Shooting a gun without ear protection

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foxytwo said:
I also have hearing loss and tinnitus from the military. I wear ear muffs with ear plugs to protect what hearing I have left, but I would not hesitate to use my weapon in an emergency. I am 72 and they did not issue hearing protection to the troops then.
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I cringe a little when I see some of the battles of WWII & Korean War. None of the troops I saw we're wearing any ear protection firing machine guns, standing next to heavy artillery firing & bombs going all around them. Occasionally you might see a finger in one ear when firing cannons. I'm sure the last thing they were worried about was there hearing. My ears ring all the time just from the shooting & m80's around me. I'm surprised all those front line troops can hear at all


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I like the newest ear protectors. The ones with the flexible curved rod with the two plugs on the end. You can have them in place very quickly. This makes hearing protection while hunting practical.
 
I have had to shoot several pistols and a shotgun on occasion at wild dogs without ear protection. Once I had to use my AR.

The only time that my ears weren't ringing afterwards was when I fired 7 times at a dog that was charging me, too much adrenaline I think.
 
Kreyzhorse said:
As far as a self defense situation, as a hunter, you will never hear the gun go off so the sound alone won't impede your actions.
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Unfortunately, the physical effects of exposure to loud noise is completely unrelated to what your conscious mind recognizes or remembers.

Every gun shot without using hearing protection permanently damages your hearing. Every single one, every single time. It might be a tiny, unnoticeable amount this time and not the next, or a tiny unnoticeable amount 500 times in a row, that is suddenly noticeable after number 501, or 5001, but every single shot is doing permanent, irreversible, real damage.

There is no longer any excuse for shooting a firearm, in any but an instant, life-threatening situation, without wearing hearing protection.

Electronic muffs, that ENHANCE your natural abilities while hunting, can now be had for as little as $25. Every style and performance level is available, from huge cheap, adequate muffs to tiny "Inside The Ear" models, at every price range imaginable. They even make some models that integrate with two-way radios, so you can protect your hearing and still use a radio headset.
 
I am not saying this is good for you, but you asked.

First off, I never ever used hearing protection anywhere until I was about 26 years old. I grew up shooting outdoors, rarely went to a range, just shot in the country and deer hunting, dove, rabbits and birds on the telephone line.

The first few years in the Army, early 80's, they didn't use any, we just shot and lived with it. We were shooting M16A1s, full auto, and M60 machineguns mostly. Yes, the ears did ring. Every time I qualified I started a set by just listening to the first few rounds and acclimating myself to it before I would join in.

My job then was Military Intelligence and I listened and identified enemy radar signals so we had to take hearing tests to remain certified for the job. I never failed but there was measurable hearing loss is specific frequency ranges so it certainly had an effect.

Later I was in the Combat Engineers, we blew up stuff alot. Sometimes with hearing protection sometimes not. Tanks are crazy noisy and our main gun was a 165mm cannon that fired 65 lbs of High Explosive Plastic (HEP) that was quite impressive to see. We tore a range up on a live fire so bad at Ft. Benning in 1987 that they refused to let us go live the next year.

Needless to say today I always wear hearing protection at a range, it's just smart, but I never worry about it anywhere else. My hearing is damaged in measurable degrees, but I am not deaf yet and I have never had anyone tell me I talk too loud. That's all I can offer.
 
Growing up we shot a lot and I never saw hearing protection on anyone untill I was probably 14. All I remember is how I enjoyed shooting but couldn't shoot much since I didn't like the noise. One other sidenote is I developed a terrible flinch anticipating the noise that still haunts me to this day. Many reasons to wear very good hearing protection.......all the time.
 
There is no reason to ever not wear hearing protection while practicing. There is a phenomenon known as "auditory exclusion," where in a stressful situation you do not hear the shots.

I wear custom ear plugs from the doctors office and the highest NNR muff I can find. Exposure to noise is like radiation, cumulative gradual reduction in hearing ability. The sound scale is logarithmic so a NRR 28 muff will protect substantially less than an NRR 29 muff. When you get your ear plug molds make sure to open your mouth and move around your jaw, it seems to make for a better earplug. I can hear a lot of things pretty well with the custom plugs inserted even though they have an NRR of 29 or so, it takes a plug and a muff to really silence things.

I have permanent tinnitus in my ears from shooting 5.56 as a teenager and thinking that I needed to get my ears "used" to the sound so my reaction would be more effective in a defensive situation.

Take care of your ears, hearing protection is a lot cheaper than dealing with the intricacies of hearing aids.

This ear plug from the doctors office:

http://www.westone.com/defendear/

I cannot find the direct link but I use a style 40 NRR 29.

I use a Peltor H10A for comfortable high NRR:

http://www.peltor.com/peltor.com/non_detail.cfm?prod_family=Muff H10&ind_prod_num=H10A001

Some flavor of a this sort of muff is invaluable for shooting classes:

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/...GJgs_T4RSH95SZN_N2RL3FHWVK_GPD0K8BC31gv)&rt=d

Please note, that when getting a noise cancelling muff to look at the maximum NRR because that will be the maximum noise reduction limit of the muff. If you are in a rifle class next to other people's muzzles and muzzle breaks you will need all the NRR you can possibly stand. http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/...GJgs_T4RSH95SZN_N2RL3FHWVK_GPD0K8BC31gv)&rt=d
 
My dad started taking me duck hunting when I was 8. That was around 1968. We did not wear any hearing protection back then . Never heard of anyone wearing it for hunting until many years later. I did not go to an official range to shoot until I was much older and hearing protection was the norm.
I always wear plugs and/or good muffs now. Gotta protect those ears. Only have the two.
I have been playing drums since I was 7. There has been a little damage done from that and the cymbals and playing in bands. I have been using ear plugs for that also for many years.
 
Never leave home without it.

I forgot to put my hear protection on after talking to friends at an outside range with a roof above the ports. I found out really quick how loud a .357 mag really is. My ears were ringing and had trouble hearing the rest of the day.
 
I have shot 50rds of 357 without protection so I wouldn't be surprised or shocked if I had to shoot without ear protection. Made my ears ring for a day or 2 nothing permanent.

I go hunting without ear protection and shoot 308 and other large guns don't really notice until the adrenaline wears off a little ringing.

I have meet a few old timers mostly deaf that blame it on shooting with no protection, I guess back in the day ear muffs were not that popular.
 
You have no idea if you did permanent damage. This is the kind of response which indicates a lack of knowledge. They occur over and over whenever this topic comes up.

There is no need to repeat inaccurate blather.

Thus, closed.
 
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