Shooting a gun without ear protection

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I had a marksman instructor at my local range who was talking to me about his Ruger 10/22. He told me that he loves it because he can get an inch at 100 yards all day. He then mentioned that he had the threaded barrel so that he could put a suppressor on. When he has a new student (usually women or children he says) who's afraid of the gun, he'll put the suppressor on and take them out to shoot it suppressed without ear muffs. The low noise and very low recoil has supposedly helped a lot of his beginning students with that first shot. Haven just taken that first shot (a .380) not long ago, it's kind of scary not knowing what to expect.

However, IIRC, a suppressor is typically used for civilians to hunt without making loud noises or in other situations where you can't use earplugs so that would be something different.
 
I did get some plugs and they worked wonders. After about 100 .44 Mags, 75-100 12 gauge and 150 .45 ACP I can still here just fine. Now if only they made something so I could still feel my left arm. :D
 
Being that muff types is already being discusses, this shouldn't be a high jack.


I have read, here in fact, that the inside-only ear plugs do not provide the fullest of protections and are less adequate at full hearing protection than the muffs that encompass the ear. This is supposedly due to the noise still affecting the tiny bones around the ear the are left unprotected by the loud noise.

Anyone agree/know of that being true?
 
I spent a couple years in an Artillery unit in the Army, if you think a 12ga is loud try standing behind a 105 Howitzer with no hearing protection. :eek:
 
"I spent a couple years in an Artillery unit in the Army, if you think a 12ga is loud try standing behind a 105 Howitzer with no hearing protection."

My grandpa was in the Marines during Vietnam and operated a 105 and 155 Howitzer. He's deaf in one ear (at least mostly so, can't hear but vague noises) and has tinnitus in the other. He also mentioned something about not always using earplugs with rifles (The Garand and the M16 originally chambered in 7.62) but blames it largely on the Howitzers.
 
I have never understand how guys can stand around a 105mm without going completely deaf, even with protection. It looks like the pressure wave would deflate your lungs when they fire those things.
 
I've fired a .22 in a non-emergency, shooting. I like to be able to hear my surroundings.

9mm nearly deafened me in one ear.
 
I was at the range the other day and forgot to put my ear plug back in . I took it out when there was a Cease fire so I could talk to the RO . The all clear was given and I went over and fired my 308 with a muzzle brake :eek: When I shot I thought there was something wrong with the gun . I.ve been shooting for many years and never heard it sound like it did then . There was a ringing and I could hear things around me better . At first I thought the gun was ringing then I realized it was my ear . For about 1 or 2 seconds I had no idea what had just happened and I was a little confused . I think It would have damaged my ear if I was not in construction working with loud power tools with no ear protection my whole life and after about 100 heavy metal concerts . My ears are done
 
I had a marksman instructor at my local range who was talking to me about his Ruger 10/22.
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This is my one and only gun that I feel comfortable with using only ear plugs. The sound is very low and is "far" enough in front and projected forward in such a way that it's very controllable with just the plugs. With every other gun I double up.
 
Talk about not using ear protection is just plain stupid. Those who don't will one day suffer from hearing loss and tinnitus which will keep you awake at night and you will always be aware of it 24/7. I speak from experience, unfortunately. It's not a manly thing anymore than putting up a fire screen in front of an active fireplace when going to bed is about manhood. It's about knowing what fire can do.
 
Foam plugs

I have not seen any foam "cheapie" plugs that are not very effective.

The key is putting them in right. Roll them very tightly lengthwise between your thumb and forefinger. Make the diameter as small as possible, then QUICKLY insert in to your ear.

The key is the foam expanding enough to completely block your ear canal.

Foam plugs work great, when you use them right.

This subject is important enough I repeated and reiterated what an earlier poster already said.
 
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.
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That's not correct - the two devices act in series, so the combined effect is multiplicative, not additive, and because decibels are in fact expressed on a log scale, can be calculated by adding the two NRRs (which are exponents) together. So, combining two 30s (each of which attenuates sound pressure by a factor of 1000, i.e. 10^3 bels = 30 decibels) results in a theoretical maximum attenuation of 60 db. Think of it in terms of two filters, each of which allows 1/1000th of the original number of "objects" through. If one million objects approach the first filter, 1000 of them will pass through. Those 1000 objects now approach the second filter, which similarly only allows 1/1000th through, resulting in only 1 object passing both filters. So the total attenuation is 1/(1000*1000), not 1(1000+1000).

Now, as Foghorn and Vanya correctly pointed out, that value is not nearly achieved in practice for a variety of reasons, and I've similarly heard the rule-of-thumb that you can approximate the total NRR by adding 5 db to the higher value.

Here's a short research paper that discusses all of this and presents some real-world data on combining plugs and muffs. If you look at Figure 3, you'll see results for combining plugs with an NRR of 17 with muffs having an NRR of 21. The net effect is an NRR of 29. In addition, Figures 1 and 2, which respectively show the actual attenuation achieved by plugs and muffs alone, show that they are pretty similar in performance.
 
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.
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The above words is very true.

I was a Ma-Deuce gunner with a Mech Infantry unit in Nam.
I don't believe the big 50 hurt my hearing as bad as the sharp crack from the M-16s being shot beside my head by the other squad members.
I have hearing loss in both ears and they have never stopped ringing since my days in Nam.

I have a very hard time with conversations in a vehicle, listening to TV shows, conversations with soft spoken people, people that are speaking while not facing me or are talking fast, in a resturant or other public gatherings it sounds like a constant roar, I could go on and on but I think you get the picture.

So by all means if you have a choice I would certainly recommend protecting your hearing.

Best Regards
Bob Hunter
www.huntercustoms.com
 
Growing up we usually did not use hearing protection, but it was mostly .22s and shotguns.

During adulthood I have always used hearing protection in anything other than a hunting situation. And, like sunscreen, I wish I had known enough to start earlier.

Hunting with long guns, I still often do not as it is awkward. Hunting wide open fields, the report is not as bad as a more enclosed space or where there is a wall for the sound to bounce from. Also, it is mostly shotgun and muzzleloader, which is less than rifle.

The exception is handgun hunting. The first time I went handgun hunting I shot a buck with a Taurus 41Mag, with a ported barrel. My ears rung for 15 minutes. I never made that mistake again; I invested in a good pair of amplifying/canceling muffs. No deer is worth my hearing.
 
A lot of verry good info in this thread. I hope you nay-sayers listen. I'm in my 60's and don't know if it was the navy 5" or 28" guns, GE M134's, loud rock music, hunting, target practicing, or speed boat racing, but it sucks wearing hearing aids and not participating in conversations because you can't hear. Your hearing is precious, don't waste it!
 
I've done it several times outside. It is definitely different than with protection. Indoors or in a car, it would be painful.

Wear your ears, double up even.

My ears rang after shooting on a covered firing line where my ear plugs weren't in tight enough and I guess I just toughed it out. They rang for a week and it scared me that it would never stop. It subsided and I feel like I was lucky.

I bought a good set of electronic ear muffs and now wear ear plugs AND muffs.

Don't mess with your eyes/ears.
 
When hunting I do not use hearing protection. If I'm going to be shooting at my range I will wear hp. I've shot alot of different guns without hp on (I don't make it a habit) and while it is loud it doesn't scare me or make my ears ring excessively. Never gotten a headache from it either.
 
They rang for a week and it scared me that it would never stop. It subsided and I feel like I was lucky.
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You were very lucky, and since your ears rang for a week if it happens again it will be worse. Hearing damage/loss is cumulative.

I fired a SINGLE .357 round without ear protection and as a result my left ear has a permanent constant ring, it's called Tinnitus and there is no cure. To say the least it sucks.
 
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