Gunshot without hearing protection

[NapalmCheese]

I wish they made this in hunter orange.

Maybe I can make a hunter orange velco over-cap.

[ZirconJohn]

I said Now to fill my underwear with my beer

Huh... OH... well of course you could take a pill with water for your ear, gaaa-head fer keewright sakes... whattayaaskin' me for...!!!

[klewan]

Your ears were never made or designed to deal with a 165 decibel gun shot. I knew a guy that was a Marine competition marksman. He's deaf and was lip reading when I spoke to him. Suppressors now!!!

[RTE]

OK
now your qualified
Thats what its going to sound like when you take a shot at someone in your house.
now that you know what it sounds like, you wont flinch on the second round.

[Yoteman]

I'm glad you posted this OP!
A few years ago I was with friends at our small range. I was directly next to a concrete block wall on my right and a fellow shooter on my left.
We all had taken a break for some water and removed our headsets. We all had 22-250's
For some unexplained reason the guy on my left cut his break short and without warning or notice, touched one off!

Even though he was on my left, my right ear took the damage. The sound bounced off that block wall and to my right ear.
Instant distortion and loss of mids-highs.
About a week later some of the mids returned but not the highs. When I say highs I'm not talking 18,000 cps....more like 8K.

My DR explained to me the decibels/ pressure dynamic. But short of an appliance, my hearing has been permanently compromised.
Get to a competent health provider. Yours may return but it will be much more responsibly addressed by a trained professional.

[CBR_rider]

All this makes me wonder about the hearing consequences of having to fire rounds in your home or auto. I realize you may not have any other recourse but the hearing damage could be severe.

Thats what its going to sound like when you take a shot at someone in your house.
now that you know what it sounds like, you wont flinch on the second round.

Having had to shoot at things other than paper targets at work, I can attest to the fact that you probably WON'T hear your shots (or at least they won't seem as loud) should you have to use a firearm for self defense. As has already been stated, that of course doesn't mean that there may not be long term physical consequences of such actions; you just may not notice them right away.

[pdq_wizzard]

Takes a little more than 1 time.

wrong, there have been people that go almost def one time with no protection, its not common and I would say you have more of a chance of winning the lotto. But it can happen.

I have shoot my 30-06 many times with out hearing protection a few times but I was always hunting and shooting at something so there may have been some adrenaline that helped.

[hambam105]

I'd start the filing disability retirement papers now.

1 shot from a .357...a 22-250...wow....A Indoor shooting range...oh geeze!

Tell that to the thousands of GI's who fired 50 cal machine guns from...get ready...inside a airplane. How did tens of thousands of servicemen fire guns on the...rifle range...without ear plugs and expect to survive? Better set the appointment with the ENT Doc as soon as you can.

Private Ryan, you're on your own.

[riddler408]

I can tell you that now, about 3 hours after the gunshot, I have significant hearing loss (especially higher frequencies) in one ear (temporary or permanent is not known)

It will be back to normal in a week or so..


I had a pistol fire very close to me once, left ear in front of the muzzle. .45acp. The ringing wore off but my left ear is sensitive to this day(was 6 years ago) if i shoot outdoors without hearing protection it actually hurts a little and rings again when my right ear is fine.

Damage can be done, be careful!

[ZirconJohn]

Well, unless you using electronic hearing protection, like Radians... and I don't...,

What I do is - Always wear sponge-type earplug inserts WITH ear-muff type hearing protection OVER the ears... in case... I forget to put that dang muffs on...!

This SAVED me many times... wish I had a buck every time I gat caught by surprise. I never take the insert plugs out until I leave the range.

[Schuetze]

i always wear ear plugs and a set of electronic cans on top of them. works great - you can hear everything and rest assured

[POLICESTATE]

44 magnum in an enclosed room, no hearing protection. The interesting thing is one moment everything was normal, the next dead silence. Well until the intense ringing started several seconds later.

I learned then that all that stuff in the movies and TV where people are shooting and talking to each other is complete nonsense. Even shouting is going to be hard to hear.

I didn't suffer any permanent hearing damage though.

[Powder_Keg]

What I do is - Always wear sponge-type earplug inserts WITH ear-muff type hearing protection OVER the ears... in case... I forget to put that dang muffs on...!

This SAVED me many times... wish I had a buck every time I gat caught by surprise. I never take the insert plugs out until I leave the range.

That's my setup too, works great and saved my butt more than once. I have a set of elec. ear muffs and I can turn them up and still hear conversation with the foam ear plugs in. When I am done for the day, I collapse my ear muffs and store the foam earplugs in between the ear cups. Then next time I hit up the range, they are there waiting for me.

[CSACANNONEER]

Huh... OH... well of course you could take a pill with water for your ear, gaaa-head fer keewright sakes... whattayaaskin' me for...!!!

No, you tell Bill to barter for deer, greens heads and the right sake.

[Paperchasin]

Always wondered what it'd be like if I had to fire my gun inside the house in a SD situation. Hearing loss- One more good reason to put more emphasis on prevention and deterrence.