And I’m enjoying my Snickers right now! 
1 Like
Snicker in the front, Poke her in da rear! 
1 Like
I’ve been to that bar, but they must have changed the name.
it used to be Liquor in the front, Poker in the rear.
quote=“Shamrock, post:14, topic:104794”]
I personally wouldn’t consider practicing without hearing protection just to make the training more realistic.
[/quote]
I’m with Shamrock on this one. Avoid excessive noise until it becomes absolutely necessary. Hearing loss is cumulative, no sense in speeding up the process.
3 Likes
WHAT? 
2 Likes
I grew up in a peanut buying station. We had 12 bin dryers and a massive wagon dryer. They run at like 148db 24 hours a day from september until december. Im pretty sure i had tinnitus in highschool lol
as for the noise in a shooting incident, you typically wont even remember it after the fact depending on the environment. in an inclosed space of a building? you will be deaf as hell, outside the adrenaline typically helps shield you from the shot concussion while you are in the moment.
4 Likes
I feel your pain on this one, Brother…or more to the point, I hear the same ringing. I spent 12 years around F-111s. Double ear protection didn’t really help. Some things I can hear and some things I can’t.
I did finally get the feeling back in my fingertips though.
3 Likes
Shot trap as a kid 100-200 a weekend and we didn’t use hearing protection. Thousand hours in the jump seat of a Huey, we had helmet with muffs but in the 70’s they hadn’t really figured out how to make them work too good.
When I do hearing protection classes I use this line, “Do you know what the loudest sound in this room is right now? It’s the ringing in my ears, it never goes away…”.
8 Likes
I shot a 44 magnum in a canyon with no hearing protection. The essential high C maintained a high level for the rest of the day. I think I still have that ever persistent sound going off in my head. I actually forgot about that and thought that sound was something everybody heard but then I listened to others talking about it and it was a Ah Ha moment.
3 Likes
I heard of some wireless electronic and more portable ear plugs (noise canceling for fire arm time use), but kinda expensive for me, and I worry about pain or side effects from wearing them
That’s something I’ve thought about too. Same considerations as well. I’m not sure it’s worth the trade off or not. Probably not to be honest since I don’t plan on getting into daily shootouts lol
1 Like
Marshall amps on ten,race cars with open headers, thousands of twelve gauge rounds trap shooting or dove hunting…then war.Ive gat a continuous high pitch ringing that never stops.Ive learned to ignore it mostly. But it’s there and never stops.
8 Likes
@DustyChalk I’ve got severe tinnitus and wear hearing aids as well. Too many years around running jet engines. I’ve been thinking a lot about what the impact would be if exposed to a gun shot with the hearing aids in. Technically they are sound amplifiers! I’ll definitely keep the info about injections in mind though. I was totally unaware of that treatment! Thanks 
4 Likes
Ugh, an injection in my ear? Makes me think of getting a shot in my eye. Only if absolutely necessary and you better use a topical numbing agent too.
4 Likes
Morphine, definitely Morphine Brother!
After all the105’s, Mortars, Grenades, Helo’s etc with-OUT protection I am doing ok.
Is my hearing great? Hell no, but I rarely wear my hearing aids because FOR ME it’s like two fingers in my ears. (or they are overly LOUD!)
I wear’ Cans’ @ the Range (even Outdoor sometimes) and eye Protection 100% of the time.
Even my sunglasses are Tactical. I don’t take stupid risks with my body (anymore) protect what’s left I’m probably in the minority here about knowing what all my hardware sounds and feels like in real time but it works for me. No Flinching or Hesitation when I shoot.
A self Defense shoot sucks but I KNOW I won’t have Cans on if it ever happens again so I prepare for the REALITY of it.
Please do NOT take this as ADVICE! It’s just what I do. I alone am responsible for my actions
I’m not suggesting you all do the same. I’d rather you TRAIN HARD (and often) make those Guns a part of you, know them inside and out. WEAR PROTECTION and be safe. If you do this you have a greater chance of surviving a shoot.
Mi dos pesos
4 Likes
A .357 in a smallish room
Sure, it’s a tv show but I thought it’s near accurate and it was an eye-opener for me when I was a beginner gun owner
4 Likes
Ya BeanCounter, that episode is one that got me thinking about the physical effects on me afterward. Of course, at least I hope, I won’t be in an enclosed space like that. But I’m apparently hypersensitive to loud sounds due to my hearing issues. The last time I was at an open Gun range, even as we were walking to the firing area, through the parking lot, I noticed an unnerving effect when someone fired a gun and I hadn’t protected yet. Made me feel dizzy. So now I wear ear plugs and headset. In the episode Rick looked pretty stunned…do you think he was to the point of not being able to defend himself from a second attacker? SWAT teams use the flash-bangs for the same effect. Wonder if they’re comparable?
4 Likes
I couldn’t say for sure.
The indoors shotgun blast I mentioned earlier was the closest I experienced to something like that.
My reaction was, “wow, that’s loud” as I quickly put on ear protection.
I just went to my assigned stall and started shooting.
4 Likes
Fascinating DustyChalk. I hear you, no pun intended.
Not sure if it helps me, but like another gentleman posted, I too double up at the range, both soft spongy inserts and a head/ear muffs (the electronic kind). Took my brother once, he started out with just head/ear muffs but soon added both on as well.
Good for you that you got medical help fairly soon, I imagine many folks either way too long or never go at all, perhaps not realizing the benefits of an evaluation and treatment.
Unrelated, but you minded me how some biological components, when we loose them they are either difficult to grow back or do not grow back at all:
IE, brain cells. I saw a documentary, I think it was called “Stress Kills”. Whereby literally, when we feel stress, we lose brain cells. So, I try to avoid stress when I can. Not sure how many people know what the loss of brain cells does to a person, it’s pretty significant.
I read that regular exercise and a regular healthy diet can help grow newer cells. But of course, finding activities to decompress can help with the stress. I was lucky to have found outdoor activities again, but now I need to work on my physical health so I can cope with getting out there more, the walking part.
2 Likes
Ok let me net this out.
NEVER fire a gun without hearing protection if you can help it at ALL. Even WITH hearing protection in place you are still damaging your hearing long term.
For indoor work any GOOD electronic will do. They do not cancel the sound of a gunshot, they just flatten the Dbs to a sub 90 which lets you hear and experience the shot but a level that causes less damage. No such thing a NO damage. For indoor work I wear foam plugs AND OTE electronic muffs so I can hear conversations and range instructions. Please don’t buy budget electronics, they do not work well enough to be worth whatever few dollars you saved. Walkers and Peltor make budget friendly devices that are not “cheap” but worth every dollar. Howard Leigh Impacts have been VERY good especially for the money and I have a few pairs that are probably closing in on 10 years (I keep them as loaners now) and I always recommend them to folks that want to keep it at under $50.
Over the years, if you are around guns long enough, you will absolutely lose hearing, first in the high end frequencies (funny enough female voices are the first to get “muddy”) then overall. Tinnitus is basically guaranteed. You will get it for an hour or two after a shot at first, then for a day or two, and then one day it’s your constant friend and it’s forever.
I can NOT fall asleep in complete silence. My tinnitus won’t let me. But I have zero problems falling asleep to a TV on, keeps my brain busy from thinking about the ringing. When I’m at home I set the timer on mine for 30 minutes and happily doze off. When I’m traveling I turn on the TV in the hotel room on and let it play all night. When out in a tent I just have to suck it up. I’ll just get tired enough to fall asleep to nuclear bombs if needed.
5 Likes
BTW as a PSA MidwayUSA.com puts Walkers on STUPID sales every once in a while. Just get on their email list to get notices.
Right now several of the electronic muffs models are down in the $30s! I favor their quad Microphone Walkers And when they go in the $70 range I just seem to buy another set. I carry 2 of them in the Jeep at all times. The Bluetooth enabled ones are fantastic, they will pair to your phone and allow you to take calls or rock AC/DC while running drills. Their in the ear rechargeable buds are now my main go-to for outdoor shooting and hunting.
If you don’t own electronic hearing protection just buy a set of Walkers and you can thank me later.
6 Likes
- it really hurts.
- the ringing lasts days.
- you only hear the first round-ypur ears are ringing louder than each subsequent round.
- do not think about this, it will make you pause, and that equals losing a gunfight.
4 Likes