WW2 Question
- Thread starter RM
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Short answer, no, they did not.
Here is another thread that is related, though it doesn't address your question directly:
http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/index.php/t-220488.html
Noise affects different people differently. Also, much of the loss is in the higher frequencies and can go unnoticed for many years.
Here is another thread that is related, though it doesn't address your question directly:
http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/index.php/t-220488.html
Noise affects different people differently. Also, much of the loss is in the higher frequencies and can go unnoticed for many years.
Art Eatman
Moderator In Memoriam
Huh? Whadja say?
Oh. I wuz too young for WW II. Occupation duty in Korea, 1954/1955. No hearing protection in that era, either.
, Art
Oh. I wuz too young for WW II. Occupation duty in Korea, 1954/1955. No hearing protection in that era, either.
, ArtNo they didn't. They didn't use it in Korea or Vietnam either. Dad was in Vietnam and I checked with him on the last one.
Heck he joined the cops in 1970 and it wasn't until the mid-70's that they started urging cops to use hearing protection when on the range.
Heck he joined the cops in 1970 and it wasn't until the mid-70's that they started urging cops to use hearing protection when on the range.
Robert Hairless
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No eye or ear protection in the late 1950s to mid 1960s either.
Type bigger and louder, please.
Type bigger and louder, please.
usp9
Member
Some smart guys did use cotton, but it didn't help all that much. I know this because one of them is my Dad.
hankdatank1362
Member
Exactly, just like more damage is done by higher frequency sounds than lower frequencies.
Cannonball888
Member
My father was a WWII, Korea, and Viet Nam veteran. Both his ear drums were perforated from shelling. Concussions cause immediate high pressure and can blow out your ear drums.
TexasRifleman
Moderator Emeritus
My WWII pilot friends all talked about "getting used to the noise of the engines". It was their ears going bad that made them think they were getting used to it.
They all wear hearing aids now.
They all wear hearing aids now.
A friend of mine was on the Army rifle team at Fort Eustis for a few years in the '50s. Shot Garand, M-14, and some kind of .300 Win Mag bolt rifle competitively. Never used any hearing protection. Naturally he's rather deaf.
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Bwana John
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We had an older gentleman at our range who was a Quad 50 gunner in WW2.
When he came to the range we had to assigne someone to tap him when cease fire was called (over the PA system), otherwise he just kept shooting.
When he came to the range we had to assigne someone to tap him when cease fire was called (over the PA system), otherwise he just kept shooting.
paramedic70002
Member
That's Fort Eustis, Newport News, VA, or as we locals call it, Fort Useless.
Klusterbuck
Member
Old man, who I worked for as a teenager used to be a belly gunner in a b-17. He was deaf as a post. Took me a while to get used to the fact that I had to yell at him to hold a conversation.
Wish I would have spent a little more time with him.
Wish I would have spent a little more time with him.
silverking
Member
I served on three different aircraft carriers in the early 60's. You didn't dare appear on the flight deck during operations without your mickeymouse ears.
I'm wearing hearing aids now even after always wearing the protection. I think my hearing loss has a lot to do with the family genes. Almost all the males on my dad's side has lost their hearing.
I'm wearing hearing aids now even after always wearing the protection. I think my hearing loss has a lot to do with the family genes. Almost all the males on my dad's side has lost their hearing.
FilJos
Member
Bit of a thread jack, but has anyone heard of modern soldiers using anything like those "hunting ears" or whatever they are called. The little hearing aids that amplify noise and work as ear plugs when they detect dynamic noises like gun shots. Just wondering.
ARGarrison
Member
Not really hearing protection, but I've heard guys talk of using cigerette butts as make do hearing protection. Mostly on the range and not in combat.
My Dad growing up on a farm with the tractors of the time, already had enough hearing damage he could not have any rateing to do with operating radios. He was an aircraft armorer and B-24 gunner.
My Dad growing up on a farm with the tractors of the time, already had enough hearing damage he could not have any rateing to do with operating radios. He was an aircraft armorer and B-24 gunner.
Vern Humphrey
Member
I joined the Army in '62 and retured in '85. Not until well into the '70s did the Army start issuing ear protection.
In fact, I once submitted a long list of suggestions, and included ear plugs for armored vehicle crewmen (the most common injury when you hit a mine is a ruptured eardrum) -- and it was summarily rejected.
In fact, I once submitted a long list of suggestions, and included ear plugs for armored vehicle crewmen (the most common injury when you hit a mine is a ruptured eardrum) -- and it was summarily rejected.
MKEITH
Member
My wifes grandfather was a ball turrett gunner in WWII. He's a short crazy guy that can't hear anything that isn't blasted over a loud speaker.
My grandfather was in the Air Force during the Korean War era. He said they always used hearing protection when they fired their carbines.
He also fired a lot of guns when he was a kid and later hunting with no hearing protection. He also worked in an oil refinery for 30 years (and wore ear plugs). He can hear perfectly now at 76.
My 91 year old grandmother who has never been near a loud noise in her life has terrible hearing.
He also fired a lot of guns when he was a kid and later hunting with no hearing protection. He also worked in an oil refinery for 30 years (and wore ear plugs). He can hear perfectly now at 76.
My 91 year old grandmother who has never been near a loud noise in her life has terrible hearing.
BlazingAngel01
Member
i met a man he was a nabor and he went form Normandy to Berlin with the second division and he is close to deaf he needs a hearing aid but never uses the 3 he has
he is the best i wish i didn't have to move we would sit for hours and talk
he is the best i wish i didn't have to move we would sit for hours and talk
Brian Dale
Member
I knew a guy who'd been a waist gunner on a B-17. Jim was a good man, and pretty near deaf.
You can always tell an old shooter: he's the chap with a hand permanently cupped behind his ear.
My father became an expert shotgunner before the War, and would have had to fire a lot of cartridges to get that far. During the War, he was mid-upper gunner on a Lancaster bomber, so gunfire and engine noise. He's been pretty deaf since I was a boy.
In the 1960s, I was UK Army Cadet Force (Boy Scouts with guns) and used .22 rifles indoors and .303 Lee-Enfields in the open. No ear or eye protection.
When I returned to shooting in the late 1970s, ear protection had come in as standard practice, both in the clubs and in the Services. In the middle 1980s, my club decided to make eye protection standard after a few interesting experiences with handloads, and the practice was standard in both the civilian and military sides of shooting by 1990.
The last time someone asked my advice it was a shotgun hunter. I suggested that in the field, ear protection should be discarded to help all-round awareness, but given the number of lead pellets flying around, he used eye protection at all times.
My father became an expert shotgunner before the War, and would have had to fire a lot of cartridges to get that far. During the War, he was mid-upper gunner on a Lancaster bomber, so gunfire and engine noise. He's been pretty deaf since I was a boy.
In the 1960s, I was UK Army Cadet Force (Boy Scouts with guns) and used .22 rifles indoors and .303 Lee-Enfields in the open. No ear or eye protection.
When I returned to shooting in the late 1970s, ear protection had come in as standard practice, both in the clubs and in the Services. In the middle 1980s, my club decided to make eye protection standard after a few interesting experiences with handloads, and the practice was standard in both the civilian and military sides of shooting by 1990.
The last time someone asked my advice it was a shotgun hunter. I suggested that in the field, ear protection should be discarded to help all-round awareness, but given the number of lead pellets flying around, he used eye protection at all times.
My father is a 2 tour Vietnam and Desert Storm Vet.
I wouldnt say he is deaf as a post but man does he turn the TV up loud!
I remember at some point when I was in grade school, he began wearing a little canister with ear plugs attached to his BDU's.
Little known fact. Teachers experience a high rate of hearing loss and certain frequencies due to the constant noises like bells, students talking,etc and the way schools are constucted.
My Mom is a deaf as post school teacher!
So talking to them is alot of repeating what you say.
I wouldnt say he is deaf as a post but man does he turn the TV up loud!
I remember at some point when I was in grade school, he began wearing a little canister with ear plugs attached to his BDU's.
Little known fact. Teachers experience a high rate of hearing loss and certain frequencies due to the constant noises like bells, students talking,etc and the way schools are constucted.
My Mom is a deaf as post school teacher!
So talking to them is alot of repeating what you say.
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