Shooting a gun without ear protection

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It's great to read through this thread and see how many people now "get it" about noise-induced hearing loss. It's a change from just a few years ago, and a very welcome one.

Electronic ear muffs are good. The better-quality ones (don't buy them at Harbor Freight :cool:) cancel out loud sounds, while leaving softer ones unaffected. You can even turn up the gain if you're doubling up with plugs, and still hear conversation, range commands, etc. A lot of people now wear them for hunting. If you're so inclined and have the money, an even better solution for hunting and other outdoor use is a set of custom-molded electronic plugs. They're spendy -- but you're only issued one set of hair cells, and as Glenn noted, they don't regenerate. (I wouldn't use the electronic plugs indoors -- you can't double them with muffs and get the same effect.)

More and more people are keeping a set of electronic muffs handy for home defense, as well -- on the nightstand, for example. Some argue that it's pointless because you won't have time to put them on; it's true that you might not, and if so, just do without. But if you do have time to put them on, another benefit is that they can enhance your ability to hear soft noises...
 
JimmyR
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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Bad NRA Instructor. Even worst if it was indoors.

The thing about hearing is that damage is cumulative. One extra push (as in a single shot) can push your hearing over the edge.

I've told this story a couple of times already, but I had inadvertently shot a little old 22LR round out of my rifle without hearing protection outdoors at the club last year. That little shot pushed me over the edge. My ears started ringing right afterward and subsided, but I still hear a little ringing pretty much 24x7 from that day forward.

With regard to shooting a gun w/o hearing protection, sure, it's better than being dead or worst. The adrenaline will mask your brain from processing the noise, but it doesn't mean it prevents physical damage. Your hearing might be fine afterward, or you could suffer from tinnitus permanently.
 
More and more people are keeping a set of electronic muffs handy for home defense, as well -- on the nightstand, for example. Some argue that it's pointless because you won't have time to put them on; it's true that you might not, and if so, no harm done -- just go without. But if you do have time to put them on, another benefit is that they can enhance your ability to hear soft noises...
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Yup, the wife and I do exactly that and it does enhance hearing. A small advantage in stressful situations at night.
 
Actually, some plugs are pretty good, even better than muffs. These, for example, have an NRR (noise reduction rating) of 30 db, better than most models of muffs, which typically fall in the mid 20's or even less. And that assumes that the muffs fit tightly, which can be a problem when wearing glasses and hats (both of which should be worn when shooting. The plugs, of course, need to be inserted properly to achieve the rated noise reduction, but that's not a big problem. That said, the best thing to do if you really want to protect your hearing is to wear both.
 
Yep
Gunfire damages your fine hairs in your inner ear every shot,
I was shooting my 270 wsm last week with lots of protection and I still felt a shock to my ears for a day, sound is transmitted through air and tissue to the inner ear
sunaj
 
One reason why the foam plugs don't seem to work well is how they are used.
Just pushing them in the ear doesn't do the job.
They have to be rolled between the palms until they are long and skinny.
Then when they are inserted in the ear canal, they expand to fill it properly.
Try it next time and see the difference.
 
Actually, some plugs are pretty good, even better than muffs. These, for example, have an NRR (noise reduction rating) of 30 db, better than most models of muffs,
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If I remember correctly, the formula for ascertaining the above is to take the higher NRR of the two, then add five. So if the muffs have a NRR of 30, and the plugs have NRR of 20, you're actually getting 35 dB of noise reduction. You don't just add the two.

That's an important consideration. A single noise/shot/explosion of 140 dB or more will damage your hearing. (BTW, those little "hairs" are called "ganglia.") So let's say you've got muffs and plugs and are getting 35 dB of noise reduction. The 223 generates, again IIRC, about 153 dB. So you're getting 118 dB actual noise reaching your ears. (My numbers aren't precise; this is just an illustration.)

Anyway, you see how it works. Again, this doesn't have any bearing on the concussive sound waves transmitted through the bones in your jaw/skull. That's present no matter what.

Edited to add: my knowledge of this subject has increased in direct proportion to my degradation of hearing. I guess John Wayne was right. "Life's hard. It's even harder when you're stupid."
 
FoghornLeghorn said:
If I remember correctly, the formula for ascertaining the above is to take the higher NRR of the two, then add five. So if the muffs have a NRR of 30, and the plugs have NRR of 20, you're actually getting 35 dB of noise reduction. You don't just add the two.

That's an important consideration. A single noise/shot/explosion of 140 dB or more will damage your hearing. <snip> So let's say you've got muffs and plugs and are getting 35 dB of noise reduction. The 223 generates, again IIRC, about 153 dB. So you're getting 118 dB actual noise reaching your ears. (My numbers aren't precise; this is just an illustration.)
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That's right. The important thing to keep in mind is that you're trying to reduce intensity of the sound that reaches your ears to the point where it doesn't damage them. I use lighter, more comfortable muffs, with a lower NRR, if I'm shooting a .22 than the ones I use with larger calibers.

(BTW, those little "hairs" are called "ganglia.")
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Er, no... they're not. The official term for them is "cochlear hair cells."

There's a good article on the structure and function of the inner ear here:
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Sensory_Systems/Auditory_Anatomy

And for a fairly detailed discussion of noise-induced hearing loss, try this:
http://american-hearing.org/disorders/noise-induced-hearing-loss/
 
f I remember correctly, the formula for ascertaining the above is to take the higher NRR of the two, then add five. So if the muffs have a NRR of 30, and the plugs have NRR of 20, you're actually getting 35 dB of noise reduction. You don't just add the two.
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Decibels are on a logarithmic scale. A 3 point change doubles the value so adding two 30s would only get you to 33. Adding a 20 to a 30 would be somewhere south of that.

I have no hearing in my left ear so supposedly have nothing to damage by not wearing protection. I try to always protect by good ear when shooting but once, out of curiosity, I only protected my good ear and left the bad ear uncovered. I don't remember what I was shooting but found the pressure wave of the shots quite uncomfortable.

My hearing loss is nerve related with a tumor cutting off blood flow to my inner ear so the ear structure, the drum and all those little bones you saw picture of in health class, were unaffected. Since I couldn't hear the noise the sound did not distract me from how it felt and there was no ringing afterwards to distract me. All I had was feeling and it felt bad. Nothing that felt like that could avoid doing damage to hearing. Luckily, the muff on my bad side is useful for keeping the other one on my head.

Outdoors I protect both my good and bad ear when shooting. I double up on the good side when shooting indoors. I've also found that electronic muffs are a net positive. The internal mikes pick up sound from by bad side so I actually can hear it and I'm safer on a range. I also get the highest NRR I can find since I stink at addition.
 
I never used hearing protection before unless I was at the range where I had to. Now after shooting my about 15 rounds through my .44 Mag, I'm trying to find me some good ones.
 
Now after shooting my about 15 rounds through my .44 Mag
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Seriously, GET SOME EARS!

The cost is too great not to use protection and the penalty is life long.

Please, DON'T shoot another round until you do.
 
I shot my Browning Buckmark .22lr once without hearing protection. It was a lot louder than I expected.

Unless you're in a critical situation, I highly recommend using hearing protection.
 
g.willikers said:
One reason why the foam plugs don't seem to work well is how they are used.
Just pushing them in the ear doesn't do the job.
They have to be rolled between the palms until they are long and skinny.
Then when they are inserted in the ear canal, they expand to fill it properly.
Try it next time and see the difference.
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Yes it looks & sounds good on paper. You can follow directions above @ beyond to a tee and is still a hit or miss for me. May be better than nothing , but I wouldn't waste the money


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Yes it looks & sounds good on paper. You can follow directions above @ beyond to a tee and is still a hit or miss for me. May be better than nothing , but I wouldn't waste the money
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You are absolutely, 100% wrong and are posting very poor advice.

Properly used, foam ear plugs, especially the good ones, are very effective and do indeed get the job done that they are intended for. Pair them up with good muffs and they combine to serve better protection than one method alone.

If you learn how to use them properly, quickly compressing them and then fitting them is easy and you can do it consistently.

I have been using good foam plugs for over 20 years and I can say they are worth every penny of the relatively minor cost.
 
Listen to the older folks and heed their words of hearing loss as age creeps up from doing the, awwwwe, it's not so bad sound checks with their ears. We all may be guilty, but we can learn from their advice. So wear the ear protection. Buy the amplified shooters ears so you can increase your hearing of small noises at night, yet block out the booms and cracks from the weapon.
 
All the time down range, I never had ear-pro when I fired my weapon. And it sucked pretty bad.

Especially being around, well under, the .50 in a Humvee or MRAP.
 
I grew up shooting 22s, 12 gauges, and 38s with no hearing protection. Never saw the need. As I have gotten older I realize that there's no reason not to use ear plugs. My ears do ring now, but I think it's more from equipment than guns.
 
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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That's just stupid. I wouldn't have done it, and then I would have asked for my money back.
 
Yes, I have shot without earpro. In an emergency you don't have time to consider earpro, if you have time to put it in, then it's not an emergency. Is it scary? Not really. Adrenaline is a tricky thing, and it effects everyone differently, so no promises on that. As far as damage, I have ringing in my ears, but I'm still breathing and that's what really matters. Staying alive is more important than a little ringing. That being said, if you're casually shooting wear your earpro, and with any luck you won't have any emergencies.
 
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