Hearing Loss?

[tango5]

Heres the deal: I have a pair of ear plugs that work ok. I wore them at the outdoor range several times and enjoy them because I still get a decent dose of volume through them which helps me get used to the noise of the gun.

Today however, I went to an indoor range to shoot my handgun. I was a little freaked out when I removed my earplugs and could barely hear a thing. It has been 6 hours now and my left ear is not hearing very well. Everything is muffled.
My question is, wont this go away? I mean, people in war dont all go deaf and they fire weaponry all the time. Will I permanantly lose my hearing in my left ear? help please.

It should come back, how long, i dont know. I used to shoot without hearing protection when i was a kid, even when my dad hounded us to wear our muffs. In the Army i never used hearing protection unless we were at the range. A few years ago before the AW ban i shot my AK with a 30rd mag as fast as i could without hearing protection, i lost my hearing for 3 days in my right ear. It came back slowly, but i can still tell its not as it used to be. Now, i am a strong believer of wearing hearing protection, its something you can lose and never get back, be safe.

[Beelzy]

Meh, when your ears ALWAYS ring and your spouse has to tell you that the
timer on the Microwave oven went off while you are standing right next to it,
that's damage.

You are on your way to developing "shooter's ear".

Ever notice how almost EVERY old Navy vet (big, big guns) is deaf??

[Greg-Dawg]

Add muffs to your plugs.

[Iknownot]

Heres the deal: I have a pair of ear plugs that work ok. I wore them at the outdoor range several times and enjoy them because I still get a decent dose of volume through them which helps me get used to the noise of the gun.

Today however, I went to an indoor range to shoot my handgun. I was a little freaked out when I removed my earplugs and could barely hear a thing. It has been 6 hours now and my left ear is not hearing very well. Everything is muffled.
My question is, wont this go away? I mean, people in war dont all go deaf and they fire weaponry all the time. Will I permanantly lose my hearing in my left ear? help please.

You're probably fine. I don't think one time is going to do any harm, but it is uncomfortable and unsettling when you think about hearing loss being irreversible.

I never have problem with ear protection at outdoor ranges, whether using plugs or muffs or both.

However, after a couple of times at the indoor range, using both plugs and muffs and leaving with a head ache or uncomfortableness in my ears after the session, I went for custom molded plugs.

They work much better under muffs and there is no question that they are properly seated and sealed.

I think that is the main issue with disposable soft plugs. They are sometimes hard to tell if they are properly seated/sealed when they are under muffs.

Look into getting some custom molded plugs. They are obviously more expensive, but you only need to pay for them once and they work well.

[xrMike]

....so much for my disability check.

I attended my first IDPA-style pistol event a couple weeks ago. It lasted aalllll day long, from like 9am to 5pm. It was super hot, so I dispensed with the headmuffs I usually wear, and just wore some not-very-good foam plugs. I also rode my bike to and from the event, at 75mph on the freeway, without plugs, about an hour each way.

Since then, I have a faint ringing in both ears. Only audible when things are quiet. I know for a fact the ringing was not there before. I'm really pissed, and hope it eventually goes away. But I'm not counting on it, as it's been 2 weeks now.

All it takes is 1 day of being stupid to affect you for the rest of your life.

Plugs and muffs, all the time, every time, from now on.

[SgtDinosaur]

What?

[Z ME FLY]

5150, is your hearing any better? I fired my mosin without hearing protection and everything rang for about 20 mins. Afterwards I couldn't hear from that ear for the rest of the day. I hear a ring every once in awhile but I've always heard that.

[UBFRAGD]

Man, I hope your hearing gets better. Stuff like that usually fades away.....

Take it from an old dude who has done the music/motorcycles/construction/guns thing, protect your ears. When I can I double up, plugs/muffs are the way to go. The bonus with doubling up is reduced/eliminated flinch or anticipation. I keep on thinking of some kind of soft material that I could cover my right ear with a headband for support and still get proper rifle cheekweld with some additional sound-dampening........

As far as military guys go, when I grew up, some of the WWII guys had really bad hearing. The 'Nam guys in the hood, hearing loss was the least of their problems.......



Day in the hills:
60rnds 308
150rnds 12ga
300rnds 5.56
100rnds pistol

Ear plugs only. Everything was fine, I thought. Drove out of the hills and descended about 1500-2000ft. Got on the freeway and everything was fine, or so I thought. Then I noticed that I was thinking EXTREMELY clearly and able to really focus on my thoughts with absolutely no distraction. No distractions....like noises!!! I looked at the radio and it was on but I couldn't hear it, I looked over at my wife and she was babbling away, I didn't hear a word, I looked back at my dog and he was happily barking away, couldn't hear that, windows open at 80mph no wind noise.....for a minute or two it was really cool, but then I got worried. After about 20 minutes and ten jaw-breaking yawns my hearing came back.....the worst ear-damage always has had something to do with the combination of altitude/pressure changes and loud noises......one time I rode my sportbike up and down the Sierras all day, lots of altitude changes, earplugs the whole time, my ears rang for two days, pretty scary......

One time I fired my M1A without plugs just to see what it was like. The pain was excruciating and every sinus cavity was in pain for half an hour. It was like getting hit in the face with a cinder block doing 50mph.

One time I was hanging out with drunk rednecks (fit right in) and we were banging clays all day without ears. Didn't seem like a big deal until the next morning--hungover, with the ears ringing to exacerbate the headache----OUCH!!

Nothing hurts my ears more than dry-firing my Rem700 without ears. For some reason that hollow clicking sound kills me......

Let's hear your ear damage stories guys!!

[madmike]

What?

Someone had to say it...

-madmike.

[madmike]

Loud engines, loud music, and ported snubies without ears, all lead to my wife calling me deaf at least twice a day. I will always double up now, to save what little hearing I have left. You just don't ever get it back.

-madmike...

[Turbinator]

I always travel with ear plugs just in case.. airplane flights, movie theaters, shows, and so on. I've been lucky in that I've been prepared for most events. Crying babies on a plane? No problem

For shooting, many have said it already, but plugs and muffs are a must have for every shooting session.

Turby