Noisy live fire

Some interesting comments by staff lately with nothing to back them up. Read on combat by David Grossman for more information (that is factual)Also several years ago the VA did a study on hearing loss from small arms fire in combat at that it really varied.
 
Sorry, Old Bill, you can close your eyes to a bright light, but you can't close your ears. Loud noises can and will damage your hearing no matter what kind of "auditory exclusion" you think takes place by magic. You may think you don't hear the noise but your ears do. As to suppressors, the paperwork and cost make them uncommon (how many do you own?), plus impossible to use with common holsters.
Click to expand...

I guess I can repeat myself. The auditory exclusion in no way limits hearing damage. What it does is allows you to fight without instinctively trying to protect your hearing.

The OP was asking how to prepare for it without being overwhelmed, presumably when the time comes. What I am saying is that you don't necessarily need to. Practically anyone that has been a short fire fight can tell you that hearing is the least of concerns. If it goes on for a longer period of time people start putting in hearing protection as they suddenly "notice" the gunfire after the initial adrenal dump wears off.

Suppressors are not that unusual in my part of the world. They are increasing in popularity as the price comes down. I know a number of people who own them.
 
Look, handguns fired indoors are one thing. A rifle being fired inside a walled structure is quite another. You WILL absolutely suffer hearing loss (partial and permanent), receive concussive blast, and become disorientated (at least momentarily).

The worst auditory damage will result from the firing of a short-barrelled unsupressed 5.56 rifle.

Taking a quick time-out to chased down ear muffs before engaging the bad guy(s) breaking into your house is a joke, something a gunshop commando would advise.

If you choose to use a 5.56 AR as your go-to home defense/night-stand weapon, and you anticipate scenarios where you'd actually be firing it inside, get a can for it.

Or, get a 12-gauge. Yeah, it's blasty too, but indoors an unsuppressed 5.56 is much, much worse.
 
Taking a quick time-out to chased down ear muffs before engaging the bad guy(s) breaking into your house is a joke, something a gunshop commando would advise.
Click to expand...
Agreed. Taking a quick timeout to chase anything down in a self-defense encounter isn't wise.

However, having good quality electronic muffs by the bed with your nightstand gun and flashlight isn't such a bad idea. If you have time to put them on, they will be an asset since not only do they protect your ears, they can be turned up to provide superhuman hearing abilities. If there's no time to put them on, you're no worse off for having them available.
If you choose to use a 5.56 AR as your go-to home defense/night-stand weapon, and you anticipate scenarios where you'd actually be firing it inside, get a can for it.
Click to expand...
I'm not arguing against suppressors for home defense (at least in firearms where their use doesn't have any negative effect on function--it's pretty obviously a really bad idea to use them if they decrease reliability as can happen in some cases), but they don't solve the problem completely.

Unless all home invaders are courteous enough to use suppressors, your suppressor only solves half the problem.
I knew a police officer who fired a hot-loaded .357 in a narrow alley and suffered both temporary pain and long-term hearing loss from one shot.
Click to expand...
A friend of mine is married to a police officer who is pretty badly hearing impaired as the result of a single shot of .38spl fired by a criminal and a single .357Mag round fired back that ended the attack.
 
Someone already mentioned it but if God forbid if you had to defend yourself, home, family your hearing is the last thing you will be concerned about.
 
hearing

The post on auditory exclusion is in my experience absoloutly true. Your body does protect itself in dangerous situations.... providing the person percieve the actual threat.

The noise still happens and the damage can still be done. Speaking strictly from my own personal experience.... having experienced shots fired indoors under normal conditions resulted in ringing ears, and probably some temporary hearing loss... during a period of whats called auditory exclusion I experienced no ringing or noticable hearing loss.
 
Someone already mentioned it but if God forbid if you had to defend yourself, home, family your hearing is the last thing you will be concerned about.
Click to expand...
I doubt you'll be worried about it while you're actually shooting, but if it goes on for more than just a few shots, the ability to hear after the first few shots might be very important. Said another way, the inability to hear after the first few shots could be a cause for severe concern depending on what's going on.

After touching off a single round of .357Mag indoors without hearing protection I was nearly completely deaf for quite an extended period, maybe a minute or longer. And then after that I was badly impaired for perhaps half an hour.
...during a period of whats called auditory exclusion I experienced no ringing or noticable hearing loss.
Click to expand...
All I can say to that is that it doesn't work for everyone. I never heard the shot, in my case, but that certainly didn't protect my hearing in the least.
 
The period of impaired hearing after shots are fired by or at you varies, but it is serious. One seldom mentioned problem is what you don't hear, like "Police! Drop your gun." If you don't hear that, you could have some really serious problems.

Jim
 
"...and concussed..." You won't get a concussion. As mentioned, the last thing you'll be worrying about is the noise.
Probably the only way you can get an idea of what you hear is by volunteering for the 'Butts Party" of a High Power match. You won't get the muzzle blast, but you'll hear the sonic boom(a sharp crack) of the bullet passing overhead. And if a bullet bounces back to where you're standing, don't touch it. Friggin' things get really hot.
"...a single round of .357Mag indoors without hearing protection..." Means your hearing is permanently damaged already.
 
Take a look at all the cop shows where guns are fired very often indoors, NONE of the people has hearing protection. After the shooting ends, they all talk in normal voices, and hear just fine.

IT's HOLLYWOOD BS!

DO not ever forget that!

Auditory exclusion only means your brain does not recognize (excludes) it AT THE TIME. The damage still happens, and afterwards, after the crisis is over, THEN your brain will recognize the damage, and you will realize it, then.
 
"how do you prepare for the extreme noise difference of multiple rounds being fired, without being overwhelmed and concussed?"

"overwhelmed and concussed"?????????????????????

While I fully agree that hearing protection is important, I also feel that far too many shooters have this sort of idea of the effects of NOT using ear protection.
YOU WILL NOT FALL TO THE FLOOR UNCONSCIOUS AND CONVULSING IF YOU FIRE A GUN W/O HEARING PROTECTION(most likely you won't even notice the sound or even think about it until later when your ears are ringing)

I have approx 60% hearing loss(not all of it from gunfire BTW) and I do make an effort to preserve what I have left but I certainly know I'm not going to worry about firing my gun in self defense(or hunting or the occasional target of opportunity) w/o the plugs.
 
I fired a a .45 auto in a concrete indoor range without my hearing protection on, and while painful- it wasn't debilitating. Afterward everyone's voice sounded like "Waaa wa wa? Wah wa!" for 12 hours or so. It was a stupid thing to do, as I'm starting to really notice my hearing loss these days.

Let's keep in mind auditory exclusion- which I've experienced when hunting- doesn't protect you from the hearing damage. I recall shooting at a pheasant with my Lefever Nitro Special and I didn't hear the report at all- but I can still remember letting the bird get a little further away from me and using the rear trigger, and the feel of the trigger as I fired.
 
I fired a a .45 auto in a concrete indoor range without my hearing protection on, and while painful- it wasn't debilitating. Afterward everyone's voice sounded like "Waaa wa wa? Wah wa!" for 12 hours or so. It was a stupid thing to do, as I'm starting to really notice my hearing loss these days. * * *
Click to expand...

The blast of the relatively mild and low-pressure .45 acp isn't in the same galaxy as the decibel level of an unsuppressed rifle cartridge fired indoors, such as the 5.56mm/.223.

If you think the .45's report had a lingering affect on your hearing, it would've been infinitely worse had you fired an unsurpressed AR in the same concrete indoor range, especially something short-barrelled, like a 10" SBR. :eek:
 
The blast of the relatively mild and low-pressure .45 acp isn't in the same galaxy as the decibel level of an unsuppressed rifle cartridge fired indoors, such as the 5.56mm/.223.
Click to expand...

I've never fired an AR indoors, but even fired under an open, covered structure, a 5.56/223 will hurt without plugs and muffs. That is a 16" barrel. An unsuppressed short barrel would be no fun.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top