Hearing protection and SD at home...

[Drjones]

What do you think of wearing hearing protection while in a SD situation at home?

***Specifically, I'm thinking of those electronic muffs that still allow you to hear regularly, NOT standard ear protection that kills your hearing***

I think its safe to say that a few rounds from a handgun fired inside once in a lifetime won't cause deafness, but what about a 12ga?

Would it be entirely nuts to keep a pair of those electronic hearing protectors for SD?

How well do they work anyway?

**Obviously, you likely wouldn't wear anything if you were clearing house (I think you'd need all the hearing you can get; wouldn't want ANY obstruction at all) but say if you were holed up in a room with your family, and BG started pounding the door down. Wouldn't it be safe to use ear protection then???**

 

[Cuchulainn]

Actually, a revolver can be louder than a shotgun.

I fired my .357 once without ear protection just so I could experience what it was like so I wouldn't be too shocked at the sound if I ever had to fire it in self defense. Once is all I ever want to do. My ears actually hurt and rang from just one shot.

On the other hand, I've fired a shotgun many times without hearing protection (hunting) without any noticed effect.

I think it's because the shotgun barrel channels all the sound away from your body, but a revolver lets some of the noise go back at you. Ever notice how you can feel the shock on your face with a revolver? Well sounds coming back too.

That's kind of amazing when you recall that the actual explosion in the shotgun is mere inches away from your ear, while the explosion in the revolver is 2.5 to 3.5 feet away, depending on your arm length.

But about your question, I guess it wouldn't hurt to keep hearing protection, but the odds are low that you'd get to use it in the type of scenario you describe.

 

[TallPine]

I just hope I have time to put something on at all if we ever have a home invasion.

The ear protection won't be the first thing I grab.

 

[Kalvan]

I do keep a pair of electronic headphones by the bed. I hear better with them than without them. Obviously if my first inkling of a problem is the BG kicking in the bedroom door, there would not be time to put them on. But if I hear a noise in the house and I'm going to investigate, I'd put them on before clearing the house.

 

[Preacherman]

Ditto, Kalvan. I keep a set of stereophonic ear protectors by my gun. Make sure that you get genuine stereophonic protectors, though: some of the cheaper ones just send the same sound (from a single microphone) to both ears, so that you can't tell where it's coming from. With stereophonic protectors, you can locate the sound very precisely. Also, if you turn up the microphone volume, you can hear much better than you can with the naked ear - it's like having an amplifier, so that you can hear breathing, the scuff of feet on carpet, etc. very clearly, even when the person concerned is a good distance away.

On one memorable occasion, while staying at a hotel, I thought I heard someone trying to get in, and put on the earmuffs while grabbing my gun - only to hear the couple in the room next door getting very enthusiastic about some physical activity or other (I can't imagine what...

), and knocking their bed rhythmically against the wall! Their conversation was also clearly audible with the earmuffs' amplification, and was most interesting!

 

[WYO]

Well, I've certainly fired firearms in enclosed ranges without realizing that I'd forgotten to put in my hearing protection. Once. I touched off a .338 mag from inside a rifle house. The muzzle was pointed outside the window, but I still was only 30 inches from it. My hearing is still fine. You may lose some hearing for the duration of an encounter, though, which could be important.

 

[BamBam-31]

I fired a shotgun indoors once sans hearing protection. I was dazed from the "BOOM!!" and my hearing was pretty much messed up for a good 5-10 minutes.

I think the electronic earmuffs are a good idea. Can anyone recommend a good pair, maybe provide a link? Thanks.

 

[Lawnmower]

I have a pair of PRO EARS Pro-Mag Dimension 1. Best thing out there for indoor use.

http://www.impactguns.com/store/proear_promag.html

Kenneth Lew

 

[Bogie]

If things are so bad that you've gotta pop a cap indoors, hearing damage is the least of your worries.

Huh?

 

[Abaddon]

Pellet Gun

I was in a car on a hunting trip and the idiot next to me did an NG right into the ceiling of the car about a foot from my ear. This was with a pellet gun, but inside the car it was very loud, although I think most of the noise was from the BB striking the metal of the car.

Jeff