question about hearing protection

[pacrimguru]

i was wondering what you guys in the service wear for hearing protection out in the field?

[anthonyca]

Those cheap little foam or rubber ear plugs that were worn on our collar.

[gunsmithcats]

Depends,
when flying on the birds (choppers) we just use provided foamies or the black/yellow plugs your supply shop gives you.

They work alright.
Out in the field I really tend not to wear anything, as I'd rather be able to hear anything and everything. I've been tempted to buy electronic plugs, but the good ones are costly and batteries are hard to come by in the sandbox. M16's arent really that loud.

Now if im manning a crew served, u can bet your butt i got some ear pro on. That crap is loud even with plugs, and I want to be able to hear like a normal man when i get back to the states.

So usually on LAV's and other trucks I'll have electronic muffs to chat with the crew.

From what I understand, the Marines have been experimenting with zinc and other supplements to help maintain and improve hearing, being that we're all slowly going deaf from vehicles and machines. I hope to God they figure something out, otherwise imma put in for some partial disability before I get out. I really feel like I have a hard time hearing some pitches from being around generators and other loud things.

[pacrimguru]

thanks for the info. yea, i always wondered when you don't have communications on then what else were you guys withstanding the noises with. i tried firing my ar at the range without anything on to see how loud it was and my ears started ringing after the first shot, haha. so no magical military ear savers huh? mostly plain old foam plugs? we need to up the budget on hearing protection r&d!

[JDay]

thanks for the info. yea, i always wondered when you don't have communications on then what else were you guys withstanding the noises with. i tried firing my ar at the range without anything on to see how loud it was and my ears started ringing after the first shot, haha. so no magical military ear savers huh? mostly plain old foam plugs? we need to up the budget on hearing protection r&d!

You have to remember that the range is enclosed so you get more pressure/echo then you would in the open. Go shooting in a field and you'll notice the difference.

[armygunsmith]

I was issued a set of the dual ended ear plugs. They're called Combat Arms Ear Plugs. For the 14 bucks they work really well and still allow me to hear range commands clearly.

[apbrian112]

on the range: foamies
in the field/in theater: nothing (which is why my normal range of hearing has slightly degraded)

never really noticed it when firing my weapons in combat, including the MK19 and M2HB 50 cal... when the adrenaline was pumping it didn't bother in the least.

[dwa]

on the range: foamies
in the field/in theater: nothing (which is why my normal range of hearing has slightly degraded)

never really noticed it when firing my weapons in combat, including the MK19 and M2HB 50 cal... when the adrenaline was pumping it didn't bother in the least.

thats retarded

[dwa]

I was issued a set of the dual ended ear plugs. They're called Combat Arms Ear Plugs. For the 14 bucks they work really well and still allow me to hear range commands clearly.

i was issued that as well they work very well. they one end has a hole in it to allow more hearing you can flip them if theres more noise you just loose some situational awareness.

[bornproud]

cigarette butts!

[dwa]

cigarette butts!

ya those do work in a pinch lol