The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Question for those of you with hearing damage

jmr40 · August 3, 2012, 02:53 PM

I shoot right handed and had a slight hearing loss in my left ear, The one closest to the noise when firing. No tinnitus. It was at about 90% and my right ear was almost perfect at around 98% prior to July of 2011. The 10% of sounds I couldn't hear were not common sounds and I never really knew i had any hearing loss without sophisticated testing which was required each year as part of a physical for work.

I suffered a total loss of hearing in my right ear (the good one), over night. Not shooting or noise related. The Dr's say it is usually caused by a brain tumor, but MRI's were negative. They THINK it was caused by a ruptured blood vessel cutting off blood to my auditory nerve. I took 2 rounds of steroids to help regenerate growth in my inner ear. It helped in a way, my right ear is now around 15%, but in some ways it is worse. Before I was totally deaf in my right ear. Now I hear sounds, but cannot always make out what someone says and the tinnitus is pretty severe in that ear at times.

I shot guns and worked in loud conditions with no hearing protection up till my mid 30's and suffered very little hearing loss nor tinnitus. Been wearing protection for the last 20 years though or I'm sure that would have been much different.

August 3, 2012, 02:53 PM	#22
jmr40 Senior Member Join Date: June 15, 2008 Location: Georgia Posts: 10,809	I shoot right handed and had a slight hearing loss in my left ear, The one closest to the noise when firing. No tinnitus. It was at about 90% and my right ear was almost perfect at around 98% prior to July of 2011. The 10% of sounds I couldn't hear were not common sounds and I never really knew i had any hearing loss without sophisticated testing which was required each year as part of a physical for work. I suffered a total loss of hearing in my right ear (the good one), over night. Not shooting or noise related. The Dr's say it is usually caused by a brain tumor, but MRI's were negative. They THINK it was caused by a ruptured blood vessel cutting off blood to my auditory nerve. I took 2 rounds of steroids to help regenerate growth in my inner ear. It helped in a way, my right ear is now around 15%, but in some ways it is worse. Before I was totally deaf in my right ear. Now I hear sounds, but cannot always make out what someone says and the tinnitus is pretty severe in that ear at times. I shot guns and worked in loud conditions with no hearing protection up till my mid 30's and suffered very little hearing loss nor tinnitus. Been wearing protection for the last 20 years though or I'm sure that would have been much different.