Serious questions about hearing damage from actual shootings?

[Crubear]

As another veteran with acute hearing loss and constant high range ringing....

Any time your ears are ringing you've done damage to your hearing. Just because you don't perceive how much doesn't mean it didn't happen. Just because the ringing stops doesn't mean the damage was undone. Your brain just adapted and filtered out the noise.

No matter what you're shooting, 22LR and up, it's doing damage - cumulative damage. Any loud noise is the same way. Saw, lawnmower, music, etc. If you can hear your kids music through their headphones they're damaging their hearing....

Once gone, it's gone. No tricks or cures will work except for hearing aids, and they suck!!!!

Always wear hearing protection when around loud noise. If you can't stand the muff protectors then get the electronic foam plugs - and USE THEM!!!!

I'd love to be able to hear birds, have normal conversations, listen to a quiet tv (instead of having to turn on close captioning).

 

[sc951]

I was on SWAT and started out as the hammer man otherwise known as the knock knock guy. I had multiple flash bangs in training and actual call outs to go off in close proximity. Then I made the sniper team firing hundreds of rifle rounds. Was also firearms instructor for GSP and FN. Even wearing ear muffs i believe the sound and pressure that the bone pick up around them caused damage. Needless to say I couldn't hear a dump truck driving through a dynamite factory

 

[cmshoot]

I've been told by my audiologist that one of the reasons my right ear is so much worse than my left ear is the vibrations from the rifle/shotgun stock through the bones of my face/jaw on the right side. Other than a few hunting rifles/shotguns that don't get shot much, I have at least a thin layer of Sorbothane (KickEeze stick on pad) on most of my stocks, at least for the ones that don't already have a stock pad/pack or similar.

 

[AceTracker]

sometime I hear perfect, other times I can't hear if your talking directly in front of me.
I can't here out of my right ear because my wife sleeps on the right side. I can't here from my left ear from shooting deer left handed.
I shoot a rifle left handed,bat left wrote right shot pistol right. Not sure what has caused the hearing loss. But I' m not dead like my wife say I am.

 

[canoecanoe]

HUH? WHAT? SAY AGAIN?

 

[jp1]

I lost around 30% of my hearing and live with tinnitus now which can about drive you crazy when everything is quiet. We were issued earpro but you can't just stop and say hold on and let me put my earpro in. I wore Surefire earplugs towads the end and they weren't all that bad.

 

[mojo]

I have serious hearing loss from shooting in my younger days with no hearing protection and several years on the police force, training. I recently got hearing aids and man what an improvement. I had no perception of high pitch sounds till I got them. It was the first time in years I heard crickets. The problem with hearing aids is the expense. Mine set me back 5k.

 

[shakey hunter]

I can tell OP that when I worked narcotics we served high risk warrant entries weekly. Sometimes several in a night. We never wore ear protection. Just due to not being able to hear other agent's yelling that areas were cleared. Now on the range it was mandatory.
I was always more concerned about running the siren in the car causing hearing problems. I have tinnitus but it runs in my family. Ears ring 24/7 haven't found anything to help. When I go shoot I always have hearing protection on. I don't ware protection while hunting.

 

[Zeake]

My ears are ringing right now. I forgot my plugs one range day for qualifying. The worst day for my ears. And I take care of them.

 

[jcountry]

I have a friend who did house to house stuff in Iraq. Permanent tinnitus. 30% disability I think