Shooting a gun without ear protection

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justplainpossum

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I was thinking about this today. I have never shot a gun without ear protection. Has anyone here had to do that in an emergency situation? Is it so loud that it can damage your ears the first time? Is it pretty scary? Does adrenaline help you overcome the shock of the sound?
 
I pretty much never shoot a 22lr with hearing protection, and thats no problem.
17hmr has a bit of a crack to it, I think it's probably likely to cause damageif you were to shoot one a lot.

When I'm hunting with my shot gun, 223 or 303 I don't wear hearing protection.
Sure it's loud but it doesn't kill me, and being able to hear is quite important when stalking animals.

If I'm sat in one place duck shooting I'll wear ear plugs, as I'll be firing quite a few shots.

It's not scary and it wont kill you, but it'd probably give you a fright first time you hear it.

What I want to know is do soldiers wear hearing protection, firing 2 rounds from my 223 is one thing, but a few light machine guns and multiple M4s going of must be pretty stinking loud.
 
When I took my NRA basic pistol class, they made us shoot a few rounds without the ears on, just to help us be used to it if we ever needed to use our gun.
 
I'd be shooting either a .357 magnum or a .45. I carry earplugs with me, just in case I would have time to put them in before the boar decides to charge. I know that probably sounds ridiculous. :o
 
I once shot my 22LR rifle without earplugs as they had been pressig on the arms of my glasses and were uncomfortable.

I have to say that it was not loud at all, and I am quite sensitive to loud noises. I tried the same with my Ruger MkIII and swiftly decided to go back to the rifle: that was louder than i wanted.

Aside from that I wouldn't want to shoot anything stronger without. In my club's bunker, my .44Mag is not nice, even with protection...
 
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We grew up shooting without hearing protection but then, we were dumb kids! I don't use hearing protection (HP) for hunting but for the range or plinking, I don't go without it.

In short, if you have some adrenaline going, the gunshot most likely won't bother you during a hunt. However, you do take a risk to your hearing.

Caveat: Be advised, there are some modern firearms (certain short barrel M4 variants, muzzle brake equipped large bore rifles, large bore pistols like the S&W 500 or 460) that can significantly damage your hearing the first time you shoot without HP.
 
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In short, if you have some adrenaline going, the gunshot most likely won't bother you.
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Not bothering you is not the same as not harming you.

The electronic earmuffs they sell for a very reasonable price these days will actually amplify sounds around you while protecting your hearing at the same time.
 
One time back in the early 80's as a police officer I fired my 38 revolver at a moving vehicle. Guy in an OJ Simpson style Bronco ran over one of our officers then the pursuit was on. He crashed thru a gate into a large field. We were told to take out his tires as the pursuit had already been going on for an hour. I fired a few rounds from the revolver and honestly never really heard it.
 
I wonder how many of the people who claim that shooting without hearing protection doesn't really affect them, participate in audiology programs.

As a Naval Aviator, I had to undergo annual audiology.

I still remember the time an older flight surgeon looked at my test results and asked if I were a handgun shooter. I was surprised by the question, and asked him why he had asked it.

He told me that he knew I was right handed, and that the loss in certain frequency ranges in my left ear would correlate to a right handed shooter who shot a lot from a Weaver stance.

This described me to a T....

After that, I started doubling up on hearing protection at indoor ranges.

The point being, while people may claim that noise exposure doesn't do anything to them, they may simply be unaware of the damage they are doing to their ears.

Some of them may grow older, only to find they suffer from tinnitus, or that they lose more and more hearing in certain octaves.
 
Loss

Some of them may grow older, only to find they suffer from tinnitus, or that they lose more and more hearing in certain octaves
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Lots of truth in that. As I understand it, damage to ones hearing may not show up until years after the harm has been done. Whether it is shooting without hearing protection or playing music very loud in one's car, the effect may not show up for decades.
Pete
 
The point being, while people may claim that noise exposure doesn't do anything to them, they may simply be unaware of the damage they are doing to their ears
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Absolutely true. At 56 years old, I am starting to realize the effects of all those years of exposure to loud noises, and having more trouble distinguishing voices in crowded rooms and hearing certain frequencies, etc.

Be smart and protect your hearing
 
JimmyR said:
When I took my NRA basic pistol class, they made us shoot a few rounds without the ears on, just to help us be used to it if we ever needed to use our gun.
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I'm an NRA certified Basic Pistol instructor, and that is NOT part of the NRA course. I think that's a VERY irresponsible thing for an instructor to do, and it could open him up to a lawsuit if any student comes back and claims hearing damage.

IMHO there's only one word for that: "DUMB!"
 
I'm an NRA certified Basic Pistol instructor, and that is NOT part of the NRA course. I think that's a VERY irresponsible thing for an instructor to do, and it could open him up to a lawsuit if any student comes back and claims hearing damage.

IMHO there's only one word for that: "DUMB!"
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Completely agree- I've never heard of any instructor doing that.
 
JPP, I will tell you will regret it I have tinnitus, it is miserable and so troubling I can not put in to words the damn ringing in my ears is so loud nothing can be done any elevated blood pressure increases the ringing. I have the headaches so bad lately it about all I can stand I no longer hear bird, crickets, squeaks, locust right above my head, my grandchildren, women, or any converstation with the car window down.... go ahead at keep it up you wll remember the time someone warned you and live the remaining days on this earth deaf so to speak.
 
I never shot a gun WITH hearing protection till maybe 20 years ago...

Between that and the chainsaws, I have a constant ringing...
 
Here's a link to a site that lists some typical noises/durations that can result in damage to your hearing:

http://expecttohearbetter.com/hearing-damage-sound-chart.html

And here's one that lists the decibels produced by different types of gunshots:

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

It's pretty clear that even a single gunshot will produce some hearing damage in unprotected ears. And hearing damage is cumulative - as they say, the most often heard word among the old guys at the gun club is "Huh?".

These charts also provide some insights into what we all should be doing for hearing protection. For example, if the noise from a .357 is 164 db, and you're wearing muffs rated at, say, 24 db, then you end up at 140 db, which can still cause hearing damage. The smart guys at my range double up on hearing protection (plugs and muffs), and I think I'm going to start doing the same.
 
I have done it a few times over the years just to get an idea of how bad it is and what to expect should I be in a situation where I have to use one in SD.

The first year I went to the machine gun shoot at Knob Creek I went without hearing protection....that lasted for about an hour til I found a vendor selling earplugs.

As a musician who has been around loud sounds my whole life...all I will say is take care of your hearing. You won't notice things at the time....but one day you WILL wake up and notice that you can't hear things like you used to. All the years of loud amps, drums, booming car stereos, concerts have left my ears lacking the ability to hear bass/low end sounds unless its REALLY cranked up. Oddly I can hear highs and midrange sounds well, and in a quiet enough house I can hear a clock ticking.

Nobody is immune from hearing damage/loss...it you don't protect your hearing it will happen. There is no way to get it back, no magic pill, no therapy they can give you...once its gone its gone.
 
I typically don't use HP if hunting or one shot. Probably not smart. I foolishly shot a SKS out of my garage once shot and it was painful with ears ringing for about 30 min. Very bad idea. I now use as much as possible with anything over a pellet rifle. My uncle is almost totally deaf from many years of shooting for the most part from shooting W/O HP. He has two very powerful aids and still has alot of trouble hearing.
My wife has never shot or been around guns much and is totally deaf in one ear and can hear nothing in other unless she has the most powerful aid they make in. This from early childhood ear infections. I'm worried if she ever had to shoot a gun in a defensive situation she would loose what left. She does have a 38 spl snubby & a maverick 88 but never shot either. I've thought of possibly having her shoot maverick with her aid out with a ear plug & muffs just so she knows how, but if she ever had to use in defense would not have that luxury and would truly absolutely have to be a life or death situation.


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I used to take my .44 mag. test loads to my farm (we lived at another location) to test. One day I got there to test and found I had forgotten my ear protection. I shot anyway. Wow!:eek: Literally hurt my ears and they rang for several days. I had never before, and never since fired that gun without ear protection.
All my other shooting I used protection. Except :rolleyes: .22s in my 10/22 when eradicating varmints.
 
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