Hearing Damage and Home Defense

[SandHill]

A very legitimate question OP.
You got a few sensible answers.
I appreciated them as well.

Thanks! This thread has definitely taken some interesting tangents. My primary HD weapon is a 12 gauge. Back-up, in case 7 rounds of buckshot proves insufficient (you know, The Night of the Living Dead or something) is a Beretta 96 with 180 grain HST's - on the quieter end of of the spectrum I think. I am not a drug dealer so not anticipating frequent shootouts.

What I really need is an excuse to buy another handgun. I would have thought that was obvious. I told my wife four out of the last six purchases were for HD and she is wondering how much defending we really need.

Help me out here guys! Give me some arguments about how much quieter some other weapon is so I can buy another gun!

[BoJackUSMC]

If I have time to put hearing protection... I rather put on my bulletproof vest hehehe

[Carcassonne]

If you are still alive because you had to use a pistol for HD, that is what matters. If you are worried about your hearing in a life or death situation, you're focused on the wrong thing.

+1


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[Brush Guard]

Wearing amplified hearing protection would seem like a benefit, and would only take about 2 seconds to put on. I don't see the dilemma.

But, but… the jury will hang you as a blood thirsty killer. Proof that you lie in wait is the electronic hearing protection that enables you to hear a pin drop across the house while selfishly protecting your own ears as you shoot the innocent, temporarily misguided and hungry angel.

I’ve got them next to my pistol vault too. Just another option at hand.

[opos]

Way back in the '50's (yes the 1950's) I shot weekly in the basement of the Fort Collins, Colorado police building...a long concrete hallway with doors and windows sealed off...about a 15 yard "range"..I shot weekly...shot a .30 Luger and never once used any hearing protection...that little Luger was a real barking pistol...I'm near 80 now and have hearing loss from many years of shooting and riding on jets during my career.

If there is any question (for me) about get killed or be "protected" I'll go for not being killed...I've had occasion (only once) to touch off a .357 with my ear muffs around my neck..it hurt and I couldn't hear for a day but no worse for long term damage that all the other accumulated problems..your mileage may vary but wow! stopping to put on hearing protection as the gang bangers kick in the door and grab your family? Not me

Spend $200 to have a safe room "steel door" with a dead bolt installed on a spare room or office...I'd sure rather go bolt us into our "safe room" (sound like a millennial don't I) with our guns and cell phone, and knowledge of how the bad guys would have to come than to cowboy it into the living room firing a gun in the air...Bad guy has no idea what's behind "door number 1" but we know the layout where he might be trying to get to us...

[CGT80]

Blew my ear drum while scuba diving, it healed in a year.

So you'll be fine. One other option if you're ears are sensitive: pepper spray.

Blowing out an ear drum is not the same as damage from loud sound. The ear drum isn't what sends the signal to your brain. The tiny hair cells (nerves) in the inner ear are triggered by sound and they die off when exposed to too much sound.

Yes, pepper spray, a tazer, bat, or other object isn't a bad idea if it works in a situation you find yourself in. It may also mean less legal trouble than shooting them, but then again, firearms are the great equalizer.

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.

A few days? Try a lifetime, for many.


Those who said hearing loss is cumulative were right, but so wrong at the same time. What if you already have hearing damage, which is cumulative from years of construction work, concerts, wind noise, yard work, etc? What if you already have tinnitus and hypercausis?

A single shot or a few shots for a person with hearing that has not been abused, may very well do just fine. Time will tell. For others, time has already caught up with us and we have to think about preventing further damage, if possible.


My pro ears mag sit right next to my HD gun. It would take two seconds to put them on. How do I know, I have actually grabbed them when I was the only one in the house and heard something going on and the dogs going off. They allow me to hear more than if I even had perfect hearing. If there isn't time to put them on, then it is what it is, but I like the option.

There are many stupid or uneducated comments in this thread and also some good ones. Sometimes we don't know what we don't know and have to learn it the hard way. Even mild hearing loss sucks. Protect it if you can.

[417atty]

delete

[CGT80]

It is good that you could hear the appropriate sounds, but a real hearing test would be much better.

Many people don't have a clue when it comes to how sound and hearing is measured. Some say they have lost a certain percentage of hearing, but it doesn't give an accurate picture.

Hearing tests are based on frequency and volume.

I can still hear all of the frequencies up to the 6khz that they tested to. Does that mean my hearing is great? No. The volume is the other half of the equation. At around 3k, I don't hear sounds under 30db. At around 1k I can hear sounds as quiet as probably 5db, which is normal and good. 4-5k is a fairly low number as well. My chart shows a dip centered around 2-3khz which is an important part of speech.

My left ear has more noticeable loss in a higher frequency than my right. It is hard to hear powder in a cartridge when I shake it near my left ear, but I can hear it with the right. The right ear bothers me the most. The sounds that we hear everyday consist of many frequencies. Being a bit OCD does not help. Many OCD people are very observant, at least in certain parts of their life. Sometimes it is a good thing and other times it sucks. Mild hearing loss can start in a way where you don't even recognize the symptoms, but when you learn what they are, you can look back and say "oh that is what I noticed, before."

The pillow video was cool and worked better than I expected. Hopefully the bad guy will stand still while I grab new fluffy pillow to hold in front of the gun. Maybe he will even hold my flashlight while I shoot him. In the good old USA, a suppressor would be a welcome addition.

Oh yeah, I have seen test results where 45acp was claimed to be not as loud as 9mm, but only by a little. 9mm can have a higher pitch and more pressure. The 45acp does have quite a bang though, especially from a short barrel. I'm not so sure it would make a lot of difference (one small round vs. another) and hopefully I never have the need to find out. The 460 Mag will not be the one I grab for SD, at least not with full power loads in it.

[417atty]

delete

[Erion929]

Never, ever, ever heard of a bad guy wearing ear protection and they seem to do ok shooting homeowners and shopowners in hundreds of scenarios a year.

Just sayin....

Why is it always the good guys who are encumbered by all the legal, healthy, and sensible things in life? The bad guys come in shooting all the time, yet "we" have to worry about putting on ear pro first? WTF?

[blasterp7]

Well, first of all, in a home defense shooting scenario, post event hearing loss is the least of your worries...

Secondly, the likelihood of said event is, thankfully low. Thirdly, as mentioned above, hearing loss being cumulative, the likelihood of you having multiple events is probably akin to being struck by lightning - unless of course you interface with unsavory aquaintences or live in a very sketchy part of town and do not relocate after the first hypothetical event.

Yeah, I pretty much have to agree. If you are a hunter or have ever been involved in any adrenaline producing event that involves a firearm, you are not likely to remember the "noise" at the time. You may later experience hearing problems, but that goes with the territory of being involved with those events. If we are going to the Range for any kind of shooting we ALL are utilizing the best hearing protection we can

[rmatt]

No ear pro near pistol. Electronic ear pro near rifle.

One morning wife came into bedroom recently at 0600 saying a cougar was in the yard (it turned out to be a bobcat). Ran to safe, got carbine and ear pro in one motion. Felt good. (I did not get to shoot a bobcat as it ran when I came out. It was after her cat)

Reading this I just might add a pair to the bedroom as well....

[C141B]

https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2014/8/8/ear-defense-for-home-defense/

[Lead Waster]

on top of my HD weapon are electronic ear muffs, I put them on and grab the gun. They also help since they enhance any noise around the house and of course muffle the sound of gunfire. I can turn up the volume and hear everything going on. I suppose there could be situations where I would not have time to put them on, but I can't imagine them since my dogs will buy me the one or 2 seconds needed to put them on.

I agree that this is the way to go, if you have warning that something is coming through the door. If you hear a bump in the night outside, or the sound of a window opening, you might have time. A crashed in door, maybe not (but that's unlikely).

E-muffs are great and can amplify the sounds your can barely make out. Maybe you'll hear ... one of your kids whispering to their friend. Or maybe you'll hear the sound of someone walking where they shouldn't be.
Might even help you hear a second invader coming up behind you.

A good tool in any home defense plan. If you don't have time to put them on, then don't.

[technique]

Calguns. Rarely good for factual information, always good for a laugh.