Shooting without ear protection.

[FireForged]

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.

I currently suffer from Tinitus.. Believe me, you dont want any part of it. The doctors could not determin any specific event that caused my hearing damage but I can tell you that I am very protective of what I still have. With me it was probably a combo of Loud music in the 80's.. Loud cars in the 90's and Cheap hearing protection on the range.

 

[FireForged]

if you are really concerned with self-defense there are several things to consider:

1: you should have a designated SD firearm which is stored in a safe location with ammunition for it in a seperate location (gun safety rule number 1, proper storage).

2: you should choose the firearm based on preference and taking into account a fewthings:

as for pistols:

i wouldn't recommend something big like a .38, or a .357/.44. They will over-penetrate if you miss possible doing more harm than good. also they will cause hearing damage and are very loud. that being said, more often than not, its the noise and not the shot that does the job.

My personal preference would be a .22 revolver (yes I know only .22) for the simple fact that your most likely not dealing with anyone in body armor, a .22 will not overpenetrate, and if it makes it through your wall, it wont do much to what it hits on the otherside. Also, .22 revolvers will not cause hearing damage or daze the shooter after a couple shots (or i would be deaf).

As for rifles, once again, over penetration issues, stick to a .22 or a shotgun. Preferably 20ga, while loud, 20gas aren't as loud as a 12 ga. and stick to buck shot, for its lower penetration.

Remember, for SD you have your local laws regarding those issues to be informed of as well. also keep in mind if your woken up in the middle of the night, you wont be on your best game, and you will be much more likely to miss.

 

[RobertSB701]

SOUNDS Like A Bad Idea......

I would need to hear Ayoob's reasoning for hearing protection in a HD Bag. I can think of one good reason, obvious hearing protection...and for the bad....reduced awareness, missing..."Dad, it's just me" in the middle of the night. Think I'd rather have heightened awareness and deal with the ringing in my ears and have a hearing exam in the morning.

 

[MLeake]

Hearing protection in the HD bag.... mine is electronic, so I can still hear just fine. Sounds like you might want to consider upgrading yours, RobertSB701.

Decent Peltor electronic muffs at MidwayUSA for $99.

 

[4runnerman]

I don't think in a situation your going to be in that hearing protection is going to be something your thinking of. Things would probebly happen to fast and unexcpected. My thoughts would be,,My Gun,My Family and safty for them. I did tell my wife if(god forbid) it does happen to cover your ears because it will be loud.As for myself I will worry about that later.If time allows thats great,but i don't think it will. Nor would i be thinking of it. If time allows i think i would be thinking of how to get out of the situation and get away with no harm or shots fired. Break a window and crawl out,sneak out back door,ect. Nothing in my house is worth killing someone for other than my family.

 

[MLeake]

4runnerman, if there's no time, there's no time. Obviously, do what the situation demands.

But if there is time, might as well put on the electronics. Meanwhile, I use the Peltors when shooting in the back pasture and at the range, so I get my money's worth out of them. (I still use plugs as well, for indoor and rifle shooting.)

To add time, though, make your home harder to break into. Or, get a dog. (I have three dogs. I get warnings... about squirrels, the UPS guy, you name it.)

 

[Irish Paul]

When pig hunting once, we literally ran into a heard of pigs.

I can clearly remember every sound, cocking my S&W 29, hearing the hammer fall and the bullets striking ths pigs.

I didnt hear and bangs though.


Later on, I shot one more shot out of the 44 at a target - my ears were ringing!

I know that hearing damage happened while shooting the pigs, but I didn't hear the booms.

I imagine the same holds in the situation the OP describes.

 

[C0untZer0]

When I was in the Army I took part in a lot of shoooting competitions. I was at the firing line and only discovered after my first shot that I had forgotten to bring my ear plugs with me.

If I would have stood up or left the line I would have been disqualified for that phase of the competition.

I shot 21 rounds of 5.56 and my ears were ringing and kept ringing for hours. After that when people spoke it sounded like they were underwater.

A year later when I took my normal Army physical I had hearing loss in the high frequency range.

I wouldn't advise training without hearing protection to try to inure yourself to the blast, it's just not worth it.

 

[2edgesword]

I've fired a handgun in an enclosed area a few times without hearing protection. It is NO fun and I doubt the sanity of anyone that would do it on a regular basis.

As far as wearing hearing protection if something goes bump in the night, your hearing is a major self-defense tool, especially in a low light situation. I would not want to be wearing anything that compromised my ability to hear if I was in a self-defense situation where the threat hasn't yet been identified and dealt with. You may hear something that directs your attention in the right direction well before you see the threat. I say this recognizing that once the first shot is fired your ability to hear is going to be seriously diminished.

 

[MLeake]

Again, they make hearing protection that does NOT null out normal sound levels. It kicks in with active noise reduction against loud noises. That's what I'm recommending. No loss of situational awareness, and you don't go deaf after the first shot. With the caveat that you have time to put it on, and turn it on, of course.

 

[JohnKSa]

I would not want to be wearing anything that compromised my ability to hear if I was in a self-defense situation where the threat hasn't yet been identified and dealt with.

Yes. Fortunately, for the (probably rare) situations where there is enough time to don hearing protection in a home defense encounter, one can use good quality electronic hearing protection which not only leaves one's hearing uncompromised it can actually improve one's hearing. And it would leave one able to hear after the first shots are fired.

Obviously there won't always be time for something like that, but I figure it doesn't hurt to have the option available. I've always thought that if time was critical I'd never even remember that the hearing protection was there. I'll probably be lucky if I can remember the GUN is there.

 

[MLeake]

Buy some dogs and some good locks and door-frames, and you effectively buy some time.

 

[2edgesword]

"Again, they make hearing protection that does NOT null out normal sound levels. It kicks in with active noise reduction against loud noises. That's what I'm recommending. No loss of situational awareness, and you don't go deaf after the first shot. With the caveat that you have time to put it on, and turn it on, of course."

Yes, there is hearing protection available that doesn't compromise the wearers ability to hear ambient noise and my concerns with those would be the caveats you mentioned in addition to Murphy's law.

 

[MLeake]

2edgesword, it's better to have them and possibly have the time to employ them, than not have them and have no option to do so regardless of heads-up time. At least, I think so.

As noted earlier, I have a three-alarm system:

If noise in general isn't enough deterrent, the 50lb and 60lb dogs are both big enough to do damage, and have very attention-getting barks (deep and loud). In any case, they bark if anything happens near the house. That should normally be good for at least several seconds heads-up time, and usually more like 30 seconds or more (based on delivery guys, visitors, etc).

 

[Nnobby45]

Does anyone shoot, at least once or twice without ear protection to guage your reaction to an unmuffled gunshot in close proximity?

NO, we do not.

Unmuffled gunshots in close proximity have already been guaged in actual shootings where auditory exclusion seems to be the common result. We don't hear the gunshots. However, according to my audiologist, the likelyhood of hearing damage does not lessen even if we don't hear the gunshots.

Yes. Fortunately, for the (probably rare) situations where there is enough time to don hearing protection in a home defense encounter, one can use good quality electronic hearing protection which not only leaves one's hearing uncompromised it can actually improve one's hearing. And it would leave one able to hear after the first shots are fired.

I have a set of Peltors in my bedroom. They're old and sound a bit tinny but their amplification is excellent. I can hear a flatuated mouse at 8 yds.

I recently rebuilt the pads from a kit you can order. My newer ones aren't as amplified, but sound better.

If the situation allows me to get to them, nobody can make a move in my house, or fiddle with a door without me hearing them. The value of the electronic muffs go beyond just protecting your ears. Especially for an 'ol geezer like me whose hearing isn't what it used to be.

 

[2edgesword]

Based on the recommendations I'm going to have to check out the electronic hearing protection. As MLeake said, I'm all for having it and at least having the option to use it if the opportunity is available.

 

[Nnobby45]

Based on the recommendations I'm going to have to check out the electronic hearing protection. As MLeake said, I'm all for having it and at least having the option to use it if the opportunity is available.

It's not just about home protection. If you take a shooting course, you'll need to hear the instructor, and it's a good idea to be able to hear what's going on no matter where you're shooting.

Electronic muffs are state of the art.