22lr with no ear protection

[MUKAK]

how bad it is? been shootin and dont see side effects as of yet

ruger 10/22 is the rifle

[alabamacoastie]

I grew up in Alabama. My dad taught me to shoot when i was 5 or 6. We never used ear pro. In fact, i can remember him shaming me whenever i tried to cover my ears with my hands. He'd say, "if it's too loud you can go back to the house with your mother!"

I shot guns regularly, my entire life, and never wore ear pro until i enlisted. I always wore hearing protection at the range, but i also did two deployments to Iraq and we never wore hearing protection over there.

Now I'm 33, and i have a little hearing loss, but nothing too bad. But, i wish i had worn hearing protection for all those years in my youth.

I now have two very small daughters, and i can't wait to teach them to shoot, but i will never shame then for wearing ear pro. It will be a requirement at my back yard range days!

The damage is irreversible and completely preventable. Why would you want to take a chance on destroying one of your most important senses?

[Garv]

It adds up.

You don't always get lung cancer from smoking the first cigarette either.

Find the most comfortable gear you can and wear it every time.

Edit:
Plenty of articles out there.

http://www.asha.org/public/hearing/Recreational-Firearm-Noise-Exposure/

[Monster]

Hearing lose builds over time and every time you shoot a 22 you are adding a rung to the ladder.

[drunktank]

It adds up, as mentioned earlier. I have to take annual hearing conservation classes at work and they go over this a lot. Anyway, exposure time has a lot to do with it, but once you reach certain decibels (such as gunshots), it's all bad. In this case, it will slowly degrade over time, depend on how often you shoot.

[sealocan]

Not only does it add up, as mentioned above but it never ever comes back.
When you go and see a doctor about hearing loss they basically say there's not much we can do. = it never comes back or "grows back in". it's just a loss with no recovery or gain.

(except Maybe hearing aids, that really don't work as well as you would hope they would.)

Do yourself a favor and at least use the foam rollup type.
They're cheap and much better than nothing.

[audiophil2]

Loss of hearing is just one effect. What is not as easily noticeable is the loss of the ability to hear a conversation nearby when there is back ground noise. My hearing loss is due to concerts. If I am talking to someone 3 feet away and there are other people talking nearby or other background noise I cannot hear my conversation as well if there was no other noise.

[Jimi Jah]

I sometimes shoot my AR-22 without EP outdoors. It has a Levang linear compensator and re-directs the sound/blast forward. I get more sound bouncing off the backstop than from the rifle. I can't shoot any of my others with out EP nor do I try to.

[kygen]

Use cci quiets

[Skeez]

Not only does it add up, as mentioned above but it never ever comes back.
When you go and see a doctor about hearing loss they basically say there's not much we can do. = it never comes back or "grows back in". it's just a loss with no recovery or gain.

(except Maybe hearing aids, that really don't work as well as you would hope they would.)

Do yourself a favor and at least use the foam rollup type.
They're cheap and much better than nothing.

At least use the foam roll up type?
Those are actually the best, when used properly.

[zapatito92]

its about the same as playing with some fire crackers as a kid, it doesn't seem too bad until its too late.

[desertjosh]

Use cci quiets

This is what I usually use on my property

[ECG_88]

At least use the foam roll up type?
Those are actually the best, when used properly.

Yea I was going to say that too. For ear protection, you want to look at how much decibel reduction they are rated for. The little cheap foam plugs actually have a much better decibel reduction rating than any ear muffs on the market. If you really want to reduce the noise, put in plugs and muffs.

I talked to a Harrier pilot at an air show who said he had plugs on inside his helmet and still lost 40% of his hearing. Something about those stabilizing nozzles on the ends of the wings gave off the worst high pitch whine that pierced all hearing protection. Also he said the canopy was not sealed and whole cockpit didn't block out any sound.

[sealocan]

When I was saying "at least" I was implying that they're very very low-cost and extremely easy to use so there's no excuse not to.

As for, are they "the best"? I believe that it really depends on what use you have intended for them, target, hunting, .22s, loud construction equipment... etc.
And that you're comfortable wearing because the trick is to wear them all the time that you may be exposed to the loud sounds.
I know personally of people having the foam ones bother them.

Maybe the article at the bottom of this link will explain it better...

http://www.shootingandsafety.com/best-ear-protection-for-shooting/

[Jimi Jah]

Common foam plugs are rated at about -29 db. Hero's have some rated at -32 db. Pop on cans and you get about 3~6 db more attenuation.