Hearing loss from the range trip today?

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Don't forget......hearing is one thing medical science cannot fix. Always wear properly fitting plugs or muffs.
 
Thx guys. Im at the beginning of my shooting career and i plan on taking your advice on the subject. Dont think i will ever make the mistake of not making sure my "ears" are on before firing again either. Just takes one time hopefully
 
Thx GBEx.. i catch myself forgetting to put them on sometimes. Im trying hard to do everything safe/right concerning others (muzzle sweep, keeping weapon pointed downrange at all times etc) and sometimes forget about the things that keep my person safe..
 
Growing up shooting without earplugs plus spending 20 odd years around loud construction equipment and being too stupid to wear them, my ears now ring all the time. Never really noticed it until about 4-5 years ago. As I've gotten older my blood pressure has gone up and that adds to it also. I wouldnt worry about one shot but believe me you don't want to make it a habit. I'm 56 and will most likely be dealing tinnitus for the rest of my life.
 
I make a point of getting in on every hearing protection thread I find because I made the mistake of not protecting my hearing and lost most of it.

I was an artilleryman in the Army for several years and afterwards worked as a sheet metal fabricator/ machinist. I started my manufacturing career operating a Strippit 1250 CNC Turret Press and made a point of using hearing protection then but it was too late.

I am 48 years old, I can’t use a telephone without head phones, I have to use the closed captions when I watch TV (or turn it up so loud the neighbors can hear it), my wife has given up on asking me “Did you hear that?”, I’ve lost a lot of the enjoyment of music (MP3 head phones will damage your hearing too BTW) and I have to lip read my grandkids

My point is, once your hearing is gone, it’s gone and by the time you realize I know exactly what I'm talking about it will be too late for you too.

Wear your hearing protection Wear your hearing protection Wear your hearing protection Wear your hearing protection Wear your hearing protection
 
Trunk Monkey said:
I make a point of getting in on every hearing protection thread I find because I made the mistake of not protecting my hearing and lost most of it.

I was an artilleryman in the Army for several years and afterwards worked as a sheet metal fabricator/ machinist. I started my manufacturing career operating a Strippit 1250 CNC Turret Press and made a point of using hearing protection then but it was too late.

I am 48 years old, I can’t use a telephone without head phones, I have to use the closed captions when I watch TV (or turn it up so loud the neighbors can hear it), my wife has given up on asking me “Did you hear that?”, I’ve lost a lot of the enjoyment of music (MP3 head phones will damage your hearing too BTW) and I have to lip read my grandkids

My point is, once your hearing is gone, it’s gone and by the time you realize I know exactly what I'm talking about it will be too late for you too.

Wear your hearing protection Wear your hearing protection Wear your hearing protection Wear your hearing protection Wear your hearing protection
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Monkey
MVP. Most Valuable Post.
 
I am 'lucky' in that I was born with a hearing loss (high frequency, both ears) discovered when I was in 5th grade.

I keep my eye on safety because of that and enjoy live music, power tools and shooting--and I use hearing protection when needed. My loss has not gotten worse in 25+ years.

This is a good read on hearing loss by noise, although it does not go into hard numbers:
http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/pages/noise.aspx

The thing to remember is the noise level is exponential and the louder the noise the less time it takes for permanent loss, quickly.

Because of my loss I wish suppressors were easier to have in the US.
 
hso said:
Of course, the best approach is to never, ever, shoot without making sure that you have both plugs and muffs safely in place.
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I have impaired hearing, but I've had it all my life (or at least since I had meningitis as an infant, which might account for it). Despite that, the electronic muffs I use at the range don't dampen the boom as much as I'd like. It has never occurred to me to wear plugs also, as it would seem to me to defeat the hearing of normal speech (like commands from the range officer). I guess I will have to try that out, to see (or hear) for myself. If it interferes with hearing the range officer, then they will come back out. But if I can still hear the range officer, a bit more dampening of the boom of high powered rifles going off next to me will be appreciated.
 
In the trade, young people today are much more conscientious about using hearing protection in the field. Back when I was coming up, there were no ear plugs readily available, so when noise from an activity was too uncomfortably loud, we'd use Scotchloks or Ideal Wing Nuts in our ears (two different styles of wire nut).

I think I was nineteen years old when I shot a snubby .38 without hearing protection outdoors. They shot this type of gun in the movies and on TV all the time without a problem, so I asked myself, how bad could it be?

It is always good to have this discussion to raise awareness about hearing loss and the one-note-song-that-never-ends that is tinnitus.
 
being of the generation that had small portable headphones and ear buds developed right around the time I achieved double digits I can attest to the lack of knowledge about long term damage to the ears. I still subjectively hear better than most people I know, but i'm now in about my 2nd decade of constant ringing in both ears. oh and I have a grade school gym teacher to thank for the imbalance I have also... blew his whistle at full blast right while I was standing next to him. it actually put a small puncture in my ear drum. it healed, but it cost me.
 
Thx guys. Hey Trunk, does the Army let folks wear ear protection out in the field/training ? I doubt it but sure would be good. Thx for your service also
 
If you are a young man reading this, USE EAR PROTECTION, even if you think you're some kind of tough guy. I'll shut up now. God bless.
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Nicely put...

I'll add, even if you're an old man, USE EAR PROTECTION - EVEN WHEN WORKING WITH POWER TOOLS, LAWN EQUIPMENT, MOTORCYCLES, etc...

Unless you want the ringing in your ears like I have... :cuss:
 
I've been exposed to lots of loud noise, music, etc. for a lot of years. I always wear hearing protection at the range though. I have not suffered any hearing loss. In fact, I can hear lots of buzzing even when things are totally quiet around me... I think if I was able to do it all over again I'd probably not have kept the VU meter pinned.
 
potatohead said:
Hey Trunk, does the Army let folks wear ear protection out in the field/training ?
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They did when I was in, chose not to because I thought I'd be better off to hear the section chief's commands. That's what I get for thinking.

That said, I was in so long ago we hought woodland camoflage BDUs were high speed, low drag I have no idea what it's like in the "modern" Army
 
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This is a good time to point out that if you have access to free hearing protection (from work ect) its always a good idea to bring some extra. I have occasionally ran into some people without them and handed them out so they would not hurt their hearing.
 
I even wear molded ear plugs when mowing the lawn. Tinnitus is gradual, but gun shots can be the cause of immediate and permanent hearing loss. Hearing loss can not be corrected - once it's gone, it's gone for good. I have had ear crickets/snare drums/hissing radiators or whatever other term you would like to use for decades - too much Jimi at volume 9 with headphones back in college. Plugs in the ear are nice but not enough - especially with high pressure/velocity rounds like 223. You also need to protect the bones that surround the ear with muffs, as those bones transmit sound vibrations to the middle and inner ear causing deafness. Hearing loss is also one that you fail to notice immediately - if your eyes start going, you notice immediately, same for taste, touch and smell.

Take care of your ears!
 
Hearing loss can not be corrected - once it's gone, it's gone for good.
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Not entirely true oneounce.


When i was about 13 er so, i bot an 1898 and 200 rounds o' steel jacket fer $25.
( remember them days ?)
I took it to a local strip mine hole and fired all 200 rounds jist as quick as i could.
No hearing protection.
My left ear felt 'weired' fer a while afterwards. 3 years later i went to a Traffic and Edgar Winter concert and during that LOUD concert i suddenly felt a sharp terrible pain in that same ear.
It took about 30 years but my hearing slowing went completely away in that ear. I had to have surgery a couple years ago to have that wee bone in my ear replaced with a platinum one. Hearing is now better than ever in that ear.
Point is, it took a LOT of abuse and a long time after that initial shooting session for my hearing to be damaged to any great degree.

Today, i do nothing with any kind of noise without ear protection. Kind of a nusiance in my woodshop cause i can't hear my jams with ear protection on.
 
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thx trunk. thats pretty good info hso thanks! i was hoping they took care of our soldiers hearing. or at least acted like they wanted to!
 
molded ear plugs
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ive heard of these. how do you like them-seems like they would really keep those decibels down..


By the way yall, i dont notice any loss today (dont know if i would anyway, from your comments) but i still have "foggy head" today. and everything is kind of vibrating when i talk. i havent noticed anyone having to scream at me anymore than usual today so maybe im ok
 
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