deafness and the .22 rim fire

[Wild Romanian]

For all those who may have missed the article published many years ago on deafness and the danger from the .22 rimfire. The 22. rimfire according to some doctors is far more dangerous to hearing than the high power rifle. An extremely loud noise will somewhat partially close us the valve in the inner ear partially blocking out some of the noise. When firing a .22 rimfire the inner ear valve does not close up but allows the noise to enter the inner ear doing far more damage than the high power rifle. Both weapons will cause deafness but the .22 does it much more quickly. Always, Always wear hearing protection. My friends who have not are already quite deaf. W.R.

 

[Quartus]

Eh? Whad you say?

Good advice. I don't remember learning anything about a valve in the ear, but all noise damage is cumulative. Chain saws, circular saws, .22s and 30-06's all take their toll.

Of course, that LAW I once fired with no earplugs didn't help any, either!


There's nothing manly about being deaf!

 

[Redlg155]

I've shot .22 LR Pistols that hurt my ears more than a 155mm Howitzer round. I've also shot .357 magnums unprotected..huh...whaaaa?...oohhh..ok..get on with the story ya say?....

To make a long story short...it's not how loud the noise is but rather what type of noise it is. I agree..always wear ear plugs, and no, cigarette butts are not an acceptable substitute!

Good Shooting
RED

 

[PreserveFreedom]

Now you tell me.

 

[denfoote]

I am 45 years old now. When I was 11, to 13 years old, my father, God rest his soul, went with me to the shooting range at the local YMCA camp. I was shooting the venerable Marlin Model 60. There, I also learned about the important notions of firearm safety, gun handeling, and marksmanship. I obtained my NRA Pro Marksman rateing. I did all this without any ear protection. I shot, as near as I can remember, at least 5 to 6 thousand rounds. I have no idea how much my Dad spent on this. To a little kid, any amount would have been tremendous. I am forever gratefull to my Dad for this opportunity. However, they didn't know about the effects of loud, sharp noises on young ears at that time. To this day, I have hearing loss in both my ears. I now wear at least 35db attunation ear protection when I shoot.