Shooting without hearing protection

[jeffafa]

Was out at BLM over the weekend and I wanted to purposely shoot without hearing protection to feel the effects out of my PPQ as I had never shot without hearing protection before. I decided to do 1 round to start and then 5 at a rapid pace. After the first round I decided against doing the 5.
With the disclaimer that I'm not a doctor and don't know what type of damamge is done by doing it, I suggest that anyone that plans to use a pistol for your primary HD tries this at least once, and be warned, it will hurt your ears. I can only imagine what it would feel like indoors with the sound being amplified and reverberated off of walls.

[357magnum]

You are correct sir.
One shot is all it takes to make you know, you need to wear ear protection.

[Merc1138]

I'd advise not doing that, as intentionally doing damage to your hearing just to see if it's as bad as everyone says it is... is dumb.

The problem is that doing this even once causes damage that isn't reversible. Continuing to do so will produce a noticeable effect. There's simply no reason to subject yourself to that if you don't have to.

[VictorFranko]

LOL, OP "runs with scissors" too.

OP is a thrill seeker!

[tradecraft]

I really don't understand why people do this. Unfortunately, it's apparently a pretty common thing to try on CG.

[Captiontom]

You couldn't just put in a foam ear plug half way and realize that without it your ears would be ringing?

[madoka]

Hey don't discourage the man!

I'm hoping he's going to do some reviews wearing AR500 armor and whether spalling is really an issue under live fire.

[kygen]

I've only done it with CCI 22lr quiets. Not bad at all. Wouldn't try it with any other round.

[toby]

Not wise to shoot without protection, those that say it's ok are dead wrong!

[Crusader]

I keep a pair of the electronic ear-muffs in my night stand in case something goes bump in the night. I may not have time to grab them and turn them on, but at least its an option.

[jeffafa]

Let me be clear, I'm not saying that I did it without fully understanding the potential consequences. I did it so in case I ever had to protect my family inside our home that I have a level of understanding as to what I might expect.
People on here advocate train like you would need to shoot. IF you have never done it, and expect that you will still have all of your faculties after having to do it you might be in for more shock. In a true HD situation I imagine not all of us will have time to don proper hearing protection.

[003]

Please understand my comments are not intended as an insult to the OP, but shooting without hearing protection is without question one of the dumbest comments/suggestions I have ever read here on Calguns. Intentionally causing permanent damage to one’s hearing just to experience what it is like makes no sense by any standard. Like the old saying, “I wish I knew then what I know now”, as it relates to how easy it is to damage ones hearing. Once it is gone, it will never come back.

There was a time back in the 70’s that some cops decided that they needed to experience what it was like as suggested by the OP. The routine was to complete the standard qualification course and then fire one cylinder full of duty ammunition so that they would know what to expect when the time came. Those that did this, now have two things in common. One, they are now all retired, and two they all wear hearing aids.

[kygen]

I hope to never hear gunfire indoors, outside of a range.

[Condorguns]

I never recommend shooting without ear protection. I do recommend when making your home defense plans to factor in the physical effects of defending yourself without protection.

You will probably have a drastic reduction in hearing immediately after shooting in your home. You may also have reduced vision depending on the amount of flash from your shot and the light conditions at the time.

No need to damage yourself, the effects are known.

[Citadelgrad87]

If it's any consolation to the unlikely person who was thinking about doing this but read this thread first and changed their mind, there is no report that I've ever seen that anyone was unable to function due to loud gunfire in a shoot out.

There are numerous reports that participants claim they didn't notice how loud the gunfire was, down to denying ringing in their ears.

Op, I will bet you can't claim that.