Hearing Protection in Home Defense?

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Gridley

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A comment in another thread got me to thinking - should I have hearing protection ready to hand for a home-defense situation?

Up until recently I'd have thought the question was stupid; protecting my long-term hearing was far less important than the reduction in my situational awareness that wearing muffs would cause, not to mention it would be one more thing to put on quickly.

However, with electronic muffs (which I've had for a while now) I can actually hear MORE with my muffs on and turned up than with them off, and they'll still provide some protection for my ear drums. Granted, it is still another thing to deal with when seconds count.

Do you have electronic muffs (or some other form of hearing protection) ready to hand for a home-defense situation? What do you think about the idea?

Yes, I could also get a suppressor and sub-sonic ammo... which would cost a lot more money and force me to go through the NFA process. Until silencers drop off the NFA list it just isn't worth it to me.
 
Hearing loss is why I was so upset when the GOP didn't push through the Hearing Protection Act when they had the chance.

We don't allow cars, trucks, trains, law mowers etc without mufflers, why should our guns not have the option of a noise suppressor.

That said, I don't currently have hearing protection on my night stand. I do keep a package or two of the disposable rubber hearing protection plugs in my pockets when I go out. I figure in a worse case, I'll have to draw. If I'm ever in another (yes I've survived two campus shootings) having something is better than nothing.

My only question is what is the legal argument going to be if we have time to put in hearing protection. I know that I can argue if I'm ever trapped like I was when my classroom was shot up that I had hearing protection in case I have to use my gun. And having "been there/done that" unlike many I've thought about what I would have done had I been armed, how I would have dealt with it and how serious it was/is to possibly take a life. So unlike many, I've had to deal with it and understand it.

That said, I think we all need to do all we can to be safe. The world isn't a safe place and we're a lot less safe in some ways than ever before. But if we do all we can we can be safer than we've ever been and we can deal with any threats if necessary. Doing them wisely only makes sense! And if having hearing protection that improves your hearing on the nightstand makes sense then I say do it! And ^&%% you as I know have another thing to think about (said in jest and smiling)
 
My only question is what is the legal argument going to be if we have time to put in hearing protection.

If you're in a jurisdiction that requires you to attempt to retreat before defending yourself I suppose it could be a problem, but I believe those are still fairly rare. Plus even in those jurisdictions I believe you're allowed to shoot if you have nowhere you can retreat to (if you're above the ground floor, for example). Obviously that's going to be a case of "know your local laws on self-defense."
 
... - should I have hearing protection ready to hand for a home-defense situation? ...
I sure do.

I am not willing to spend what I consider to an exorbitant amount of money for a pistol can + tax stamp, although I did buy a threaded barrel (at a major discount :)) for my Glock 19 ... just in case, some time in the future, the restrictions are rewritten on suppressors. That is looking less likely as time goes by. :(

For years now I have kept my 2nd set of Peltor Tactical 6S electronic "ears" by my bed for that night when things go seriously bad. Hopefully, I will never have to use them.

Spread around the house and in my truck I have Winomo-brand Silicone Corded Earplugs (sorry, I have forgotten where I got the 50ct container of these things) on the off chance that I may anticipate a growing possibility of having to fire the handgun that is always on me. Often, I will keep a pair of them around my neck when I head outside.
 
I have built my own and purchased suppressors over the years and have used them around the house. I also have hearing protection just about everywhere. That said, I don’t have any “home defense” hearing protection.

I have a number of electronic muffs though and they allow me to hear better than normal while not allowing damage. I use them quite a bit hunting, for that reason.

I guess I don’t keep them in the bed room because it would just be one more thing for me to forget every weekend so they stay in the “farm” container in the laundry room, the others are in the shop and reloading room.

I might further damage my hearing someday because of it, I can’t say there’s not a chance of it. My house might also be damaged by lightning because I never put lightning rods on the roof...
 
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The choice is yours, but will everyone in the home have muffs and be ready when you open up on an intruder? :D

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Kidding aside, it would be nice if suppressors were off the NFA list. I feel the same as you about the tax and wait, not to mention suppressor prices would certainly come down. More and more people are using them for home defense though and have just accepted the price and wait time.
 
SilencerCo Maxim 9. I had a G19 on my nightstand for 14yrs, it got stuck in the safe the week after my stamp cleared and I’d function proofed my Maxim.
 
My only question is what is the legal argument going to be if we have time to put in hearing protection.
We are overthinking this as this is really non-issue.

I doubt if police will even ask, "BTW, did you wear hearing protection when you were shooting at the attacker?"

Focus will be whether your life was in danger and you shot in self defense.

Let's say you grabbed two guns instead of one and/or put on bullet-proof vest. Does spending few extra seconds to grab a back up gun or putting on bullet-proof vest to better protect your life change whether it was a justified shooting or not?
 
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Let's say you grabbed two guns instead of one and/or put on bullet-proof vest. Does spending few extra seconds to grab a back up gun or putting on bullet-proof vest to better protect your life change whether it was a justified shooting or not?

Practically and realistically? No. Might it change the *perception* about whether it was a justified shooting? Sadly, I believe it might. Remember that in some circles 'stand your ground' and 'castle doctrine' are controversial. I believe it is still the case in some municipalities that you have to attempt to escape *your own house* rather than hold your position.

I'm not saying it is right, nor is it a major factor in my decision making, but I understand taking it into consideration.
 
I do not believe I recall any case whether use of hearing protection was a deciding factor, or even brought up.

If it has, someone could enlighten me.

Spread around the house and in my truck I have Winomo-brand Silicone Corded Earplugs ... on the off chance that I may anticipate a growing possibility of having to fire the handgun that is always on me. Often, I will keep a pair of them around my neck when I head outside.
In a gunfight I want to hear everything especially my threat's movements and actions. I certainly would not impede my hearing and situational awareness by putting earplugs in my ears.

protecting my long-term hearing was far less important than the reduction in my situational awareness that wearing muffs would cause
If you have not fired indoors, especially in smaller areas, firing a gun will temporarily make you deaf with loud ringing in your ear and possibly disorient you if you are not used to loud noise which is not good if someone is shooting at you. (Don't ask me how I know :(:D)

Even just firing off primers in empty cases inside the garage surprised me as to how loud they were. Unintentionally not wearing hearing protection at indoor range and firing a round left me with brief painful "pop/bang" in my head that overwhelmed the senses with a prolonged "PING" in my ears. Yes, I keep adding to my hearing loss from Army ... Now I even wear hearing protection for using the shop vac and weedeater.

Do you have electronic muffs (or some other form of hearing protection) ready to hand for a home-defense situation? What do you think about the idea?
Electronic hearing protection may be a viable option for those with average/attenuated hearing as turning up the volume knob will provide enhanced hearing. I have them and amazed how much more I can hear when shooting outdoors. But there are different types of electronic hearing protection and I would test them first. Not many are true stereo and you may be hindered identifying which direction sound/noise was coming from.


However, with electronic muffs (which I've had for a while now) I can actually hear MORE with my muffs on and turned up than with them off
I like having options in life and electronic hearing protection is one that I use. BUT to be sure they will work, you should test them by having someone move around the house and see if you can hear and maintain situational awareness while wearing electronic hearing protection. If you can, great. If you cannot, then back to plan A.


Granted, it is still another thing to deal with when seconds count.
That's where training and practice comes in. I used to think donning a vest was extra time spent but with practice, I can have it slung over my head in less than a second and now become a natural motion for me to finish donning the vest before I reach for the pistol on the night stand.

Practice putting on the electronic hearing protection and "switching on" ;) and see how much time it adds. With practice, it may not add much time.
 
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I have a set of electronic ear protection by the bed.

I've actually set it up where I grab and perform actions in a set way where I might actually grab the electronic ears and put them on if they aren't through the door or window yet.

Hear potential break in.

-If in bed grab glasses. If not I'll already have them on or contacts in and at least have a 9mm single stack in my pocket already (I home carry).
-Grab gun by bed (CZ Scorpion with a light).
-Look out door into rest of house (you can see pretty much the entire house from by our bedroom door).
-If they aren't through yet tell my wife to call 911, put her vest on and go in the bathroom (there's another phone in there and her gun).
-Grab vest and put it on while looking out doorway.
-Grab ear pro and put it on while looking out doorway.
-Keep eye out while slipping on side zip boots.
-Put pistol by my bedside in right cargo shorts pocket.
-If they come through at any point and represent a threat then shoot to the ground and then cover them until help arrives.

Two pistols are in my bedside drawer and there are extra mags for everything plus a Med Kit in there as well.

There's also an AR and 5 mags in a go bag by the safe about 9 feet away from the doorway.

Our house is pretty hardened, so it would more than likely take awhile for anyone to get in even if they had sledgehammers or axes. I've seen videos where the doors, windows and locks we have have been subjected to a lot of abuse.

Our house was subject to an attempted home invasion when I was a teenager and the only thing my dad had was a flashlight and a 6 in S&W 29 and I had a baseball bat. Our house now is way more hardened, I have more training and a lot more gear available.

I don't think he even considered ear protection. I think the attitude was 'I'd rather be deaf than have my family be dead'.

If need be that's fine. Fair trade off. I'd rather at least try to have it available.
 
Do you have electronic muffs (or some other form of hearing protection) ready to hand for a home-defense situation? What do you think about the idea?

No I do not.
I think the idea is silly, but apparently I'm the only one who thinks so.

1. If the occasion arises that I have to fire my weapon in defense of my family, hearing loss is the least of my worries.
2. In that situation, time is likely to be a commodity that I won't have much of. I have a wife and daughter to protect. I'm not wasting precious seconds fumbling around in the dark for earmuffs.
3. If the situation is one where I think I might need to use a weapon in defense of my family, I probably should be able to hear what's going on in my house. I think I want to be in full command of all of my senses in such an event. Especially since it will likely be dark, depriving me of at least part of my sight.

No hearing protection for me in an HD situation.
 
Electronic ears actually enable you to hear better than what you can hear normally. It enhances your hearing.

Some just aren't familiar with them because they've only been exposed to regular ear muffs or just ear plugs.

Try going and popping off a few rds in a shoot house without ear pro. It's deafening. Even worse with a rifle. If you don't have to live with tinnitus for the rest of your life why do it?
 
It's been maybe 10 years since I've tried a pair of electronic muffs, but I remember them being slightly disorienting since I was hearing a speaker in my ear make the noise as opposed to hearing it naturally. Maybe the tech is better now, but I'd prefer to rely on my own senses in a life or death situation.

Personally, I'd think that if you DO choose to use some sort of electronic hearing protection you should probably practice with them MORE often than you do with your self defense gun, especially focusing on just wearing them in your own house so you know what your normal "house sounds" sound like while enhanced.
 
It's been maybe 10 years since I've tried a pair of electronic muffs, but I remember them being slightly disorienting since I was hearing a speaker in my ear make the noise as opposed to hearing it naturally. Maybe the tech is better now, but I'd prefer to rely on my own senses in a life or death situation.

Personally, I'd think that if you DO choose to use some sort of electronic hearing protection you should probably practice with them MORE often than you do with your self defense gun, especially focusing on just wearing them in your own house so you know what your normal "house sounds" sound like while enhanced.
+1.

Not all electronic hearing protection is true "stereo" with two separate microphones to help you determine where the noise/sound is coming from and should be tested in your home to see if they enhance your hearing abilities.
 
No I do not.
I think the idea is silly, but apparently I'm the only one who thinks so.

1. If the occasion arises that I have to fire my weapon in defense of my family, hearing loss is the least of my worries.
2. In that situation, time is likely to be a commodity that I won't have much of. I have a wife and daughter to protect. I'm not wasting precious seconds fumbling around in the dark for earmuffs.
3. If the situation is one where I think I might need to use a weapon in defense of my family, I probably should be able to hear what's going on in my house. I think I want to be in full command of all of my senses in such an event. Especially since it will likely be dark, depriving me of at least part of my sight.

No hearing protection for me in an HD situation.

Don’t consider the long term loss but the immediate, short term loss that would occur if you opened fire indoors.

You’d lose part or most of your hearing straight away and that would be critical if you’re A) trying to listen for the intruder and B) trying to communicate with your family.

I understand the need for speed and if someone is literally kicking your bedroom door in then go for it but if it’s a bump in the night it takes seconds to don and switch on a head set in the dark, and that could pay serious dividends for you.
 
Don’t consider the long term loss but the immediate, short term loss that would occur if you opened fire indoors.
You’d lose part or most of your hearing straight away and that would be critical if you’re A) trying to listen for the intruder and B) trying to communicate with your family.

That is a very valid point.
Even a .38 special loaded with standard pressure loads would be ear splitting in the confines of a bedroom.
 
Our house is hardened in such away that it is unlikely we would not have time to get hearing protection - I hope I have the presence of mind to use it if the time comes! BTW, the people that gamed our house and guided us in how to harden it mentioned that if at all possible try and use hearing protection. One quote I remember from them is "If you think your .45 ACP is loud at the shooting range just try it in a hallway. You'll miss your hearing when it's gone".
 
Putting on a set of peltors is way down on my priority list. Yes, i have been in a gunfight in a confined space without ear pro. Yes, it sucked. Yes, it will probably cause more damage to my already damaged hearing. But it is still a very low priority.
 
gridley asked:
A comment in another thread got me to thinking - should I have hearing protection ready to hand for a home-defense situation?

No.

First, the time taken to install hearing protection takes away from acquiring your weapon and deciding whether and how to employ it. In a home-defense situation you known (or should know) who is present in the house. Thus, anyone else is a potential target (once you ascertain you don't have a harmless intruder, like a misdirected drunk).

If you are truly confronting armed home invaders (in some jurisdictions this may be the only time using your firearm is justified), then employing your weapon quickly and accurately trumps whether you hear the cries of others in the house after you have decided there was no alternative to firing that first shot.

Please note I emphasize the case where you have NO ALTERNATIVE but to shoot. Should you ever legitimately reach that point your mind will focus on the problem in front of you and not extraneous sounds or voices. The need to hear sounds/voices will be filtered out by the circumstance in front of you so the need for hearing protection becomes moot.
 
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