[wagoneer1019]

so I got back form the ear doc and I have 40% hearing loss in the tone of gun shots and explossions in my right ear. I think it might be from a firework exploding in my right hand when I was 11. but sometimes I wonder if it is from the few times shooting big guns with out ear plugs. but, if the latter was true why is my left ear not affected?. also when I shoot my rifles It seems the sound resonates down my jaw and into my right ear so even with ear plugs Im kinda deaf in my right ear. any one else have this issue?

[ATAShooter]

Trapshooters suffer from this dilemma alot. The reason the left ear takes a dump ( If you are right handed shooter ), and not the right is the fact of you are hunched over against the stock, which puts your shoulder up near your right ear and kills the harshness of the sound going into that ear ( opposite if you are left handed ). I too suffer from this. I Shot trap 15 years w/o protection like a dummy.

[scurtis_34471]

I wear plugs and muffs and insist my kids do the same. I am a life-long audio nut and the last thing I want to do is ruin one hobby while enjoying another.

[106rr]

I have the hearing loss in both ears. it also comes from claymore mines, artillery barrages(especially incoming) mortar rounds and of course the 106mm Recoilless Rifle. The 106 is the loudest weapon in the arsenal since the backblast and the muzzle blast hit you. The muzzle blast takes the left ear and the backblast takes the right ear.The trigger is in the middle on the side of the gun. You can't use earplugs in combat because you need to hear any movement to your front. The VA will pay for tinnitus but not hearing loss. You only get help for hearing loss if you have 100% disability.
Use plugs AND muffs evey time if you are a civilian shooter.

[Plink]

Scurtis is a wise man indeed. I also suffer hearing loss in my left ear. I *USED* to be a recording engineer and have always been a hardcore audiophile. If you truly enjoy music, hearing loss is devastating. If it's what you do for a living, it's even more devastating.

[AlaskaErik]

I'd have to see how you insert your ear plugs to ensure that you're doing it correctly. I use foam ear plugs all the time and there is an art to inserting them correctly. You have to compress them by rolling them between your fingers, as if rolling a cigarette. Then you quickly reach over your head with your opposite hand, pull up the ear and insert the ear plug all the way inside the canal. Too many people insert it partially, which does almost no good, or they're not fast enough and the plug expands before it is fully inserted. I use E A R Classic plugs, which are available in hardare stores. These are the same earplugs that I used flying over 5000 hours as a C-130 loadmaster, and I still have way better hearing than most folks. Wearing muffs on top of that is even better. Some muffs have indentations in the cups to allow you to get a good cheek weld. But most of my shooting is done with just ear plugs that are properly inserted.

[Jenrick]

Double'em up. Everytime. Why take a chance?

-Jenrick

[SlamFire1]

I have a lot more hearing loss in my right ear than the left. I have been a competitive highpower shooter for over 20 years, and I think it is due to sound transmission on the jaw. I use a hard stock weld, and rifles like M1'a or M1's transmit a lot of slamming and banging noises through the stock. I use plugs and muffs, but above certain sound levels, you still go deaf. And then if you are pressing your jaw again a loud noise maker, well I expect the sound goes directly into the inner ear.

[quatin]

Do you get dizzy spells from hearing imbalance with one ear worse than the other?

This is the first time I've heard that a hard cheek weld will cause hearing loss despite hearing protection. Would it help if you put "non-resonant" material on the stock for the cheek weld? Maybe some type of foam padding?

[106rr]

Part of your hearing comes from the bones in your head. Seriously, when you have been exposed to extreme explosive trauma the induction (bone) hearing goes dead. If there is more vibration on one side than the other you will get more bone damage. Usually the loss in one ear results from proximity of the muzzle not the cheek weld.
The loss of hearing in one ear is called "shooters notch" This is because it shows a notch in your audiogram consistent with a specific range of hearing. It is more properly called a "high frequency loss" Unfortunately, I have it in both ears from incoming artillery and mortars as well as the recoilless rifles, claymores etc.

[Jackal]

What? I can't hear you!:neener:




Sorry, it just had to be done.:)

[Plain Old Bill]

I was a registered Hearing Conservationist in industry for 20 years- believe me when I tell you that wearing anything less than plugs AND muffs is downright foolish. Make sure the NRR (Noise reduction rating is at LEAST 30 with the plugs (the disposable kind are best) and the muffs are at least 25. If you have those canal caps (earplugs with a connecting peice of plastic, like a headset) throw them away now.
Hearing loss doesn't just cause inconvenience- it comes with a host of other problems, including personality changes, depression, etc.

PS- I haven't heard the terminology "Shooter's notch" for quite awhile! They now call it the "C-4 dip", 'cause it occurs at about 4000 megaherz.

[dispatch55126]

I double up now with plugs and muffs. Last fall I had to unload my BP revolver in the rain so I stood in the doorway to a shed. I still have moderate tinitis in that ear and there is definetely a difference in my hearing between the two ears.:banghead:

[Drakejake]

Wet tissue in the ears is a very effective sound deadener. I use this, for example, in noisy restaurants and noisy New York City streets and subways. I can still hear conversations with my ears plugged this way. At the range, I put good earmuffs on top for extra protection. I am a singer and need to hear really well for as long as possible. I prefer shooting outdoors because the noise (and lead pollution) is less than inside.

Drakejake

[wanderinwalker]

Quite honestly, I'm content to NOT have my hearing loss tested at this specific moment. I know for certain there are frequency ranges missing, and I often have trouble hearing people if there are certain background noises going at the same time.

I don't think I can blame it all on the shooting, though I did learn on a .22 without hearing protection for the first few years. I've also fired on indoor ranges without doubling protection and had those foam earplugs not work properly from time to time. I've also ridden thousands of miles on motorcycles (don't ask how many hours that amounts too), driven too many miles with the windows down, been exposed to plenty of load music, lawnmowers, snowblowers and had numerous ear infections when I was a little, little kid.

Now I'm only 23, and I prefer to shoot with plugs and muffs on. Others complain at the range because I "can't hear them when they're talking". Well, I'd rather not hear them talking on a firing point than not hear them talking over dinner in 10 years! :mad:

Edited: And they need to speak up when talking to me anyway already. You'd think they'd get the point?

[Ditchtiger]

I spent 3 years as a puller for trap ranges. On a busy day I pulled 12,000 at my house alone, there where 24 houses at this range. Some days I left work dizzy. For a couple summers I worked 2 clubs at the same time, 6-7 days a week in my mid-teens. My hearing is shot. This was the mid 70's, used no hearing protection, none offered from the employer