hunters' hearing

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Byron Quick

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This past Saturday I went out to the Yuchi WMA range in Burke County, Georgia.

I got there about 10 am and was expecting the occasional hunter to be sighting in their deer rifle. Late getting started or dropped it or whatever.

I was sighting in a new Bushmaster and testing some new 30 round mags for reliability. All told some 300 rounds of 5.56mm. Took 40 rounds of .243 for the Savage Stryker and a couple of hundred rounds of .45 ACP. And a brick of .22LR.:D Pretty much made a day out of it.

Twelve other people showed up to shoot. Only three appeared to be knowledgeable shooters judging from their equipment and general behaviour.

I passed out six pairs of disposable ear plugs to guys sighting in their rifles!! I passed out ear plugs to people's kids, for God's sake!

Lord knows I can't climb on a high horse about gun safety and such. I have been known to have lapses of attention from time to time. But to fail to provide hearing protection for your young kids?
 
Scary. When I rifle shoot, I put earmuffs over earplugs.

I can't imagine shooting without hearing protection. And kids without any hearing protection? What are the parents thinking? It's one thing to go deaf yourself, and another entirely to deafen someone else.
 
The public shooting range I go to , is not the place you want to be on any weekend in the months of October and November . It is full of kids and other people who only shoot thier guns once or twice before deer season each year . The rest of the year it's not too bad .
 
I saw people trying to put cigarette butts in their ear canals!

***? Excuse my French.

You know something? Those disposable doohickeys are cheap. I'm going to start keeping several containers of them in my range bags. The doofuses might still destroy the hearing of their kids and themselves over time. But I will not have contributed to it.

I really wish that I could teleport and had a steriliization wand.:D
 
Guess I'm lucky. In my part of the world (for the most part) people actually have the sense God gave a horse. Usually well respecting, somewhat knowledgeable people at the ranges here. Then again, lots of the folks around here just step out their back door and shoot. "Well, I hit the ol' washing machine 75 yards or so out, I ought to be good for deer season." :confused:
 
I saw people trying to put cigarette butts in their ear canals!
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I've seen people trying to use fired .38 cases, for crying out loud - this is just NUTS.

The worst was on old timer who tried to tell me that if you shoot a lot, your ears will "toughen up" . . . he insisted that just like a weightlifter who strengthens his muscles, shooting loud stuff will eventually strengthen your ears, and gunshots won't seem so loud. :banghead:
 
Not to change the subject but when I was in college I worked for my father's construction company one summer. I was unexpectedly told I had to run an air compressor to blow out pressurized air to clear a keyway for a concrete wall. The sound was piercing and literally hurt my ears.

I didn't have any ear plugs but I had lots of bubble yum bubble gum (that I used to wrap around my RedMan chew.

I stuffed my ears with the bubble yum. It cut down on the noise but man, what a mess cleaning it out at the end of the day.
 
Your ears will "toughen up" when exposed to loud sounds... Sigh, that probably takes the cake.

My first 15 or so years shooting, I wasn't very careful about ear protection. The last 15 or so years, I've been pretty darn careful.

And still, everytime I go into a busy restaurant or anywhere with a fair amount of background noise, I struggle to hear the person across the table from me. Sometimes I just plain cannot hear them.

Don't know how much the early dumb years had to do with it, but I'm making sure my son doesn't repeat my mistake.
 
When I was a kid my father never used ear plugs and never provided them for us either. I have permenant and severe hearing loss in my left ear. I also have a early onset tenitus. My left ear is ringing right now.

I can remember going out for the day shooting his M-14 (M-1A) spewing several hndred rounds down range. Then spending the next two days recovering my hearing. My ears would ring and feel "numb" for days sometimes.

When he comes up to go shooting our local range requires hearing and eye protection. He fights it all the way but I make him wear ear plugs. He claims he can't hear the gun goining off with ear plugs in and it affects his shooting. To which I say B.S. (Bull Stuff).

My girls wear hearing and eye protection always. And yours should too.

It is really frustrating to me and those around me. Hearing loss is a hassle my most frequent reply to any statement is "Huh, what?"

Plug em up save those ears..

H&Hhunter.
 
It's becoming more and more an issue with me.

When I was 20 the Army gave me a hearing profile for my hearing.
My left was better than my right.

Then I had a stroke in February, 2004. It cut my hearing on that side down to about 10% with constant tinnitus. Damn thing's been ringing non-stop for almost nine months now. Left eye is trying to screw up, too. I'm getting right particular about protecting what's left of me:D

I would have thought the constant tinnitus would have driven me around the bend by now. Hasn't happened.

I reckon there's something to that old saw: You can get used to hanging if you hang long enough. ;)
 
"I saw people trying to put cigarette butts in their ear canals!"

They'll help some if they fit after you tear the paper off, but don't try it with used butts because the nicotine'll burn you like crazy and then make you sick. Go ahead, ask me how young and dumb I was way back when.

Nowadys I keep foam plugs on me so I can put them in before I get out of the car at the range. I also use them to mow, run power tools and, yes, even the vacuum.

John...will somebody please answer that ringing phone
 
Your ears do toughen up!

The worst was on old timer who tried to tell me that if you shoot a lot, your ears will "toughen up"
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He's not lying, WHAT? SPEAK UP BOY! WILL SOMEBODY GET THAT D*M PHONE!


Respectfully,

jdkelly
 
Byron...

"I passed out six pairs of disposable ear plugs to guys sighting in their rifles!! I passed out ear plugs to people's kids, for God's sake!"

First of all, thanks for your concern and your efforts.

I also have extra disposable ear plugs in my range bag(s) for the very same reason. I have handed out a few to kids who's parents don't have the common sense to bring hearing protection.

Unfortunately common sense is not all THAT common.
 
quote:The worst was on old timer who tried to tell me that if you shoot a lot, your ears will "toughen up"




He's not lying, WHAT? SPEAK UP BOY! WILL SOMEBODY GET THAT D*M PHONE
Click to expand...

Ouch, I just choked on my breakfast.:D



If you can toughen up your ears, you can get used to theat dull ringing sound after awhile. I think people get annoyed by me sometimes because when someone talks to me I have to reply by saying "what, can you repeat that?"

I shot alot of trap when I was a teenager, and being an invincible teenager, I didn't need them silly earplugs:banghead:
 
HankB said:
The worst was on old timer who tried to tell me that if you shoot a lot, your ears will "toughen up" . . . he insisted that just like a weightlifter who strengthens his muscles, shooting loud stuff will eventually strengthen your ears, and gunshots won't seem so loud.
Click to expand...
My ears can beat up your ears! What?
:(
 
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