Ear protection

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model4006

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Does anyone think about the possibility of temporary hearing loss when being involved in a self defense situation. I mean when i shoot my handgun, even one round and my ears are ringing like crazy, i can hardly hear for several minutes. ive only been stupid enough to try it without earplugs twice, and i refuse to shoot anything but my .22lr bolt action without hearing protection. Even my dads old ass ruger .22lr semi auto pistol (mark 1 maybe, whatever they made in the early '70's) hurts my ears. What if you had more than one BG in your house, and you dropped one and couldnt even hear the other one walking around? Or what if you missed, and he found cover and concealment, and you had no idea what he was doing, reloading? running? Or even in public, if you had to fire on someone, not being able to hear well for a while after might put you in further danger.

Anybody else ever think about this. Ive never fired a gun all pumped up on adrenaline, maybe you dont even hear the damn thing...
 
I can't address self-defense use, but I've hunted quite a bit and notice I don't seem to hear the muzzle blast or feel much of the recoil from firearms that I would at least notice the report and kick normally on the practice range. I'm guessing when protecting myself, I'd be at least as focused as I am when hunting.
 
If you perform a search you'll find a mixture of opinions concerning hearing, hearing protection and defensive shooting.
 
Chances are that your BG ain't gonna be hearin' the birdies too well himself. Muzzle blast is bad enough on the giving end - being on the receiving end ought to be a whole lot worse. No doubt that pistols make an ungodly amount of racket, though.
Besides, you might put on your muffs and not be able to hear 'em. I've blasted away, unprotected, with a .45 from time to time in the past (but earplugs are teriffic). Ears rang for hours, but I could still hear everything around me - just with a ringing along with it.
 
I'd rather be alive and deaf than dead...my hearing is normal for my age, and I always wear protection when I know I'm doing something loud, so I'll take my chances on a defensive situation that I won't have a major lose of hearing.

Hearing damage is cumulative, that is, load noises always cause some damage. You may not notice the lose, but it has still occured. After a while all the small loses will be noticible. The ringing that doesn't go away, trouble hearing voices of a certain pitch, etc.. Not noticing the shot is all in your head, your ears still react the same way, your brain has just shut down the nerve output from them.
 
the question wasnt about whether i would care about my hearing, it goes without saying that your life is more important.

the question was about temporary hearing loss imparing your ability to defend yourself.

i could see how your brain would block it out though.
 
I don't think your "hearing" the gun or not has any effect. The pressure shot to your ears will have them ringing and reduce your ability to hear for a few minutes. You may not notice it, but I would think it will reduce your ability to hear more. Seems to me I remember vets saying that in combat you shout NOT because of the loud noise of all the other guns going off around you, you shout because after firing your weapon, your ears are ringing for a while.
 
When I hunt with my .243, I don't use ear protection, and it doesn't bother me. Don't know if that's because I'm so focused on the shot that I block it out and just don't become conscious of it or not.

If it's really a life or death situation, though, who cares? I'll take having ringing ears and being alive any day.

Springmom
 
I have regular muffs for the kids, and my wife and I each have electronic muffs. Not only will these help with the noise of any firearm, but it works quite well for amplifiying other noise... like that which an ED in my home may make.
 
:scrutiny: Just because the hearing "may" shutoff or reduce during that time of stress does not mean that damage will not occur.
 
If I have the option, ear protection always. I even wear earplugs to go dancing with my wife because they always run the sound up too loud for me.

But if it's an SD situation I worry about ear protection later just so long as I'm making sure there IS a later to worry about.
 
They have SWEET electronic earmuffs...
you can hear EVERYTHING, and it muffles the blast by 20dB.... Some of the better Peltors run $150? might be good for HD/SD...
The age of technology;)
 
And if you put those muffs by your SD weapon of choice, it's pretty easy to put them on. And much like dry firing, practice makes... more efficient.
 
up_onus said:
They have SWEET electronic earmuffs...
you can hear EVERYTHING, and it muffles the blast by 20dB.... Some of the better Peltors run $150? might be good for HD/SD...
Click to expand...
I think I might opt for a cheaper set for HD, since they would be sitting out, getting knocked off the nightstand by the cats, etc..
 
bru...

Go ahead, you get what you pay for....I guess hearing is worth just a little amount of money eh?


The cheap "electronic muffs" have a slower response time, ( after all, you pay for the ELECTRONICS) = more noise to your ear = more hearing damage.... not to mention just plain quality?

Different strokes for different folks;)
 
If your life is on the line don't spend time dicking around with hearing protection!!!

Not only does it cost you precious time, it mutes your hearing and destroys your ability to accurately track your attacker, if necessary.

It really all boils down to this simple question:

"What would you rather be - a little deaf or a little dead?"

Brad
 
the question was about temporary hearing loss imparing your ability to defend yourself.
Click to expand...

Don't worry. The adrenaline will make you hardly notice at all. When it wears off is a different story, but by then it is over and you hopefully are OK. Instinct takes over and you will do what you've trained to do. I'm serious, you will hardly notice the sound of the gunfire. It seems distant and surreal.
 
A .22 LR round is enough to cause hearing damage, especially if the cumulative effect of firing many rounds over time. Even if your ear's aren't ringing right then, you've still suffered the damage. It all adds up and you aren't going to get that portion of your hearing back.

When just shooting at the range ALWAYS wear hearing protection. Even if it's "Just a .22."

Now, for self defense, that's another thing entirely.
 
What if you had more than one BG in your house, and you dropped one and couldnt even hear the other one walking around? Or what if you missed, and he found cover and concealment, and you had no idea what he was doing, reloading? running?
Click to expand...

In these situations, auditory exclusion/adrenaline pump will work against you. Not noticing details like those are to be expected if you get the adrenaline pump, and not being able to physically hear that for a while if you don't. Luckily these situations, are probably extremely rare.
 
up_onus said:
bru...
Go ahead, you get what you pay for....I guess hearing is worth just a little amount of money eh?
The cheap "electronic muffs" have a slower response time, ( after all, you pay for the ELECTRONICS) = more noise to your ear = more hearing damage.... not to mention just plain quality?
Different strokes for different folks
Click to expand...
There is always one thing people overlook about electronic muffs...Just cause they are on my head doesn't mean I need to turn them on. I'm only talking about a set to leave laying around anyway. There may not even be time to get them on in a HD situation.

Checking around the house, there are 3 sets of non-elec. muffs (Howard Leight - Thunder 29s) and several more in the shed that I can bring in (how many of you wear hearing protection when running the lawn mower/string trimmer?), so there should be something close at hand.

Already have a top of the line set of electronic ones for range trips, and I always double up with foamies under them (old habit from working around jet engines at the airport).



Edit: It occured to me that my cheap may be your expensive. I'm not talking about the $19.95 China-Freight ones...rather something in the $120-$150 range.
 
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