westernrover
Member
- Joined
- May 4, 2018
- Messages
- 1,613
I'm all too aware of how precious hearing is and how loathesome tinitus can be. While noise-induced hearing loss can be a cumulative effect, a single gunshot incident can result in permanent loss and ringing in the ears for the rest of your life. Good hearing and the ability to enjoy peaceful silence can be taken away in an instant.
Wearing sufficient hearing protection is the simplest effective method, but it doesn't help if we forget to put it on. I've seen Greg Kinman (Hickok45) forget to "put his ears on" after taking them out between shots. I recall another Youtuber (I think it was Eric Blandford) forget to pull his muffs down from on his head. Just yesterday, I pulled a foam plug out of one ear to listen to the clicks adjusting a sight, then setup targets and forgot to put it back before I took the first shot.
One thing I learned recently is that there are treatments for acoustic trauma. The simplest treatment is oral corticosteroids (prednisolone). Some research has indicated steroid shots straight into the middle ear are more effective. Another member described receiving those recently and I looked into it:
link 1
link 2
link 3
The key takeaway here is that if you do suffer acoustic trauma, there is treatment for it. See an ear doctor and don't wait -- the earlier you get treatment, the more effective it is.
Besides ear protection, suppressors are another real solution. They involve trade-offs like extra weight, length, the expense, waiting period, and they won't fit a lot of guns practically. I hope to get one for a new hunting rifle, but I don't think I'm going to have my classic Winchester threaded and it won't be practical for my EDC handgun.
The sound at the shooter's ears can increase dramatically with:
EFFECTS OF BARREL LENGTH ON BORE PRESSURE, PROJECTILE VELOCITY and SOUND MEASUREMENT
They also measured the correlation between barrel length, muzzle pressure, and sound pressure level (loudness).
Quickload is an easy way to calculate muzzle pressure with various parameters like cartridge, bullet, seating depth, powder, charge mass, and barrel length.
Things that reduce muzzle pressure:
*Another consequence of this is less area under the pressure/time curve and lower velocity.
We're all aware that some guns (and cartridges) are louder than others, but there is more to it than "357 is louder than 45 Colt." Some 357's are a LOT louder than others. If we understand what's causing the noise, we can use a particular gun or cartridge at much lower levels of noise and while wimpy guns and loads are likely to be quieter than macho ones, if we understand what causes loudness, we can use "enough" gun or load for a purpose without being louder than necessary. It's our own hearing that's most at stake.
Wearing sufficient hearing protection is the simplest effective method, but it doesn't help if we forget to put it on. I've seen Greg Kinman (Hickok45) forget to "put his ears on" after taking them out between shots. I recall another Youtuber (I think it was Eric Blandford) forget to pull his muffs down from on his head. Just yesterday, I pulled a foam plug out of one ear to listen to the clicks adjusting a sight, then setup targets and forgot to put it back before I took the first shot.
One thing I learned recently is that there are treatments for acoustic trauma. The simplest treatment is oral corticosteroids (prednisolone). Some research has indicated steroid shots straight into the middle ear are more effective. Another member described receiving those recently and I looked into it:
link 1
link 2
link 3
The key takeaway here is that if you do suffer acoustic trauma, there is treatment for it. See an ear doctor and don't wait -- the earlier you get treatment, the more effective it is.
Besides ear protection, suppressors are another real solution. They involve trade-offs like extra weight, length, the expense, waiting period, and they won't fit a lot of guns practically. I hope to get one for a new hunting rifle, but I don't think I'm going to have my classic Winchester threaded and it won't be practical for my EDC handgun.
The sound at the shooter's ears can increase dramatically with:
- muzzle brakes, compensators, porting
- reflective backstops or terrain
- indoors or inside a vehicle
EFFECTS OF BARREL LENGTH ON BORE PRESSURE, PROJECTILE VELOCITY and SOUND MEASUREMENT
They also measured the correlation between barrel length, muzzle pressure, and sound pressure level (loudness).
Quickload is an easy way to calculate muzzle pressure with various parameters like cartridge, bullet, seating depth, powder, charge mass, and barrel length.
Things that reduce muzzle pressure:
- Longer barrels
- Bigger bores
- Faster powders
- Shorter seating depth (45 ACP vs. 45 LC)
*Another consequence of this is less area under the pressure/time curve and lower velocity.
We're all aware that some guns (and cartridges) are louder than others, but there is more to it than "357 is louder than 45 Colt." Some 357's are a LOT louder than others. If we understand what's causing the noise, we can use a particular gun or cartridge at much lower levels of noise and while wimpy guns and loads are likely to be quieter than macho ones, if we understand what causes loudness, we can use "enough" gun or load for a purpose without being louder than necessary. It's our own hearing that's most at stake.
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