Folks tend to overestimate the sound of a shot, based on firing in indoor ranges. A house has couches, rugs, tables etc that absorb or reflect noise. An indoor range does not.
That makes for a good worst-case scenario.
I've fired 30-30s & 44 mag outdoors without hearing protection. I don't recommend it, but if I need to fire 3-7 rounds to save my life, hearing loss is the LAST thing I'll worry about. If it made folks deaf, bad guys would wear hearing aids...
I think a key point that everybody seems to be missing here is that I'm trying to mitigate the issue through caliber/weapon selection ahead of time. If and when I have to shoot to save my life and those of my loved ones, I'll do what I've been training to do regardless of potential hearing damage. What's the point of having good hearing if you or somebody important to you is dead, right? It's just that it would suck if I blew out my eardrums when I could have at least limited the amount of damage when I had the luxury of time, as I do now, to consider such issues. To simply brush it aside as if it didn't matter at all is pointless.
All I use at the range is either a cheap set of electronic muffs (recent purchase, not sure what I think of them yet) or a pair of muffs I have had since 1980. Rarely, just a set of disposable foam plugs. I'm never bothered by the noise of rifles or magnums.
Maybe it is the years of loud rock music...that, and the fact that when I was young, it was said that the 22lr needed no hearing protection, which we now know is false.
Well, I have fairly sensitive hearing, and with only muffs or plugs rather than both, my ears start to ache if I or somebody nearby (usually in an indoor range) shoots .357 Magnum rounds (not normally an issue because I double up now). I've repeatedly considered using this caliber for home defense, but that little ache tells me that I may regret it, and for no benefit, as I believe now. Maybe if I strongly believed that .357 Magnum is far more effective than the usual service calibers, I'd still consider it, but I changed my thinking about that a while back regardless of noise, so it's moot now.
I once fired five rounds frm a 380acp out side with no protection at all...New pistol, just had to try it out...My ears rang for 24 hours...enough that it bothered me that night when I went on a date.
There have been a few other rounds over the years with no protection...
My ears are more sensitive than those of anybody I know personally, probably because I've always taken care of them. That said, I did walk on the wild side, experimenting with gradually breaking the seal on my muffs while shooting .40 S&W and some other calibers, and was surprised to find that while they were indeed LOUD, I don't expect to be stunned by the report of my own weapon even when shooting defensively indoors (there was no ringing or pain--my ears inexplicably felt fine). But .357 Magnum actually hurts with the muffs all the way on (doesn't even sound that loud--it just kind of aches like there's a resonance or something like that
), so I'm probably never going to use it defensively. Why risk severe damage or deafness if I don't even think the caliber offers a significant advantage, or any at all?
In any case, I am unwilling to introduce concern for my hearing as a reason to compromise the effectiveness of my self defense.
I like my 180 grain .40 S&W load just fine, and it's easier on my ears as a major bonus.
I mentioned my Father. He was something of a weapons expert in his unit, and had enlisted prior to WWII...He experienced artillery bombardments from both ends, as well as all the small arms and machine guns and the 37mm cannon on his armored car. He participated in house and building clearing in french and german towns. He even had a collection of german automatic weapons he trained other units on, in case they needed them...Do you really think a couple rounds of 357 mag would be worse than a belt through an MG42 or a Browning 50cal? In fact, I knew a few war vets...people who fought in WWII, Korea, and Viet Nam...bonafied vets of heavy fighting...they all seem to hear fine.
You've already brought this up. I couldn't stand such loud sounds, even momentarily, much less sustained. Live concert music makes my ears ring immediately so I avoid it, and I don't go to movie theaters anymore because they're just too loud (and hearing protection makes the audio sound lame--I'd rather watch at home on my own terms). Most likely even a few .40 S&W rounds with zero protection would compromise my hearing permanently, and I'm willing to accept that. Or maybe I'll be lucky and not suffer any damage at all, as .40 S&W has never hurt my ears. But I don't know what .357 Magnum would do, and I don't want to find out, especially since it doesn't matter to me anyway. You think it's more effective, and in that light you've made a valid point with regard to priorities, but I do not think it is more effective. Why risk my hearing for no gain? All of these calibers just poke little holes. To each their own.