Threshold of hearing loss

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monotonous_iterancy

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Sometimes, even if I want to shoot, I won't if I've been exposed to a lot of loud noise that day. Not a damaging level, I'm just wary of crossing that line and incurring permanent damage.

For instance, 85 db is safe for 8 hours, 120 or 130 (or is it 140?) causes permanent hearing damage.

How long of a break is needed in between exposures?
 
I thought that it was scientifically proven that a few hours of 85db wouldn't cause lasting damage.

But my question isn't about exact decibel levels. I want to know how long you have to wait before engaging in another loud activity, like shooting, after being exposed to loud noise from a different, earlier source.
 
If you are being exposed to noise levels like that for long durations you should be wearing hearing protection. Also you should never range shoot without hearing protection, I recommend plugs and muffs at the same time.

I am not aware that there is any time interval recommended between high noise level exposure. The only recommendations are for proper protection whenever exposed.
 
I‘d advise always wearing something even for slightly elelavated noise levels, I didn't as a teenager so between heavy metal music & heavy caliber guns I'm at 65 to 70% hearing loss, you don't won't to end up like me where everybody sounds like the Adults on Charlie Brown.
 
I have a related question. What do guys in the military do for hearing protection? I can't imagine soldiers putting on hearing protection before a firefight, but I gotta imagine you and the rest of your squad all blasting away would cause a LOT of hearing damage.
 
To the op....if you've been exposed to loud noise, you should be able to shoot immediately without any interval.....IF....you wear ear protection when you shoot. The plugs and or muffs will absorb the noise, reducing the noise and thereby reduce db to your ears to a safe threshold.

It also depends on what you're shooting. A 22lr subsonic is way different than a .308. If it is a particularly loud gun you may want two types of noise protection. If I shoot 44 mag, I wear plugs and muffs. If shooting 44-spl with light plinkers maybe just muffs.
 
Hearing loss you’ll know when you’ve lost it. Pardon me becomes the most used word in your vocabulary and you become semi proficient in lip reading.

What seals the deal is when the VA payment shows up in your banking account. I was in the military during the dark ages of hearing protection such as cotton stuffed in your ears during firearms qualifications.

I only realize what I’m missing when wearing electronic hearing protection thus hearing certain sounds I haven’t heard in decades.:what:
 
Alright. So say I'm exposed to 85 or 90 db for 2 hours. My ears aren't ringing, but say I shoot something, and hearing protection brings that down to 120 db. Combined with the earlier exposure, it's not going to "put me over the top"?

I actually just got a job washing dishes. It's not that loud, but the sound of clanging dishes can be. After 6 or 7 hours, I found my ears were ringing worse than usual. That somewhat concerns me.
 
No, they are not cumulative in db ratings for exposure for damage. One millisecond of exposure to high enough noise - like a gunshot next to your ear - can cause permanent hearing loss. Wearing earbuds too loud can be as bad as working around loud machinery. You also need to protect the mastoid bones around your ear (which is why you should wear muffs), so the vibrations do not get transmitted to your middle and inner ear
 
To the hearing loss in the military poster: I cant remember who posted it but it was in one of my threads last week, the military does have a hearing protection program and someone posted the intricacies of it. i'll try and find it
 
The sound level inside an airborne passenger jet is about 85 db, sometimes a little less, if that puts it in perspective for you.

If you increase the sound level by 10X, you gain 10 db. If you increase it 100X, you gain 20 dB, and if you increase it 1000X, you gain 30 dB. So earmuffs that reduce sound levels by 30 dB are 10X as good as earmuffs that reduce sound levels by 20 dB.

I wear my 33 dB muffs when I run my table saw or my snow blower. That's enough attenuation that if I open my mouth, the sound is distinctly louder. That leads me to believe that any more attenuation than that is probably a waste. That seems to be the point where bone conduction and such are enough that more ear protection will not reduce sound levels in your ear.

Muzzle blast 1 meter from the muzzle tends to be around 150 dB.
 
When you are a young man, the tiny operative hairs in your cochlea are built like tanks. As you get older they get tired of vibrating so well and you begin to hear less.

Be it a firearm, a shop tool or a Marshall stack, deleterious long term exposure creates this phenomenon. Keep it simple and wear ear protection whenever you feel pressure in ears. I keep a pair with me all the time, and proper higher grade protection wherever I will need it regularly.
 
When you are a young man, the tiny operative hairs in your cochlea are built like tanks. As you get older they get tired of vibrating so well and you begin to hear less.
Click to expand...

Well I'm 19 and I already have tinnitus. I'm not exactly sure why, but when I was 15, this guy let me shoot his CCW gun, a .45 acp. I dont remember the model, but I remember it was a Ruger.

So I squeeze the trigger and the world goes quiet, except for an aggressive ringing. I'd forgotten hearing protection. I realized what I did, and told him "I've gotta get some ear plugs". I handed the gun back, and immediately he started firing off the rest of the magazine while I was standing there. I left, gunfire right behind me as I walked away, and sat for a bit, got some earplugs, and shot a magazine or two. My ears rang for a while afterword as I recall.

So I have 24/7 tinnitus. It's not that bad, I can live with it, but I definitely don't want it getting worse.
 
I thought that it was scientifically proven that a few hours of 85db wouldn't cause lasting damage.
Click to expand...

Nope (btw, "scientifically proven" is a nonsense term to scientists)

There are studies in recent years that are leading towards changing 8hr exposure limits down as low as 75dBA, but that aside, there are equations that allow you to total your exposures during an 8hr period or 10hr or 12 to identify whether you've exceeded the time weighted average limit for exposure.
 
lost 40% hearing in my left ear to [1] 18rd burst from a M16 back in 1971 [guy to the left of me didn't listen to the range officer]....at 65 I hear a ringing all the time in both ears...can't evan shoot a .22 without pain ...WEAR HEARING PROTECTION !
 
What do guys in the military do for hearing protection?
Click to expand...

I got out in 08, FWIW.

I often wore ear pro in vehicles. Not always.

Never wore it dismounted.

I found them (the black and yellow ones, no idea what is currently issued) to be uncomfortable, and most of all, you couldn't hear nearly as well with them in. They are supposed to allow good hearing when worn, but they don't. Not worth the risk at all, IMO. I don't know anyone who wore them dismounted.

Maybe some of our currently serving members can talk about what is currently issued, and common practice.
 
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