Hearing Damage and Home Defense

[bassjam99]

If you learn to shoot one handed then you can save one ear with your free hand.

[BoJackUSMC]

I already lost my left ear hearing from shooting my 50cal sniper rifle while I was deployed to Iraq. Also, have constant ringing in the ear on my both ears so it does not bother me if I have to shoot again without any hearing protection in order to stay alive.

Worse is shooting inside the vehicle (5.56 to 7.62) with all windows closed.. it will give you nice headache....

[Wordupmybrotha]

While your priority should be safety, decent electronic hearing protection costs ~$30. It doesn't hurt to have a pair next to your HD gun. If you're awakened by an intruder busting through your bedroom door or window, grab the gun and go. If you hear a noise downstairs, takes a few extra seconds to put it on and spare a long time of hearing damage. Electronic hearing protection can even amplify noises, making it useful in HD.

You may or may not be able to use it, but why not have the option?

This is what I was going to say. To me, whether to put on ear protection would depend on how immediately I needed to shoot the perp.

I shot subsonic 45 acp and 9mm in an indoor range and I didn't notice much decrease in sound.

[Montu]

I have a Friend that NDed in his bedroom...sig p226..127 grain 9mm

Didn't do anything to his ears..and if it did that was the least of his worries at the moment.

I was across the hall and came in to make sure he was OK...he didn't seem to have a problem hearing me either.

[delta9]

Sometimes hearing damage doesn't manifest itself until much later in life. When I was in my young 20's I used to go shooting outdoors with no ear protection. Fast forward to when i was 45 and I woke up with ringing and hearing loss in my right rear. Had an MRI and a battery of hearing tests that were consistent with hearing loss from gunfire

[Germ1]

Not even something I would be concerned about in a situation like that, you won't go deaf. I shot without ear pro for like ten years, I only recently started wearing it. I have the occasional ringing in my ears, but big whoop.

[ChuckDizzle]

Im sure there some police or military who could answer this with real world experience.

I probably have some hearing loss from combat. But as mentioned it is cumulative. These were sustained gun battles, with thousands of rounds fired including CAS and indirect fire.

Most of my hearing loss was from riding around in helicopters or jumping into the jet/rotor wash of aircraft.

A true home defense scenario is a rare, and desperate, situation. A marginal ammount of hearing loss should be an afterthought.

[bwhited]

Where do you live?
If you have enough self defense shootings to be worried about hearing loss, I would be moving!

[grim1U]

Where do you live?
If you have enough self defense shootings to be worried about hearing loss, I would be moving!

Lmfao...! Exactly what I was thinking.

[Par5In2]

My brother was in his patrol car, shot a few through the lower door skin, a hand full through the drivers window, got out, mag change and 17 more outside of the car. He said he actually didn't even remember hearing the shots. Just a hyper focus on his front sight, and getting out of his car alive...

His hearing is just fine these days.

[DNA]

Honestly like another poster brought up, a lot of folks experience varying degrees of auditory exclusion, from hearing none of it to only some of it during a high stress situation such as a shooting.

I can only speak for myself but it was a bit muffled, as if I had low profile ear muffs shooting at an indoor range. I actually thought to myself afterward, "well damn, it's not nearly as loud as i thought."

And as it's been brought it, hearing damage is cumulative, you'll probably mess up your hearing more if you mow your lawn without hearing protection than if you were to let off a few rounds during a home invasion, unless you're the neighborhood drug dealer who gets jacked on a weekly basis.

Dan

[BeFrank]

Pistol Caliber Carbine

[1Fastrider]

sleep with ear plugs in and have dogs and security alarms to wake you up

[supertrooper]

i would rather have a little hearing loss than be dead. if i had to defend myself in the middle of the night i wouldnt want to reduce my hearing with earpro and just deal with a little ringing in my ears for a few days.

[GM4spd]

Basically OP argument is about how we can get suppressor in California

Well we know that is not going to happen. Pete