Loudness of guns fired indoors

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Drywall and hardwood floors dont absorb much sound. Drywall and carpet is slightly better....Shooting in a empty field without trees for hundreds of yards in any direction is the best IMO.
 
Fired a Barnes 140gr .357 from 3" revolver indoors without my left ear covered. Unbelievably loud and painful. Rang for more than a week and the pain got worse for a few days before it tapered off. Really dumb, really painful, really regrettable. Not recommended.

I wear ear plugs most of the time at rock concerts and when I ride my loudest Kawasaki. The other bikes are quiet enough around town that the ear plugs don't help unless I hit the interstate.
 
I started doubling up decades ago. Already with a slight loss, in the 80s, I noticed my Silenzio Magnums (29dB att) were not enough for my Redhawk indoors. The blast impulse actually hurt my ears. I walked out and put in a set of plugs, then re-donned the muffs, and have been doing it ever since, with all calibers. Cannot even imagine what not doubling up would have been like, while firing my Magnaported .45-70 Contender indoors, but can guess after seeing the dirty looks from other patrons.
 
I mostly only shoot with silencers now except for revolvers which I wear ear plugs for . In the past though I've shot everything from heavy 45 colt loads to 357's, 308's, 12 gauge etc indoors and out. Cant say that anything really rang my bell all that much or hurt my ears worse than standing outside a howitzer did on a few occasions. I think its one of those things you get used to as you lose hearing over time. I'm just shy of 50 now and I don't even bother going to the mobile audiology vans when they show up at work for annual testing. I know what they'll say. Same thing theyv'e said for years. Profound hearing loss. No tinitis.to speak of. Just means the TV gets turned up louder than the wife likes.
 
Lots of loud noise out there, we should all use ear pro when possible but I'm not going to take a bullet or knife in a car jacking or make electronic ear pro my top priority in a home invasion.
Over the years I've acquired some serious hearing loss, mostly from industrial/mining but certainly from gunfire as well.
30 carbine from a Blackhawk is the only painful gunfire I've experienced, many are loud but I can't say they almost dropped me to my knees.
While I don't argue the hazard I don't make it a priority in the defense of my life, on the range yes, at work, most of the time but even while hunting unless I'm stationary in a blind I don't wear ear pro.
 
Yes, I wear earplugs at concerts or movies. You might be shocked at the sound levels commonly measured at movie houses.
 
I would like to upgrade hearing protection. I have a lot of hearing loss. Too many years of racecars, rock n roll, and chipping hammers. and of course hunting and shooting. Can anyone steer me toward a better choice in hearing protection? I use plugs and inexpensive muffs now.
 
I've shot .22 cb inside with no hearing protection. While dumb, no known lasting effects. Used to shoot black powder rifles and revolvers outside without hearing protection, also dumb.
The first round I fired from my AR was the last round I ever fired without hearing protection. Damn that hurt...:eek:. Right ear rang for some time. Permanent damage? Most likely.
Work tests many things each year, hearing is among those tests. Still decent at age 39, but I will not compromise on safety like I used to.
 
One advantage of being an active shooter with activ shooting kids: we all have made to measure airplugs.
my kids take them to parties and concerts. (they have exchangeable filters so at concerts U can enjoy music).

we also use them during work at the farm (Stihl two-strokes do make a lot of noice)
I use them at construction sites,...

I always keep them in my car door, together with a flashlight and a pocket knife.


We have a guy at our gun club who has the perfect hearing protection: because of total hearing damage he has a cochlear implant and now, before shooting, he just turns them off :D
 
Trying to be a supportive guy, I went to a cheerleading competition to see my stepdaughter compete. I swear it was louder than the Rolling Stones concert I once attended. I looked around and most of the other guys had ear plugs. They were obviously experienced.
 
I have told this tale before.... years ago, I shot a .222 from a rifle out of a bedroom window when I was a kid at a crow about 100-150 yds away in a field. I had tried to shoot from that window before but those birds are smart and would actually react to the muzzle sticking out of the window. So, this time, I shot from inside the bedroom through the open window and I swear the sound just about broke all the windows in that room not to mention my un-protected ears. Never again. But I frequently shot 22 rifles from that window with the muzzle sticking out. It was a fairly common experience back then for me.

The sound even with hearing protection is why I do not have a membership at an indoor range. I would rather not shoot. As mentioned above, even a roof overhang at the outdoor range I go to periodically causes a lot of echo and sound bouncing around. If anyone else is shooting other than perhaps a 22 rifle, hearing protection is very important. I always wear hearing protection if I am shooting.
 
I tried shooting an indoor range with hearing protection, but only once. I hated it, big pistols shook my whole body. I now shoot at an outdoor range with an overhang and always double up on protection. Still, the other day, I was shooting between two guys who were both shooting 300 Win Mags. I waited in my car until they were done. I'm like some of you other guys, when I was young and invincible I did everything from rock concerts to trap shooting without hearing protection. Fortunately, being a lucky dumbass I didn't suffer too much damage, but do have some tinnitus.
 
JSH1 said:
Has that been confirmed by a hearing test? I know a lot of people that think they hear just fine but don't.
Click to expand...

You hear just fine or you "think" you do until one day you don't. Basically you compensate for a while.
 
dringge said:
I would like to upgrade hearing protection. I have a lot of hearing loss. Too many years of racecars, rock n roll, and chipping hammers. and of course hunting and shooting. Can anyone steer me toward a better choice in hearing protection? I use plugs and inexpensive muffs now.
Click to expand...
I have Howard Leight ImpactPro Electronic Shooting Sports Earmuffs, which I bought based on the recommendation of someone here awhile back. I'm very happy with them. The noise reduction rating is 30 decibels. They amplifiy low level sound while reducing gunfire or other "impulse noise". Besides doing their intended job very well they are way more comfortable to wear than the cheapie ones ranges have on hand for people who don't bring their own. Under them I wear hearo's, which are cheap rubbery plugs that come in a box, they look kinda like silly putty, you roll them between your fingers and stuff them in your ears and they mold to the shape.
 
While shooting Aguilar Colibris (.22lr with just primer) indoors from a 5" 22/45 a regular .22lr round got mixed in the pile. After I checked my shorts my ears rang for about a day. This was in a carpeted and large bedroom with typical sheet rock.

This was almost 20 years ago. I also ride motorcycles, had a convertible and do my own yard work with gas powered equipment. I'm not even 37 and I have slight tinnitus.
 
I think the motorcycle is a bigger contributor than we acknowledge.
 
The two experiences I've had with a firearm being fired without hearing protection in a bad situation,

A family member grabbed his .22 Mag and didnt realize it was loaded, accidental discharge in the lving room, I was only 10 but will never forget how bad it hurt my ears and scared me,

Fast forward some years, I was hunting this year out of an old rail road switchbox we turned into a ground blind(my uncle owns a railroad company). I had to take an awkard shot with the muzzle of my 7mm RemMag inside the box. I had a lot of adrenaline pumping, but once it slowed down I realized I had made a bad decision when I could barely hear. Its hard to remember hearing protection in a hunting situation, but I recomend it when possible.
 
I jusy copy and pasted the following from an article.....:what:

A CCI standard velocity .22LR out of a 3½” barrel registers 160.7 decibels.
 
AlfonsDeWolf said:
I jusy copy and pasted the following from an article.....:what:

A CCI standard velocity .22LR out of a 3½” barrel registers 160.7 decibels.
Click to expand...

Link to article?

I have fired CCI Mini Mags out of a barrel that long. I have no faith in ^that number^ being correct.
 
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