This thread has gone on a while and I'm surprised no one has mentioned the side affects of shooting a high-powered round in the house.
I once had fired several rounds of .357 in the living room (circumstances are irrelevant). We had a lot of things hanging from the walls. There were a lot of photos, artwork, a number of guns and knickknacks. My guess would be half of the them came down on the first round.
I know because it distracted me from the armed men coming through the front door. I ended up firing five rounds (there was one left in the gun when the police arrived). About a third of the loose things (lamps, ashtrays, wall hangings) were not on the floor. Everything in the room that was relatively light in weight was not where it was before.
I really do not recall the hearing issue from the time, but I do recall feeling like I received a full-body slap with every round. I actually felt like I had been beaten up.
I was the only one to fire a gun. I fired five rounds. Four were accounted for. The only one I was sure of was the first guy through the door. He got a .357 half-jacketed, 158-grain HP to COM. Guess I just kept shooting because it seemed like the right thing to do...
I had to buy a lot of new picture frames. It took a week to clean up all the glass and crap. When I moved a year later we found stuff we'd missed in that first week of cleaning.
As far as loud, didn't sound very loud to me. Sounded like what I expected. Concussion was a real surprise though. I'm used to it now though. You do have to be very careful of your eyes. The concussion of shooting a high-powered round in confined quarters will blur your vision severely.
Concussion is the most overlooked part of confrontational shooting I know of. Because I've been on receiving end more than once I feel it is the most important thing folks who haven't been in CQC need to be concerned of.
It is also the reason a mouse gun is effective. I can miss your head by a foot with a .32, but you won't be able to see and you'll be disoriented, unless you are a veteran of CQC.
BTOP, loud? What do I care? I don't have to hear again until I'm answering questions for the PD.
Loud? supersonic negates your hearing faster than subsonic.
I would also add that way too much of what people know about guns must come from TV. Blow off a round of 30-06 in your living room and then check to see if your TV still works.
The reality of shooting in a defensive posture is quite different from what anyone who has not done it can imagine.