for much of my life, as well as a probable genetic tendency towards hearing loss.

You need three things: (1) ear plugs, AND (2) ear muffs, and (3) an appointment with a physician specializing in diseases of the ear, nose and throat, the last because some but not all of the damage to the structures of your ears may be reversible and you want to maximize the opportunity of recovery.
 
My experiences

Admittedly I didn't read all the resonses to the OP I am sure that they offer a wealth of good advice. I'd like to also share my experiences even though they may duplicate some of the previously posted comments.

I started shooting when I was 18, specifically long-barrel (28") shotguns when I started duck hunting. While hunting I never experienced buzz, "pressure" or discomfort. I do recall a number of times shooting at clay targets experiences ringing and buzz after a session of shooting. None of us shooting used hearing protection.

Instead of giving you my history, here's the long and short of what I've learned and experienced. Shooting without protection will yield hearing loss. Hearing loss after brief exposure will most likely only be temporary. I had an experience similar to your after shooting .38/.357 and a .380 (about 12 rounds total) un-protected. I had the same buzz / "pressure" feelng. I do feel that I hearing retuned to normal after a while.

Continued exposure to any loud noises will create hearing loss so PLEASE wear ear protection whenever you are doing so. Unless I'm hunting I use muffs and plugs for everything, even the humble .22lr. Additionally, I use ear protection when I mow, use a weedeater, chainsaw, shop tool, or sander.

Although if you get married you can tell your wife that you honestly didn't hear what she said because of all the hearing loss you had because you were shooting.
 
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