Shooting without ear protection.

Some of you guys are entertaining.
I have fired a 357 mag in an enclosed space and it will leave your ears ringing but won't cause you to fold and drop to the floor. I don't normally fire handguns w/o ear protection but the world won't end for me if I do. I don't use ear plugs while hunting and seeing it on TV makes me chuckle. When I was younger, there were no warnings about hearing loss and protecting the ears so I have about 60% hearing loss but I certainly wouldn't wish to have that loss back at the risk of my life.
The comment about the hunter nearly falling out of his stand due to the "loudness" of the 7 mag is funny. He might have been surprised and almost launched himself but not from the force of the noise.
When subjected to a muzzle blast(artillery) that has a concussive force or a blast that has screeching sound component, immediate ear damage may occur. Normal gunfire is way below that level.
 
In my younger days, 1970 or so, I shot 357 and 44 mag without ear protection. We would go out plinking and use cigarette filters, spent shells as ear plugs. Not very effective protection. I have 24/7 tinnitus as a result of that behavior. In an SD situation you have to do what you have to do but under any other circumstances I wouldn't shoot without ear protection. As far as familiarizing yourself beforehand .... don't bother, it is a loud noise that will make your ears ring. That is about all it is. Might cause permanent damage, might not, depending on the level of exposure.
 
When I was young and stupid, we shot everything without hearing protection; countless thousands of .22lr, a smattering of .357mag and various shotguns.

I don't remember ever being stunned or disoriented and never more than a temporary ringing in my ears.

Fast forward a decade or two and I find during routine employment screening that I have permanent hearing impairment in the upper frequency ranges.

Don't intentionally take a chance with your hearing!
 
skifast said:
As far a shooting without hearing protection, go ahead and try it. You won't harm your hearing shooting a few shots.
Click to expand...
I would highly discourage this. You only have one set of ear drums and they CAN be damaged with just one exposure to loud noise in a confined area. I would only do this if it were a life or death situation. NO, NO, NO
 
Wear protection at the range and sleep with cotton balls in your ears....your wife probably snores anyway!

For those who cannot detect humor, I am kidding.

:eek:
 
Concerning hearing loss and gunfire I am reminded of the lyrics of the song " You don't know what you got till its gone " by Cinderella....and it is very true with hearing loss.

Each and every loud noise can cause hearing damage, from plinking on the range with subsonic loads in .22 rifles up to the occasional .30-06 shot at a deer during hunting season.

The effect is cumulative, and it is the combined damage over time that really destroys your hearing. When you shoot without protection, other than temporary ringing in your ears you may think that no real damage has happened, but rest assured, it is has occurred.

The permanent damage will manifest itself years later when you can no longer hear the voices of your grandchildren when they ask you to tell them stories about your youth.

You only get one set of ears ( and eyes ) in a lifetime, don't foolishly put them at risk.
 
Last edited:
Bravo is right about auditory exclusion.
Click to expand...

While you may not perceive the noise as loudly, it does nothing to reduce the damage that is occurring.


As far a shooting without hearing protection, go ahead and try it. You won't harm your hearing shooting a few shots.
Click to expand...

Every shot is above the damage level.

More shots just speeds things up.
 
Mobuck said -

I have fired a 357 mag in an enclosed space .... I don't normally fire handguns w/o ear protection but the world won't end for me if I do. ... so I have about 60% hearing loss but I certainly wouldn't wish to have that loss back at the risk of my life.
Click to expand...

That's some pretty convincing testimony. :eek: Sorry about your hearing loss, please take care of what you have left.
 
I agree with skifast, shooting without ears in is a big difference. When I shoot, I like to engage one target with 2-3 rounds, do a reload and engage a second with 2-3 rounds at the start and somewhere around the middle. The rest of the time ears are in.
 
I've shot a .357Mag indoors with a full-power self-defense round. It didn't stun me, but it did leave me totally deaf for a few minutes and badly impaired (very hard of hearing and with significant ringing) the rest of the night. It improved over the next few days and the ringing rarely bothers me anymore, but I never got all the hearing back in my left ear.

That's from ONE shot.

If you have to shoot without hearing protection in a do or die situation then do what you have to do. If you don't have to shoot without hearing protection then don't do it. Whatever small benefit you might gain from practicing without the proper protective equipment is not worth the damage you will do to your hearing.
 
I keep electronic muffs on my nightstand along with a high-intensity flashlight and a quick-access to a handgun. We sleep with our dog (14 lb yappy rat terrier) in the bedroom with the bedroom door closed. If the dog starts barking and whining in the night, I have made it a practice to put on the muffs, turn the switch to full gain, grab the light and gun, and go investigate. They've all been false alarms, but each time I get a bit faster and fumble less. Yes, I did practice in the beginning, but nothing beats actually doing this when woken up from sleep.

Some comments: It's much easier to grab the electronic muffs and turn them on than it is to fumble with my hearing aids. I get the best of both worlds - amplified sound and protection from loud noises. I always praise the dog, I don't want him to shirk if he hears something. There is enough ambient light in my house at night so that I rarely need to use the flashlight; I use it just to check shadowed areas, especially if it looks like something is moving there.
 
...but I honestly can't say I remember the recoil or the noise of the shot...
Click to expand...

I second what Dr. Strangelove said. I was involved in a shooting and all I remember, besides my fixation on the target, was seeing the brass flying out of the weapon. I have no recollection of noise, recoil or anything else. It is quite traumatic.

You will damage your hearing a little bit each time you shoot without hearing protection; the damage is cumulative. I don't think needing hearing protection will be a factor in a self defense situation.
 
I can add from experience that when you are the one doing the shooting there really is such a thing as auditory exclusion. You hear the shot or shots but the sound seems muted or of little consequence. It just doesn't grab your attention. A therapist once asked me, "what did it sound like?" I answered back not trying to be funny, rifle fire, which was the truth. My buddies laughed at the debrief. I guess he was making the point that some hear no sound at all, not my case at all.

You really are on another plane. The sound is nowhere as noticeable as when someone starts shooting around you at the range just as you are putting your ears on. I believe adrenaline and fear have a lot to do with it.
 
The sound is nowhere as noticeable
Click to expand...

It is still causing damage.

Auditory exclusion is a psychological effect, how your mind is perceiving the sound.

It does not alter how the ear itself is acted on by the sound, the cause of the damage in the cochlea..
 
When subjected to a muzzle blast(artillery) that has a concussive force or a blast that has screeching sound component, immediate ear damage may occur. Normal gunfire is way below that level.
Click to expand...
That's about as dangerous and reckless as a statement can get. Do NOT shoot even ONE shot without ear protection if it can be prevented. The damage is not reversible and I promise you WILL miss that hearing when it goes away. As has been mentioned it is accumulative, so every shot counts whether you like it or not. I have e-muffs on my nightstand. I don't expect to be able to don them in a full-on emergency, but for the I thought I heard something times, they are a valuable tool, which may help to save your hearing as well as your gun saves your life.
 
Jake Balam

Shooting without ear protection.
Now we all know that shooting without proper ear protection can and will cause permanent hearing loss.

However, when in a SD scenario, I doubt there will be time to throw in your ear plugs. Firing a gun without ear protection could disorient and stun you so follow up shots wouldn't be possible.
Click to expand...

I doubt that a defensive handgun cartridge round fired inside of a building would disorient you or stun you. The muzzle flash (if large and bright enough) might partially blind you though. There are some manufacturers who advertises low muzzle flash ammo.

I have practiced firing inside of buildings day and night with both handguns and shotguns. I was wearing hearing protection and can't see how firing a handgun would come anywhere close to disorienting or stunning me without hearing protection. A 3" 12 gauge magnum 00 buckshot fired from a shotgun puts out a lot more energy than the .45acp and 10mm auto rounds that I've used in handguns.
 
I would not ever want to fire a weapon without hearing protection and certainly not inside a home. Of course in a SD situation, you just gotta do what ya gotta do. I do have a pair of 33bd muffs ontop of my gunbox in the bedroom. Will I use them if a intruder is in my home? maybe. I have them there so I can make that decision when it happens. I do know that while wearing them in a quiet home, I can hear normal sounds perfectly well.

As far as auditory eclusion goes.. I tend to believe in it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top