Use It or Lose It - Hearing Protection

I first developed a ringing in my ears when I was around 21 years old. I fired a 1911 with no hearing protection and my ears immediately began screaming. Ever since then I have teh ringing in my ears. I hear it now as I type this. I hear it all the time it is most noticeable when I try to sleep.
 
Wadded up toilet paper does not "work great" ... if you keep doing that you can plan on spending a lot of money on hearing aids.
 
Went into the Army with perfect hearing,came out with a loss in my right ear(Their rubber plugs suck). Ever since then i use foam plugs,and electronic muffs.Even when we go out to see local bands i find myself putting foam in,it just isn't worth any further hearing loss.
 
Four years U.S.M.C., large guns, small guns, frags, etc. No hearing protection. Can't hear s**t.
Wife is always irritated.
Buzzing in ears that never stops.
Difficulty functioning in many situations.
V.A. gave up on hearing aids five years ago.

Take it for what it is worth.
Good luck with T.P. ear protection.
 
Always Always Always Double plugged

My hearing is already very fragile from poor genetics and lots of sinus infections. My tinnitus comes and goes, in fact, I've got some static going on right now.

I cant' understand why "suppressors" are so severally restricted under the National Firearms Act. It just makes zero sense. From what I've read the noise reduction would only be about 20%, but any little bit helps. The near ban on suppressors is simply assinine and I really would like to file suit to get this regulation off the books. I'm thinking that an ADA approach might work as well as a Second Amendment attack.
 
I use electronic ear muffs at the range. However, if you get into a shooting situation out in public, what do you use?? I did a Gun Fighting Class last year and one of the parts of the course was shooting from in and around your vehicle in an armed confrontation situation. The second situation I did not have my hearing protection on and from inside my car it was really loud shooting thru the passenger side window rolled down. You may want to at least test this situation out as in a public gun fight there will be no hearing and likely no eye protection. That could come as a real shock to you if you have not experienced it.
 
Toilette paper muffles the sound of voices and therefore may provide you the illusion of protection. It offers ZERO protection from gunfire. Same with cotton balls. I used both in my youth and now suffer severe tinnitus. I cannot remember what silence sounds like.

I now consistently use foam plugs under electronic ear muffs. Don't know if the NRR is fully additive but they are rated at 33dB and 25 dB respectively. I can hear range commands and still have very good protection from gunfire.

I do not recommend exposing your ears to gunfire unprotected just so it won't come as a shock to you. In a real gunfight you may not even hear your own weapon discharge as the catecholamine dump you experience will often cause things like tunnel vision and auditory exclusion. A single time firing a weapon from inside a vehicle may cause permanent hearing loss. A reasonable sacrifice to save your life, not acceptable for practice. IMHO
 
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I wish i had took hearing protection more seriously the first time i fired my .44 after the 3rd shot i was trying to plug my left ear with my shoulder to ease the db overload (unsuccesfully) and after the 5th shot i had to stop and went home with ears still ringin a tiny bit and pain in my left ear.

Ever since then i have used ear plugs and what a difference, i will never fire a firearm without hearing protection ever again.

Unless my life depends on it...

-illus1on
 
Always have used plugs under muffs. Also have always used eye protection, more then once it has saved my eyes from brass that would otherwise hit me hard in the eyeball.
 
I work around some of the louder noise sources on earth: turbine engines. I'm a pilot. I wear ear plugs during pre-flight, and when walking around a flight line. I wear active noise reduction headsets in the cockpit.

I used to ride a Harley. I wore ear plugs with a half-helm; engine noise wasn't too bad, but wind noise at 65mph plus is a bear.

I shoot a lot. I wear plugs, or plugs and cups.

My hearing is still pretty decent, in my mid-40s. But when I was about 30, I had a flight surgeon once ask me if I shot a lot of pistol. I asked why he asked? He said I had noticeable mid-range (I think around 4000Hz) hearing loss in my left ear, which is where gunfire noise would focus when a right-hander shoots from Weaver or Chapman... It was right after that I started using double protection; haven't noticed much dB loss ever since.
 
i used to b heavily into home audio and at one point my system actually cracked the drywall in my house not only in the one room but in another room on the opposit side of the house. and even with all that abuse my hearing seems to still b good.

Firearms is another story tho. would prolly only take a few clips or cylinders to perm damage ur hearing without hearing protection.

Like i said earlier 5 shots from my 44 c&b without protection and my left ear had pain for about 2 hrs after.
 
Hope to God, I never get into
a "shooting" situation but if I
did, my hearing would be the last
thing I'd be worried about.
Coming out alive with damaged ears
is fine with me considering the alternative.
 
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