Temporary range deafness

[jpatterson]

Hi all, I spent last night at the indoor range shooting my new 1911. Something that the guy next to me was shooting was seriously bothering my left ear, and immediately after I left I realized I had no ability to hear in that ear. Now, this has happened to me before. But it has always slowly came back.
This morning I woke up hoping I would be able to hear at least a little bit out of that side, but still nothing. All I hear is a very faint ringing in it.
Also, it feels like I am dizzy all the time since I left the range. I know the ear controls your balance, etc. and I am becoming very concerned. It may just be a temporary effect, but I don't know enough about it to convince myself that I should or shouldn't go see a doctor. What do you think?

 

[heron]

Yes. Find an audiologist, or some other eye/ear/nose/throat specialist.

And get some more effective ear protection.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Temporary deafness is a sign that you have suffered real and irreversable hearing damage. Your hearing will never fully rebound to what it was before, and will get worse over time.

Ask me how I know.

 

[John828]

What type of hearing protection were you wearing? I rarely go to indoor ranges because of the cost, but I have never had a problem, and I wear cheap muffs over cheap ear plugs.

At my usual range, where some big guns get shot, I still have no problems.

 

[bonza]

The ringing in the ear is called Tinitis (sp?) & will most likely be long lasting or permanent. Most shooters I know have it to some degree. Mine is in my left ear, but is generally only noticeable when it's quiet or if I really listen for it.
By all means seek some professional advise regarding the diziness. Don't think there's much the doctors can do about the ringing.....it'll either fade away over time, or be a friend for life! Good luck.

 

[Kleanbore]

Doctor immediately. Four days delay can make all the difference. Go wherever you need to right now.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Muffs over ear plugs are the only way to go. Damaged hearing cannot be restored.

 

[harmonic]

Facts on noise levels:

Decibels measure sound pressure and are logarithmic. That means that only a 3db increase almost doubles sound pressure, a 6db increase quadruples sound pressure, etc.

Gradual hearing loss may occur after prolonged exposure to 90 decibels or above.

Exposure to 100 decibels for more than 15 minutes can cause hearing loss.

Exposure to 110 decibels for more than a minute can cause permanent hearing loss.

At 140 dBA noise causes immediate injury to almost any unprotected ear.

There is also the more extreme ‘acoustic trauma’, which is an immediate loss of hearing after a sudden, exceptionally loud noise such as an explosion.

Noise levels of firearms:
.22 caliber rifle 130dB
.223, 55GR. Commercial load 18" barrel 155.5dB
.243 in 22" barrel 155.9dB
.30-30 in 20" barrel 156.0dB.
7mm Magnum in 20" barrel 157.5dB.
.308 in 24" barrel 156.2dB.
.30-06 in 24" barrel 158.5dB. In 18" barrel 163.2dB.
.375 18" barrel with muzzle brake 170 dB.
.410 Bore 28" barrel 150dB. 26" barrel 150.25dB. 18" barrel 156.30dB.
20 Gauge 28" barrel 152.50dB. 22" barrel 154.75dB.
12 Gauge 28" barrel 151.50dB. 26" barrel 156.10dB. 18" barrel 161.50dB.
.25 ACP 155.0 dB.
.32 LONG 152.4 dB.
.32 ACP 153.5 dB.
.380 157.7 dB.
9mm 159.8 dB.
.38 S&W 153.5 dB.
.38 Spl 156.3 dB.
.357 Magnum 164.3 dB.
.41 Magnum 163.2 dB.
.44 Spl 155.9 dB.
.45 ACP 157.0 dB.
.45 COLT 154.7 dB.

Properly fitted earplugs or muffs reduce noise 15 to 30 dB. The better earplugs and muffs are approximately equal in sound reductions, although earplugs are better for low frequency noise and earmuffs for high frequency noise.

Using muffs and plugs together: Take the higher of the two and add 5 dB. 30 plug with 20 muff gives an effective NRR of 35.

If you are shooting by yourself, roughly 100 rounds of 140 dB instantaneous noise in a day should not produce hearing damage. Put your plugs and muffs on and you get to shoot up to a thousand rounds without damage (louder ammo/gun and the allowable drops by a factor of 5). Shoot with other people and you have to add all the rounds shot cumulatively (10 people shoot 100 rounds and everybody's done for the day; toss a handcannon or 30 cal rifle in and you're back down to 200 rounds cumulative). If you shoot on an indoor range then all the rounds fired while you are on the range go into your total. So you can see that it doesn't take very long on a range to have a thousand rounds popped off around you.

Don't forget about bone conduction of concusive sound waves. The mastoid bone will transmit the sound vibrations directly to you inner ear where the cochela and the hearing nerves resides. Constant exposure to this kind of concusive sound waves, ie: 50 BMG, industrial heavey machinery, will result in the degradation of your hearing quality. Even with ear muffs, bone conduction is a big factor in hearing.

 

[jpatterson]

I was just using little blue ear plugs, like I usually do. It has never bothered me before, I think my left one might have got dislodged and I'm pretty sure the guy next to me was shooting 9mm +P+. I am going to the doctor this afternoon.

 

[red dirt ranger]

I'd be concerned that my hearing protection has a problem and check it out before using it again.

I have tinnitis from shooting without hearing protection when I was young. An audiologist told me that just one exposure to a loud noise can damage the ear nerves and cause it. It's usually permanent and not much can to done to alleviate the ringing in your ears.

If you had adequate hearing protection, the cause could be from something else that just happened to coincide with your shooting. There are things like infections, ears clogged with wax that can cause tinnitis. It can also be a side effect of some medications.

If it persists more than 2 or 3 days, I'd see an audiologist. You might want to have him make a set of

custom earplugs molded to fit your ears while you're there. They are a lot more comfortable than the cheap

ones. I got a set made for about $70. Wish I'd had a string molded into them so I could hang around my neck, but they are comfortable.
____________

Edited since we were posting at the same time. Water under the bridge, but I'd never just use cheap earplugs in an indoor range. Likely the damage is done.

 

[brassdog]

+1 on seeking the professional help quickly!

Whatever the conditions are that set the stage for your temporary deafness,
you must seek aid now!

It could be stress, infection or injury from repetitous noises. It does adds up over time and will eventually lead to hearing failure of some kind.

You need to wear more than just the "little blue plugs". The plastic shells of the earmuffs serve to deflect the worst of the concussive sounds waves away from your ears and the surround mastoid bone.

Even the little stuff gets loud after a while. Remeber it is easier to keep what you have than to regain what you have lost.

Good Luck!

 

[louie19]

+1 on wearing plugs - esp the ones that you sorta screw into your ear that are ribbed
+1 on wearing tight-fitting muffs over those plugs
+1 on seeing a doctor if you have prolonged hearing loss

I'm looking into getting some of the electronic muffs myself as an upgrade.

I wonder what hearing protection our soldiers use, if any.

 

[jpatterson]

26 hours since the range and still nothing in my left ear. It is becoming sensitive to loud noises, my ear hurts when I "hear" them but I don't actually hear anything. I hope this is a good sign.

I called an audiologist and he said he can see me on Monday but not until then. I think I may give him another call in the morning, I am getting real nervous. I will definitely invest in some better ear protection before I go shooting again, and I advise anyone else reading this that only uses plugs to do the same.

 

[.38 Special]

I'm a hearing aid specialist and my wife is a doctor of audiology. Do not wait until Monday. And do not go straight to the audiologist. You need to see an M.D., preferably an E.N.T. Your audiologist cannot prescribe the medications that may improve your situation -- and has been pointed out, time is of the essence.

There is a very real chance that your hearing may return to essentially normal, and that the tinnitus may fade. Early access to appropriate treatment is an important factor in your recovery.

In your shoes I would seriously consider visiting an emergency room.

 

[tank mechanic]

I wonder what hearing protection our soldiers use, if any.

Practically no one wears ear plugs. I am the only one I know who wears them on a constant basis.

Hang out with a group of army mechanics and count how many times some one says "what" during the course of a conversation. It is very annoying.

 

[beatcop]

You'll probably be fine, a lot of people get their ears rung and experience ringing or "fogginess" for a while. I had the equivalent of an M-80 catch me off guard inside a room, ears were screwed up for a couple of days, but recovered to the good side of "normal" specs, according to hearing tests.

Some folks report permanent damage from one shot, I wish you well. Stay away from the yahoos shooting "magnums" indoors and get some triple flange plugs.

I'm not a doc, but you've gotten good advice from .38 Special, seek medical attention.

 

[JohnKSa]

You should always use muffs, there's significant sound transmission through the bones around your ears. With plugs only the sound transmitted through that path comes through full strength.

With sensitivity like yours it would be smart to double up and use plugs & muffs.

In your situation, until I could see a doctor, I would stay on Advil/Ibuprofen, Aleve, Aspirin or some other OTC NSAID.

 

[hso]

Good luck. Let us know how the visit to the Dr. goes. Until then, take an anti-inflammatory.

 

[INSULATION TIM]

Could it be as simple as part of the foam plug broke off and dislodged itself into the ear canal? An MD with an Otoscope should be able to tell. Also, inserting plugs may have also dislodged a big glop of ear wax deep into the canal as well. Again, the MD.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

I wonder what hearing protection our soldiers use, if any.

Since the '70s we've issued ear plugs. In fact at one time it was the custom to wear the earplug container hanging from the button of your left breast pocket when wearing fatigues.

The problem is, in combat, especially dismounted infantry combat, what you don't hear can kill you. At one time I proposed the Army issue variable plugs, which would allow ordinary sound to pass, but block dangerously-loud sounds. That was rejected because the mechanical plugs available in those days were not very good.

Nowadays, we could have integrated earmuffs, with sound blocking, magnified hearing for normal sounds and radio traffic. As I understand it, we don't have such muffs because they won't fit under helmets -- and we couldn't possibly redesign the helmet to take earmuffs.:banghead:

 

[General Geoff]

I had a similar thing as the OP happen to me, but to my right ear, after a day of shooting my Walther G22 bullpup rifle (I was using muffs, but they may have not been sealed around my ear properly due to cheek weld).

The morning after, I couldn't hear anything in that ear. It felt kinda like I had water in my ear, it had the same sensation. After being up for a few hours, there was a sudden "break" in the sensation, as if fluid was draining from my ear. I put a finger to my ear, it came back with blood on it. I freaked out quite a bit. I called my parents, asked what I should do, they told me I should see a doctor, and I was going to do so the following day. But in the meantime, I had to go to work. It bled a little bit during the day, but had stopped by the evening. By the next morning, my hearing had returned to normal, and I no longer had the liquid sensation or swelling inside my ear. I do have a very slight ringing in that ear now, which is completely unnoticeable unless I'm in absolute silence. I'll have to live with it now.

 

[jrou111]

Anytime I fire off my ported 4" .44 magnum indoors I make sure to let the folks to my right and left "double up" on plugs and muffs.

Even the concussion blast indoors will clear your sinuses, and you can feel the pressure behind your eyeballs.

Make sure to keep your ears well protected, cause for the most part your hearing won't come back.

 

[EricTheBarbarian]

Nowadays, we could have integrated earmuffs, with sound blocking, magnified hearing for normal sounds and radio traffic. As I understand it, we don't have such muffs because they won't fit under helmets -- and we couldn't possibly redesign the helmet to take earmuffs.

Nowadays, they do have such a thing. Its called the "mitch" helmet.

 

[pharmer]

Sounds like an infection (dizziness). Go to the doc, it's easily fixed. Use plugs and muffs indoors. Joe

 

[swgunner]

When I was active duty Navy we would wear earplugs for exercises and practice, but in actual combat no earplugs which is why I have hearing loss and tinitus. In 2004 and 2005 we were issued Surefire semi-custom earplugs and those work graet even for the 50's, you can hear all the commands and orders but the bangs are severely lessened.