Hearing Damage: .40 S&W vs .44 Special?

[BADUNAME37]

Well three years ago, I had to shoot a 12 gauge while I was standing inside a small upstairs dormer, with the gun completely in the room.

It was either that or don't shoot the animal that had been eating the neighborhood cats.

Man, my ears were ringing.

 

[aryfrosty]

Noise

I have been dealing with this for about 40 years...I now wear hearing aids in both ears as a result of too much unregulated noise. I never noticed it at first, other that the ringing and diminished hearing that always seemed to go "away" after a day or two. But, in reality, it never truly goes away. Nowadays I wear plugs under a set of mouse ears to try to keep what hearing I have left. On another note: Over the years I found myself in a position of having to shoot without having the luxury of securing plugs. I began to notice some years ago that under stress firing conditions I never seemed to have tinnitus and I wondered why. I hot washed every shooting I was ever involved in to see what I was doing differently. About 25 years ago I realized that every time I fired and didn't have ringing in my ears after I had fired with my mouth open. I asked a doctor about this and he hypothesized that by having your mouth open there was a possibility that the impact on your eardrum was mitigated by a nearly equal amount of pressure on both sides of the eardrum. That is a very non-scientific finding. I still use protection when I shoot but I also know that if it comes down to root, hog or die I can possibly avoid some damage by keeping my mouth open and clearing my eustachian tubes by swallowing. I am neither a doctor nor a lawyer so anything I spout forth here is just my opinion.

 

[BADUNAME37]

I also have hearing aids - one in EACH EAR.
I also protect what hearing I now still have with those big cushiony headphones plus foam plugs if I think the shooting will be loud (500 Magnum 'kind-of-loud').

 

[xr1200]

I suffer from a high end hearing loss due to shooting a 357 mag a lot of tinitus.

An ENT specialist I seen 10 yrs ago informed that in order to stop hearing damage the reduced burst to the ear must be limited to 80-90 db.

The only gun that can be safely shot is a 22 rim fire rifle with hearing protection.

Note the maximum DB reduction you can get is 33 DB.

A 22 LR rifle is about 135-140 DB -reduction your looking at about 105db at the ear, this is the best but its about the safest gun you can shoot.

The loud bursts do a culmative damage and with every shot you fire or are subjected to your hearing level decreases.

Here is a brief table of db of guns.

22lr pistol - 140 -150 db
22lr rifle - 130 - 140 db
shot gun - 145-150 db
9mm pistol - 145-155 db
357 mag pistol - 155-165 db
45 acp -160 db.
short barrel rifles 160-170 db
30-06 rifle - 160db
300 weatherby mag 165-170 db.

Most of these numbers are close and just an estimate.

The only way you can safely shoot some of these high power calibers would be to use a silencer and the best hearing protection.

Example 30db reduction from most silencers and 33db ear muffs gets you down to 63db reduction which is quite good. This would allow you to shoot most 22 rimfires and small pistol calibers safely, as the reduction in db would bring you very close or less than the 80-90 db burst limit to avoid hearing damage.

Also one of the worst things you can do is to shoot at an indoor range with a lot of shooters or even at an outdoor range with a lot shooters on the line.

Others things to avoid are ported barrels , compensators, and muzzle breaks and flash suppressors, they all direct an increased muzzle blast and increse the guns db level towards the shooter and increase the amount of hearing damage.

 

[pikid89]

Concerning the 44 spc and revolvers in general, I wonder if the cylinder gap will cause greater and more splitting sound waves toward the direction of the shooter as compared to an auto?

I can definitely say that a 4 inch .22 revolver sounds far louder than a 4 inch .22 auto.....unfortunately i have fired both with out ear pro.......

 

[swingpress]

If you want a quiet blaster, look at 45 Auto. I find it much better for general around the ranch blasting than almost anything else.

Of course it will still damage your hearing, but it sounds more like a shotgun than a rifle.

 

[Lonestar49]

...

Been shooting 40cal 180gr for over 5yrs now and, I'm sorry, what did you say.. ?

Seriously,

Ear plugs, with Ear muffs over them, and you'll be fine - for the most part.. lol

Loud is loud,


Ls

 

[Felix1]

@Seriously, Ear plugs, with Ear muffs over them, and you'll be fine - for the most part.. lol

Since I took the OP's question to be talking about possible off-range use, are you suggesting routine, everyday use of over-the-ear hearing protectors? Plus earplugs?

Wonder if that would likely attract the Walmart Greeter's attention/curiosity on your way in?

And how about those pesky state driving laws which require unimpaired hearing? Would you be stowing the weapon before operating a vehicle? Knowing full well that car jackings are one of the higher risk categories.

 

[Robert Wilson]

Example 30db reduction from most silencers and 33db ear muffs gets you down to 63db reduction which is quite good.

Sadly, this is not the case, at least regarding ear muffs. The noise reduction rating (NRR) advertised for ear muffs and plugs isn't a direct dB reduction. It's the result of a moderately complicated formula and is really only useful in comparing different products.

 

[xr1200]

the simple subtraction formula is good enough for a simple rule of thumb, without going thru the complex math formula, example put 30 db rated 9mm silencer on a 150 db rated pistol and you will get it down to 120 db, then by wearing 33db muffs, your ears are subjected to 87 db burst.

 

[Robert Wilson]

That would be very nice, but I'm afraid it just isn't true. I work in the field and have tested a number of such devices under controlled circumstances. A pair of muffs rated 33 NRR, for example, generally don't come anywhere close to reducing sound by 33 dB. Variables include testing methodology, type of noise, fit, and care and proficiency of the user.

Chances are that a lot of the above is going to be addressed by the EPA this year and we'll be seeing a different type of scoring that will hopefully be a bit more "real world". But the bottom line is that individual fit verification in a test booth is the only way to determine actual noise reduction rating in dB.

 

[CraigC]

To all the posters who keep reiterating that X caliber is louder than Y caliber so it would do more damage than Y caliber...once you go over the level where your eardrums are damaged, it doesn't really matter any more.

If you're implying that there is no difference between a .22LR and a .357mag I have to firmly disagree. There is a difference. There are ascending levels of damage done depending on the sound pressure and yes, the .357 will sure as hell do damage quicker than anything less.

 

[mr.trooper]

IMHO, the .40S&W will be significantly louder due to its higher pressure, higher velocity and no barrel/cylinder gap.

If it weren't for the fact that both cartridges produce the SAME amount of sound energy, and register at the SAME decibel rating, you might have had something there.

 

[gamestalker]

No doubt about it, the 44 special is going to be louder. But it really doesn't matter because both will cause permanent hearing loss. I made the mistake of forgetting to put my ear plugs in a couple of years ago while shooting my S&W 66 with full house magnum loads. 125 gr. XTPs with a full charge of 296 behind it. My ears have been ringing every day since that episode. I've shot quite a few high powered rifles over the years without protection and I'm sure that isn't healthy either. But a handgun, even a 22 is very loud and a quick way to suffer permanent hearing loss.

 

[earplug]

My indoor range experience

For some reason 40 S&W is just plain obnoxious to be next to. Might be something about the many short barreled pistols sold for concealed carry.
9MM is ok.
Heavy bullets in 45 ACP are not as obnoxious as light fast bullets.
I believe the fast and light bullets are harder on ears then heavy slow bullets.
I used to own a Charter Arms 44 spl and have reloaded and fired many lightly loaded and hot 44 REM MAG rounds using 4 and 6 inch barrels.
The hardest on my senses were the 180-185 grain magnums.
Comparing a major power factor 230 grain 45 ACP load with a 9mm or 38 super load at major power factor. The 45 ACP is livable to be next too.
I recently shot some factory 125 grain 38spls and they were not as pleasant to shoot as hot 158 grain bullets from my J frame.
Point is bullet weight effect my ears.
I plug and muff.

 

[Slowplayaa]

The majority of commonly "accepted" self-defense calibers are all going to exceed safe limits. Choose what you can shoot best, over what caliber is going to damage your hearing least.

Don't forget to consider the "back-stop" in case you miss, which is more common than not in a high stress situation (in real life). Consider not only your neighbors in adjacent houses, but more importantly. any family members/loved ones in any adjacent rooms. Know your home well, and practice with a "dry-run". familiarizing yourself with different angles and cover spots for "clearing" your home as frequently as possible/prudent.

I am ex-Army Officer (currently in Reserves) with moderate experience with weapons, and for home defense I have multiple (5) handguns stored in 3 Gun-Vault quick access safes in my bedroom. These range from a Colt Govt Model 1911 to a Walther .22LR (for accuracy) in a hostage scenario.

A home invasion will be an extremely intense situation. The larger caliber is not always going to be the best answer for most people. Go with what you can handle with the most accuracy, combined with stopping power. If you're accurate, 22LR head shot works better than a .44 Magnum that you might miss with.

 

[CraigC]

If it weren't for the fact that both cartridges produce the SAME amount of sound energy, and register at the SAME decibel rating, you might have had something there.

I really don't care what the chart says, the .40 is running over double the pressure and has a much sharper crack than any .44Spl load that I've ever used. Which usually is several thousand a year. The barrel/cylinder gap bleeds off gas, decreases pressure and thus lessens the noise. Shoot a 4" revolver and a 4" auto side by side and see.

 

[Ben86]

The .40 might be a tiny bit louder, but not buy much. Both have potential to damage your hearing. Most likely the chance of you needing to shoot it without protection is about 1 in a million, so I wouldn't worry about it. If you are that concerned jump through the gov'ment hoops, pays your money and gets your suppressor.

 

[Harley Quinn]

Silencers would be a good thing to use if state/county/city allowed Would have to keep it below the sound barrier...

22's and 357's are quite different...But both if below the speed of sound can be very quiet...

I would think maybe we could ask lawmakers to allow the silencer situation to be legal, because of the damage to hearing

I wear hearing aids in both ears, have for a long time...Take care of your hearing and be careful, been a discussion many times...Loud noise like gunfire is one of the worst, and really is bad for your hearing...

 

[Smoovbiscuit]

I have shot several shots with a glock 22 .40 and a magazine out of an XD .45 without ear protection in a confined area.

Ears rang for a bit but I haven't noticed a difference in my hearing. Yeah it was a bad idea and I don't recommend it, but I'm not deaf and still have good hearing so in a self defense situation I would chose which gun you shoot best with.. perfect hearing won't do you any good 6 feet under. just my opinion

 

[brickeyee]

An EN

T specialist I seen 10 yrs ago informed that in order to stop hearing damage the reduced burst to the ear must be limited to 80-90 db.

What he probably does not know is that NONE of the typical equipment for measuring sound levels is adequate for gunfire.

NONE if it has adequate bandwidth to actually measure the strength of the impulse wave from a firearm.
It is ALL 'approximate.'

Even hearing protection devices usually contain warnings about impulsive noise like muzzle blast.

They are most commonly measured against an A-weighted scale of continuous sound and have limited bandwidth.

While normal hearing rarely gets much above the mid 20 kHz range, the impulse noise bandwidth from muzzle blast is way higher.
That means the instruments consistently read LOWER than the actual amplitude.

 

[Smoovbiscuit]

xr1200 your saying only .22s can be safely shot with ear protection?! do you mean both ear plugs and muffs? I find this very hard to believe. When I just wear ear muffs and shoot my .357 mag it doesn't sound anywhere near load enough to cause any sort of damage. I also have shot some loud guns, .44 mags, .308s, 7.62x54r and .303 british and shotguns with only cheap ear plugs and it doesn't seem too loud at all. I am no DR but as I said I really find it hard to believe that with both ear plugs and muffs that you can only safely shoot .22 lr

 

[Ben86]

One thing I think a lot of people don't know is that your ears don't have to be ringing for hearing loss to occur. This is one of the reasons I started wearing ear plugs even with my .22 rifles, unless I'm hunting with them and only firing a few shots at the most. Chronic, prolonged exposure to seemingly "low intensity" noise can damage your ears as well.

 

[Claude Clay]

ears buds plus e-muffs at the range.

for shooting to survive, hearing loss is something you can live with, right?

 

[ExMachina]

I have shot several shots with a glock 22 .40 and a magazine out of an XD .45 without ear protection in a confined area.

Ears rang for a bit but I haven't noticed a difference in my hearing.

permanent hearing loss can be subtle.

high-frequency perception goes first.