Hearing protection....

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migoi

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All the ranges I currently frequent have mandatory hearing protection rules but I know that wearing hearing protection has not always been in high fashion.

My question is: How many years did you shoot before you started wearing hearing protection?

When I was growing up I never wore protection when hunting or when spending a Saturday shredding tin cans with my .22. We never had actual gun ranges (that I knew of) in Arkansas when I was growing up so I'm uncertain whether ranges required them then or not (1960's).

I don't hunt anymore but do regularly run across pig hunters while hiking and none of them are wearing hearing protection. What about any bird hunters? Do you wear hearing protection?

migoi
 
When I turned 21 I really got into shooting, I started accumulating a small collection and would go out to shoot every 2 or 3 weeks. I had read about hearing protection but wasn't using any, when I would go out to shoot I would come home with ringing ears and a splitting headache, so I decided to try some ear plugs, no more ringing ears or headaches! I would take a guess that I had been shooting actively a couple of months before I figured this out.

There is a lot more emphasis on hearing protection now than there was then, but hearing protection is really important! That was 37 years ago, and I still enjoy good music, if I had not used hearing protection it's a sure thing I would have lost a lot of my hearing by now.
 
well, I'm pretty new to shooting only being into it for about a year now, but I can say that I have only gone shooting twice without hearing protection. The first time I shot 6 rounds of .357 magnum and a few shots out of a 12 ga. and I hand ringing until I woke up the next morning. The other was an impromptu plinking session with no hearing protection available. I was shooting my 9mm so the ringing only lasted about a minute after each string. I don't want to try that again though... shooting the magnums w/o protection was enough to convince me
 
back around 1976 I started indoor .22 shooting without hearing protection. Don't think I ever did much centerfire shooting without it. Now I have trouble following conversation in a crowded room and a more-or-less permanent hi-pitched tone in my left ear.
In the Army they gave you a pair of plugs but nobody insisted you used them in those days. If they fell out during a field firing exercise that was just tough (couldn't wear the cans because a tin hat wouldn't fit over them). I wore my own cans pretty much most of the time. All changed now.
 
I started hunting about 1961 and we never used hearing protection. Went with dad on a few range sessions with his 30-06, .270 and .300 Mag. Didn't use any there either. I didn't start using hearing protection until about 1980 when I started shooting IHMSA silhouette and I haven't gone without since. Even when dove hunting I wear electronic muffs.

The damage is done though, I have a constant ringing in my ears, mostly the left. My dad, at 77, is almost stone deaf. Of course, 35 years working in a steel mill contributed to his.
 
I am old enough to have started shooting in the '30's. Never used ear protection. Later fired competition in USMC. I lost about 15% of my hearing then. Later I flew crop-dusting aircraft (24 years) that had NO mufflers. This resulted in losing most of the rest of my hearing. I still shoot a lot, but NEVER without ear protection. I now wear hearing aids that lets me hear most things, except the higher sounds, like women talking. :rolleyes:
always wear ear and eye protection. Deaf is bad, but blind in unthinkable.
Slowstar
 
I've been around aviation and shooting for 25 years now, and have been using hearing protection the bulk of the time. In the early years, it was just those little foamy earplugs (used for weeks at a time during my Air Force days). Now I use electronic hearing protection both at the range and when I fly. On an indoor range, I use both in-canal ear plugs and my electronic muffs. I have what others here are describing: Its called tinnitus. It can take many forms--mine is a constant high-pitched ringing in both ears. Ironically, the times when I don't really notice it are when I'm doing the things that probably caused it--flying and shooting. Genetics probably has a role in this condition, but how much is anybody's guess.

There are days when I just wish I could go into another room for 30 minutes of respite from this ringing, but of course, the ringing follows me wherever I go.

My advice to the new shooters or those with children new to the activity: If you plan on spending $500 on a firearm, and $40/month on ammunition; Why not get a lesser firearm and maybe not so much ammunition, and spend the difference on good quality hearing protection for all involved? I will almost guarantee that at some point you will regret the loss of your hearing more than a couple of boxes of ammo that you didn't buy.
 
Nobody wore hearing protection or even thought of it when I was young -- the '50's and early '60's. That included civilian organized target shooting, trap and skeet clubs, and the US Army.

Then I met this girl and thought of other things for about 25 years.

When we came back to shooting in the '80's, the world had changed. Nobody would THINK about shooting without both ear and eye protection.
(Oh yeah, other things that had changed in the same time span included attitudes towards seat belts and motorcycle helmets.)

I never noticed any side effects from not having protection, even during basic training. I was having headaches before I started shooting; The tinnitis didn't start until 5 years after I'd been shooting. The doctors are claiming that my hearing loss pattern is characteristic of a shooter, but they lie --- I'm just carrying my mother's genes is all.
And smoking won't hurt me either -- that's just scare talk.
 
Thanks to all..

who have replied so far. The pattern is developing just as I suspected. Those of us that been shooting for a while didn't wear ear protection in those earier years and have lost some hearing as a result of it.

This thread was prompted by a concern a friend of mine expressed just recently. She has been shooting for a little over a year and after spending the 26th at a fun shoot with quite a few folks that had been shooting awhile (and having to say things more than once, more than once) she expressed concern about her own hearing.

She was concerned that she too would start losing her hearing. I told her to talk to these same folks and ask them when in their shooting careers they started wearing protection. I've talked to a lot of them before and the same pattern emerged with them as here....most didn't wear protection for the first few (or several) years they shot. She has always worn protection from day one but did manage to push a muff up off a good seal when firing a carbine and experienced some ringing later that night. She said next time she will do the same thing I do...switch to in-canal plugs when shooting a carbine.

I use Peltor Tactical 7 electronic muffs and they are the best thing going, especially when I'm acting as range officer or teaching.

The other thing I worry about though is for shooters that have never shot without protection... what happens when they are involved in a home defense type shooting and hear their gun without hearing protection the first time. Will the unexpected loudness disrupt any chance of quick sight reattainment?

migoi
 
I shot with plenty of bullseye shooters in the middle and late 1970s who didn't have anything on their ears or in them. If it need be said, most of the older shooters were hard of hearing to one degree or another.
 
Always have used ear protection. Got caught in an ambush in RVN and had a M60 gunner rip out a teaser belt with the muzzle about 3ft to my left. Busted the eardrum and rand like heck for 4 days. Took 10yrs for the eardrum to completly heal. Now I tend to use both plugs and muffs.

Oneshooter
Livin in Texas
 
I have always used hearing protection. I learned to shoot a BB gun in Cub Scouts and a rifle in Boy Scouts and ear plugs were mandatory.
 
...The other thing I worry about though is for shooters that have never shot without protection... what happens when they are involved in a home defense type shooting and hear their gun without hearing protection the first time. Will the unexpected loudness disrupt any chance of quick sight reattainment?
Click to expand...
I'm not a "Been There Done That" kind of guy, and perhaps those here who are can chime in here (oneshooter??), but my understanding of the physiology is that the adreniline rush you'll get in a HD situation may prevent you from even hearing the shot. It will only be after the event--once your adreniline levels are back to normal--that your ears will begin to ring. Your training will kick in--good or bad. Personally, I hope I never have to speak from experience on this matter.
 
I have never "target" shot without hearing protection.

I have never heard a shot taken when I was hunting. I don't wear any hearing protection when hunting. My ears have never rang...the shots always sound like they are a million miles away and all I can hear is my heartbeat which is probably 150 dB by that point.
 
Adreniline Rush

Yes that is true. I didn't even notice the noise of the burst. I DID however notice the brass and a few links on my back,they do get a little HOT. :what: I hunt now and do not normally hear the shot,or feel the recoil. The "rush" can be addictive and I know of several people who would do stupid things to obtain it. :banghead: It WILL catch up with you!!! :eek:

Oneshooter
Livin in Texas
 
I have worn hearing protection the first time every time.
Who cares about fashion? Guns aren't fashionable in many times and places either.
 
I've always been into hearing protection. Back in high school and college, I'd never attend a concert or show without wadding some paper in my ears.

I just don't like loud noises. Never did.

-James
 
In my early days of .22 plinking I foolishly never wore hearing protection. None of us did. Now I am 48, and have been using both plugs (Max) and muffs (Silenzio Magnums) for the last 30 years or so. I want to keep what little hearing I have, thank you very much. It's working also, as I'm tested at work every year for hearing loss (noisy plant) and have had no significant change for the last 10 years or so. ;)
 
Of the couple times my father took me shooting with his .22 revolver, we didn't use any hearing protection. Since I have started getting more serious and making trips to the range, I have never gone without.

As an kid, I had many problems with my ears caused by an abnormal muscle structure in my throat area. Due to three surgeries, I have some (but very minor) hearing loss. My ears are also very sensitive to pressure changes (closing a car door really fast) and loud noises, which also might be attributed to the abnormalities and surgeries.

Another passion I have is racing; especially drag racing. Top fuel dragsters and Funny Cars get very loud. It's hard to compare them to firearms, but when they hit the throttle, the ground literally shakes. I have gone without hearing protection a couple times around Top Fuel dragsters, and it was very painful, so I don't chance it there or around firearms.
 
I never hunt with hearing protection. Makes ambient noises too hard to hear. I know there are those electronic muffs, but I hate big things around my head.
I never target shoot without hearing protection. I always wear ear plugs.

Actually, I take that back. Once I fired two rounds out of my 1911 w/o plugs. Forgot them when I went to the range (friend's yard). Kleenex makes OK ear plugs, better than nothing when you have driven 1.5 hours to shoot.

Also, I think the races have hurt my ears more than shooting has.
 
What???

Loud Music was what started me thinking about my ears and that the fact that once they are damaged they don’t get better. So I started to wear ear protection to concerts even if it was only cotton in my ears. When I started shooting I always wore hearing protection and for the last 5 years I even wear it when I hunt. I keep a pair of North Sonic II ear plugs in my work pants and use them frequently. Besides shooting, I also use hearing protection for all outdoor power equipment plus all power saws.

I know that my decreased hearing won’t get better with wearing hearing protection I’m just hoping it won’t get worse.
:cool:
 
There was a mention about auditory exclusion while hunting, not hearing the shot, actually you heard the shot you just weren't paying any attention to it, this is a well known phenomena in self defense related shootings. It is important to point out that even though your mind ignored the sound of the shot, your ears will sustain the damage from the noise!
 
When I was young

I
A) Shot alot
B) Listened to music LOUD (both live and at home)
C) Played around with race cars alot

All without hearing protection. Now I have constant ringing in my ears, and significant hearing loss, and its getting rapidly worse. I now always wear my ears when shooting, and REQUIRE my kids to do so, even witha .22 out behind the house. Believe me, its sucks being hearing impaired at 49--ALWAYS wear hearing protection!
 
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