How is it possible to fire without ear protection?

[Tweak338]

meh the only time ive been shooting i lifted my muffs open a little... damn its loud... i was on the tin can range at Los altos rod and gun.. i wondered what the 44mag would sound like.. stupid me

[adamsreeftank]

Instead of shooting without hearing protection to "see what it's like", why not get some active electronic muffs and keep them next to your home-defense gun. The hunting version will actually amplify other noises, so you can hear the bad guy creaping around like you have bionic ears.

http://www.websoft-solutions.net/hunting_headset_shooting_headset_p/proearstkrdm2.htm

[VeryCoolCat]

Its okay to shoot a several rounds off without protection and be fine. Its sustained continuous practice/shooting that will damage your ears.

You can always use a 9mm, .223 or .30cal bullet for hearing protection. I've used a 7.62x39 casing before as a hearing protection piece. Works good actually.

I've seen old shooters do this and a few marines. It works good if you lose your plugs.

I did so not out of choice... but out of necesity... I was kinda far out and i swore i put my plugs on that rock.

[Bishop]

Good question. I always wondered about this...

[jumbopanda]

if i heard someone breaking into my home, i wouldnt even take the time to put on hearing protection, id just grab a gun and go because my life is more important than my ears, which wouldnt take much damage from one or two shots anyway. honestly how often do you face these scenarios? unless people break into your house every day, you wont have to worry about hearing damage.

[ligamentum flavum]

there is a muscle called the tensor tympani which helps to attenuate the transmission of loud noises. I believe, but am not sure, that sympathetic innervation (fight or flight response) may play a role in causing the tensor tympani to contract and make very loud noises more bearable.

hope this helps.

[Paul1960]

Its okay to shoot a several rounds off without protection and be fine. Its sustained continuous practice/shooting that will damage your ears.

You can always use a 9mm, .223 or .30cal bullet for hearing protection. I've used a 7.62x39 casing before as a hearing protection piece. Works good actually.

I've seen old shooters do this and a few marines. It works good if you lose your plugs.

I did so not out of choice... but out of necesity... I was kinda far out and i swore i put my plugs on that rock.

Doctor, doctor, doctor VeryCoolCat, ... you are totally wrong. Each and every exposure to exessive sound levels causes permant hearing damage. Each shot. Every time.

Just off hand what do the .38 and 9mm cartridges measure out on a dB meter for protection? You do know that semi-rigid plugs issued by the military come in three sizes because everyone's ears aren't .356 in diameter and perfectly round?

DO NOT SCREW AROUND WITH YOUR SENSE OF HEARING. ONCE LOST YOU'LL SPEND THE REST OF YOUR LIFE WITH HEARING AIDS IN AND WISHING YOU COULD HEAR MUSIC, YOUR CHILD'S VOICE, OR THE WIND BLOW THRU THE TREES THE WAY YOU STRUGGLE TO REMEMBER.

I can't tell you how much I've suffered with my hearing loss. I'd grab you by the collars and beg you to stop doing so careless if I could.

Don't go taking advice from me or anyone else on the Internet about how to protect yourself. Hearing doesn't grow back once damaged or lost, that's a fact. Have a look at a proper guide on how to protect your hearing - OSHA, the military, and most firearm manufacturers will give you sound advice (pun intended).

Double hearing protection with 31 dB EAR plugs and +25 dB muffs over the top or with rifles or in doors with pistol or rifle and 31 dB or better shooting pistols outdoors is my recommendation based on my studies. I'm holding on to what hearing I have with both hands.

[Paul1960]

there is a muscle called the tensor tympani which helps to attenuate the transmission of loud noises. I believe, but am not sure, that sympathetic innervation (fight or flight response) may play a role in causing the tensor tympani to contract and make very loud noises more bearable.

hope this helps.

This is one of the ideas that Lt.Col. (doctor) Grossman thinks might be involved. He noted cases where the hearing of a partner standing just in front of a shooter was damaged but the actually shooter didn't hear the blast - the shooter knew the shot was coming ... the partner didn't.

[chickenfried]

If you need more convincing go to this forum
A neurotologist has offered to answer questions/give advice.

http://www.m14firinglineforum.com/upload/forumdisplay.php?f=110

[VeryCoolCat]

Doctor, doctor, doctor VeryCoolCat, ... you are totally wrong. Each and every exposure to exessive sound levels causes permant hearing damage. Each shot. Every time.

Just off hand what do the .38 and 9mm cartridges measure out on a dB meter for protection? You do know that semi-rigid plugs issued by the military come in three sizes because everyone's ears aren't .356 in diameter and perfectly round?

DO NOT SCREW AROUND WITH YOUR SENSE OF HEARING. ONCE LOST YOU'LL SPEND THE REST OF YOUR LIFE WITH HEARING AIDS IN AND WISHING YOU COULD HEAR MUSIC, YOUR CHILD'S VOICE, OR THE WIND BLOW THRU THE TREES THE WAY YOU STRUGGLE TO REMEMBER.

I can't tell you how much I've suffered with my hearing loss. I'd grab you by the collars and beg you to stop doing so careless if I could.

Don't go taking advice from me or anyone else on the Internet about how to protect yourself. Hearing doesn't grow back once damaged or lost, that's a fact. Have a look at a proper guide on how to protect your hearing - OSHA, the military, and most firearm manufacturers will give you sound advice (pun intended).

Double hearing protection with 31 dB EAR plugs and +25 dB muffs over the top or with rifles or in doors with pistol or rifle and 31 dB or better shooting pistols outdoors is my recommendation based on my studies. I'm holding on to what hearing I have with both hands.

You must have done something seriously wrong then in your youth. Its one thing if you shoot a couple of 9mm rounds at an intruder... you won't go def. If your out hunting you shouldn't wear hearing protection due to safety issues and hearing critters or other shooters that won't make you def.

but if you go shooting like 100+ rounds a month for every month WITHOUT hearing protection then you'll be deaf.

Hell if hearing was that sensitive... every idiot driving in a car blasting music would be more def than the moment after you've been shell shocked. Which by the way... is a very unique experience. If you see some idiots playing with gatorade bottles and dry ice and throwing it at people call the cops.

[50 Freak]

I've forgotten a few time to put the plugs into my ear as I pulled the trigger of my 308 PSS. Wow...talk about a ringing sound.

I think to this day my hearing isn't as good as it was as often times I'll see people moving their lips and yet I can't fully distingish the noise coming out of their mouths.

Hearing damage is gradual and permenent. It builds up with time and not something you want to put yourself through if not necessary.

[chickenfried]

Sure you won't go deaf from the occasional unprotected shot. But the shots are still doing damage to your hearing. There's a lot of graduations between great hearing and deafness.

You must have done something seriously wrong then in your youth. Its one thing if you shoot a couple of 9mm rounds at an intruder... you won't go def. If your out hunting you shouldn't wear hearing protection due to safety issues and hearing critters or other shooters that won't make you def.

[Satex]

If you ever get in a "real life" situation in which you have to use your firearm, you won't even notice the noise. You will be high on adrenalin and your brain filters everything out that isn't needed for basic survival.

I once did a platoon drill and I forgot my hearing protection. For the few minutes that we were hot, I just noticed something weird but didn't really know what was different. After the drill it hit me - and so did the ringing - for two days! Thank god firearms around me were just M16s and the MAGs were further away.

[Icarus]

Good hearing protection has only been available at reasonable prices for about the last 25years. The old method was wax soaked cotton, plain cotton, .45 ACP empties (no joke) or just about any thing soft that you could stuff in your ear. Educational programs and changes in range rules have changed this. The loss of hearing from gunfire outdoors without good muffs is slow and insidious. I now need my hearing aids just to hear normal conversations even though I have used muffs for the last 10 years for most of the time. At indoor ranges use soft plugs and muffs. Listening to loud music with head phones is just as damaging as unprotected gun fire over a longer period of time. The price for a good set of hearing aids if your hearing deteriorates far enough is $4000 to $5000 plus the batteries will cost you about $75 a year. The hearing aids need replacing about every 5 years. Protect your hearing and put the money into more guns.

[Neil McCauley]

I once fired off a round from my USP .45 and forgot to put my hearing protection on. Immediately after I felt a chunk of ear wax fall out of my ear and onto my shoulder. Poor hygene saved my hearing from a dangerous blast of air.

Neil