The effects on hearing from shooting a 22LR out of a rifle?

[Jayhawkhuntclub]

Whenever I see this issue brought up, I hear a lot of (sometimes emotional) people go on and on about how it can damage hearing. I've not seen any good scientific evidence that this is true. I hear about sound print and decibles that are created by a 22 rifle, but never do they say where these were measured from. Obviously it makes a HUGE difference if they are measued behind the bolt or in front of the muzzle. So just saying how many decibles are created is meaningless if they don't tell you from where they were measued. I mean, if I'm in front of the muzzle, noise isn't going to be my biggest concern. Then I hear people tell about how they shot 22 rifles as a kid and correlate it to their hearing loss. That of course begs the question: did you ever light fireworks, go to a concert or watch a 4th of July celerbration, or use a hammer? How do you know it was from shooting a 22 in a rifle? Now I would never shoot a centerfire rifle or any 22 (including shorts) from a pistol without protection. I find anything fired from a handgun unpleasant with out ear protection. But I find it hard to believe that a 22 LR from a rifle is harmful. I'm not trying to start an argument, just a discussion. So does anyone have any solid evidence either way? Thanks.

 

[Art Eatman]

Hearing loss from using a .22 rimfire will occur, but it's very minor compared to other noise impacts. Looking back, I'd say that my years in the Army were the most damaging. Centerfire rifles and artillery are far greater for high db levels.

Hear-guards are worthwhile when target shooting or plinking, no matter that it's "just" a .22. I wouldn't use them while hunting, since there's not all that much shooting involved.

I figure that hunting with a .22 is a bunch less harmful than a rock concert.

 

[emcon5]

Hearing damage is cumulative, and generally irreversible. Wear your protective gear whenever possible.

 

[warbirdlover]

I have lost hearing way down into the speech range and wear $5,000 hearing aids. If they get worse the only choice I have is a cochlear implant.

My hearing loss came from having to take a drug (to survive) for a severe form of arthritis that had a side effect (in 1º of users) of damaging the "hairs" in the inner ear.

I have shot high power rifles all my life (wearing ear protection) with no additional damage.

I can not believe the little pop of a .22 LR would do any damage. Of course I'm deaf

What is going to ruin young people's hearing (most of them!) now is the super loud noise from playing their music in their super powerful car stereo's. When they have the car windows rolled up and a deaf person like me can hear that music a block away I will guarantee you they will have worse hearing then I do at a much younger age.

 

[Jbotto]

When I spend an afternoon shooting .22's it can easily reach well over 300 rounds downrange. If I don't wear plugs, my ears ring at the end of the day. I also shoot better with plugs in so I where them. Personally the dollar or less in plugs is worth the risk. Even if it doesn't harm my ears after all...

 

[johnbt]

"people go on and on about how it can damage hearing."

I go on and on about it because I DAMAGED MY HEARING SHOOTING .22 LR. My ears have been ringing since the late '60s.

What else would you like to know? If you don't believe the people who have damaged hearing, you aren't going to believe anyone.

"How do you know it was from shooting a 22 in a rifle?"

Because I did vastly more shooting than any of those other things. The rock and roll came after the hearing damage. I didn't even have a stereo until '68 and it wasn't but 20 watts per channel.

"But I find it hard to believe that a 22 LR from a rifle is harmful. I'm not trying to start an argument, just a discussion."

Believe it and stop acting so innocent.

John

 

[johnbt]

"I can not believe the little pop of a .22 LR would do any damage."

Facts are facts. What you believe doesn't matter. Oh well. That "little pop" only proves you cannot hear very well. It's a lot louder than a pop. A sound meter will prove that.

 

[briandg]

I don't see how a .22 lr round could damage hearing. Shoot, I can't even hear them. how loud can they be?

 

[johnbt]

I hope you're trying to be funny by saying you can't hear them. If not, get your hearing checked, you're almost deaf.

 

[johnbt]

Picked at random. www.keepandbeararms.com/information/XcIBViewItem.asp?id=2052#_ftnref2

A .22 LR is 134 db.

Remember when you look at db numbers in the lists, an increase of 10 db means the noise DOUBLES.

Acoustic trauma can be mechanical or metabolic in nature.

And one gun shot about equals one week in a noisy factory environment with no hearing protection.

That's it, you're on your own.

 

[tahunua001]

3 years onboard a naval vessel has done more to kill my hearing than the entirety of my teenage years shooting 22s without earplugs...
'nough said

 

[Fishbed77]

I know my Ruger Mark III sounds pretty loud to me. Rifles - not so loud. Still, I wear ear protection whenever I shoot, even if it's just a few rounds (unless hunting). There's no good reason not too. A little laziness is not worth even the potential of damaging your hearing (you only get one pair of ears to last a lifetime).

 

[hornetguy]

I agree with the OP... the decibel level should be measured at the same point the ear is in relation to the muzzle.

I think... IIRC, that the threshold for hearing loss is considered to be somewhere around 80 decibels.

Many things should be taken into consideration.. are you shooting at a range that has a low roof that will bounce the sound back at you?

In any case, if the decibel level at the muzzle is 134 db, then it is probably capable of damaging your hearing, even with your ears a couple of feet behind the muzzle.
I would REALLY like to see some test results from different distances behind the muzzle, compared to even with, or in front of the muzzle.

 

[Ozzieman]

A big +1 on emcon5 Hearing damage is cumulative, and generally irreversible. Wear your protective gear whenever possible.
Not from shooting but from military service mine was damaged (jet engines) when I shoot loud rounds like .223 or 6mm and handguns I wear plugs and muffs. Never shoot anything else without good quality muffs.
Try living with a constant ringing in your ears for 20+ years. We’re talking about a two stroke leaf blower from about 50 yards loud ALL the time.
Hearing damage sucks, don’t let it happen.

 

[2damnold4this]

I agree that .22lr makes far less noise out of a rifle than it does a handgun but I still think the threshold for hearing damage is surpassed. No reason not to wear ear protection when practicing.

 

[mete]

Sadly most youngsters have significant hearing loss from listening to LOUD music. I have been unable to influence them ! Noise is noise .Impact type is worse [shooting , jackhammer etc] and of course higher dB is worse.

 

[Casimer]

Many things should be taken into consideration.. are you shooting at a range that has a low roof that will bounce the sound back at you?

+1 the acoustics of the range play a big role - e.g. whether it's fully or partially enclosed, the materials used, etc..

The procedure that I've read about, for firearms db testing, is to place a mic 90 degrees from the muzzle at 10'. They can apparently infer db levels at other positions from that reading.

 

[Sweet Shooter]

I have done lots of research on this. My findings tell me that the damage is a product of pressure level x volume (volumetric amount of moving air subjected to that pressure). Continued exposure to 90db or more in a typical enclosed space will eventually cause damage. Outdoors... it would take a long, long time, you might die waiting. When your ears ring after loud music they are not necessarily damaged. In fact the ringing is the sound the little hairs in the ear realigning themselves—recovering. Worry when you don't hear that ringing after you know you've been exposed to a high pressure level. Also it only takes 1db to double the pressure level IIRC... but that does not mean volume is doubled.

Given that a 22 is way hotter than 90db albeit for only brief moments... it's best to wear earplugs if you're shooting more than a couple of shots.

Also a PZM (omni) mic' should be the pickup of choice for measuring db outdoors or indoors... because that's how wide our ears work.

-SS-

 

[Chris_B]

WHAT?!

Sorry, had to do it

Constant ringing in the ears. People who don't have it can't appreciate how blissful it used to be to hear things other than a low constant ring. In the '90s I was pretty near a small accidental explosion (I didn't have anything to do with the explosion, wise guys) and my right ear has rung 24/7, 7 days a week 52 weeks a year ever since. It can be maddening

My hearing used to be fantastic. Now my stereo hearing is skewed and certain frequency sounds sound like they are coming from the left of me when they are on my right- I can't hear that frequency at all on the right side any more

Quiet rooms are the worst. Nothing to distract you from the sound. I sleep horribly.

Wear your hearing protection

 

[briandg]

Sadly most youngsters have significant hearing loss from listening to LOUD music. I have been unable to influence them ! Noise is noise .Impact type is worse [shooting , jackhammer etc] and of course higher dB is worse.

Music is not as dangerous as a jackhammer? It is. You get these fools that build amplifiers in their cars that put enough energy to blow up a house aimed right at the back of the seat, and you are getting impact waves that are not just present, but directed straight into the vicinity of the person.

Just last week, I had some idiot stop beside me at a light. He had something like mardigras beads hanging from his rear view mirror. Those danged things were bouncing and dancing like wind chimes from the force of his bass. His eardrums were taking pressure waves from all sides as they reflected off of all of the glass.

There have been MANY cases nationwide of people getting torn pleura membranes, collapsed lungs, and other thoracic injuries caused by the hammering effect of music. Mostly, it's been from idiots who park in front of the fifteen feet tall bass speakers at concerts, blowing out shockwaves so huge that you can see the skin on their faces sliding around like a dog's ears at 70 mph in the back of a truck.

Music, IMO, is a far higher impact noise than any construction equipment, UNLESS you are the one runnning it. That source of shockwaves is right there in your face. Even 20-30 feet diminishes the shockwaves from equipment.