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Old October 22, 2011, 06:54 PM   #26
rjrivero
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I have no problem training for HD without plugs in my ears. Of course, I train with a Trident-9 on my HD gun.....

Already have a chronic ringing in my ears. No need to make it worse.
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Old October 22, 2011, 07:05 PM   #27
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If he keeps doing that long enough, he won't have to worry about hearing intruders or game.
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Old October 22, 2011, 07:59 PM   #28
shafter
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When I shoot at game on hunting trips my rifle/shotgun sounds like a dull boom. My ears don't even ring. I'm guessing its due to adrenaline. I would never shoot at the range without hearing protection and wouldn't worry about self defense.
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Old October 22, 2011, 08:07 PM   #29
Don P
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Quote:
One of the guys made the comment that you should occasionally train by firing your weapon with no ear protection so you are prepared in a real life situation
Just my opinion now but thats about as stupid as it gets. Damage ones hearing in case I might have to damage it in real life. No thanks I'll take my chances and IF that day ever happens most probably with ALL the EXCITEMENT at the time I may not even realize I heard a gun being shot. Can't say for sure because I have been blessed to date and not had to use my firearm in SD plus too much practice preparing for a possible future event may prevent me from hearing that event coming
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Old October 22, 2011, 08:35 PM   #30
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I've said this before

A key part of my defense plan is to wear electronic shooter's muffs when the alarm (yappy dog) goes off. My hearing sucks to begin with, so the amplified muffs will pick up sounds without my having to fumble for my hearing aids; if (lord forbid) I do have to fire, at least they'll blank out the sound. Damage is damage whether you perceive it or not.
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Old October 22, 2011, 11:10 PM   #31
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Enlist and find out what it sounds like in a battlefield situation.
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Old October 22, 2011, 11:21 PM   #32
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I am not sure, but I think this may be a record it appears that everyone is in agreement. Yes, this dude I was talking to is a “know it all” and he does get on my nerves, so I am glad to see that he is in the minority on this issue.
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Old October 23, 2011, 09:01 AM   #33
cow0man
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If you want to shoot without hearing protection that is your choice. Every range that I have been to in the military has required hearing protection. While in a war zone, I always had foamies in once we left the wire. I just turned the radio up a little bit more.
I do suffer from noise induced hearing loss and want to preserve what I have left for as long as I can. Pistol practice will always wear double hearing protection. Rifle, single protection when hunting and sighting in. Most practice comes from the 22 so single is fine.
Now, with that being said, you train like you fight, therefore, most shooters train wearing the foamies versus the skull crunchers. Reasoning is the skull crunchers will affect cheek weld and sight picture.
For those of you who do not wear hearing protection, the constant ringing in the ears is annoying (even more so when you go to bed), it never stops and it cannot be reversed.
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Old October 23, 2011, 09:28 AM   #34
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I wear double hearing protection

I'm going to try switching to the flanged silicone ear plugs. I scrunch the foam up and stick it in the ear canal and apply pressure to it while they expand but twice I've had the foam ear plugs work their way out of my ear canal.
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Old October 23, 2011, 09:36 AM   #35
MT 73
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IMHO a bad idea.
In a real life situation they say you will not hear the shot as you would at the range.
Since I have never been in combat I will have to take others word on that, but while big game hunting my ears have never rang or been bothered by the sound of a 30-06.
Also I have heard pistol shots on the streets from time to time and they sound more like pop-pop-pop than loud booms.
So, to train without hearing protection for so called realism is, IMHO, just asking for health problems down the road.
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Old October 23, 2011, 10:18 AM   #36
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Quote:
One of the guys made the comment that you should occasionally train by firing your weapon with no ear protection so you are prepared in a real life situation.
That is silly. You'll never hear the gun, let alone have it affect you.

I've shot 45s in a little tunnel bearly wide enough for my shoulders, and I was skinny (in them days), I don't recall hearing the gun.

I've shot them in buildings, never recall hearing the guns. Not just pistols, but a burst from a M-60.

Do you hunt, how many times have you thought about the nose of the gun going off while shooting at game?

What isn't silly, but is sad, is having your wife repeat everything she says 3 or 4 times. Looking to her to translate while you try to order in a resturant. The two most common things I say more then any thing else is "huh" and "what did she say".

The volume of my TV runs everyone out of the house and I still can't understand half of what is said.

The only two people I can have a conversation with is my wife and my granddaughter, and only when they are looking directly at me, mostly because I can read their lips as they talk.

Don't know why people turn their heads or cover their face when they talk but they do. Keep shooting without ear protection and you'll see what I mean.

Never ever practice or train with any firearms WITHOUT HEARING PROTECTION.

Quickest way to get me to beat my kids and grandkids is to catch them shooting without eye and ear protection.
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Old October 23, 2011, 10:30 AM   #37
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Quote:
One of the guys made the comment that you should occasionally train by firing your weapon with no ear protection so you are prepared in a real life situation.
What?

(Hows often does the person say this).

Only if you want to damage you hearing.

A single exposure to some calibers can result in permanent damage.

I will risk it when lives are at stake, but only them

Quote:
You'll never hear the gun, let alone have it affect you.
Wrong.

Even if your brain blocks out the sound, the ear is still being damaged.
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Old October 23, 2011, 09:43 PM   #38
The Real Wyatt
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People are different.
Some people suffer immediate hearing damage when subjected to an unprotedted gunshot .. others suffer no damage at all.

I'm in the latter group. Many decades ago, when I was in the U.S.M.C. hearing/eye protection was unheard of. During two tours of duty I shot many thousands of 30-06 rounds from my M1 Garand without hearing protection.

Fifty some odd years later, my hearing is unaffected. In my 70's, my measured hearing is still as good as it was in my 20's.

During the ensuing decades I've shot hundreds of thousands of rounds and have never used hearing protection. My hearing is still unchanged.

I don't recommend shooting without protection. I demand that my children and grand-children use eye/hearing protection. I will not allow them to shoot without it. Do as I say, not as I do.

My personal life experience is that every human being is different ... unique.
Some experience hearing loss due to gunshots ... others do not.
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Old October 23, 2011, 09:57 PM   #39
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I'll tell you spring chickens sumpthin, too. hearing loss isn't all there is to it. When you have tinnitis that is so bad that it can drown out traffic noises, and it keeps you awake at night, you can do one of two things. You can either go completely bananas and pray for death, or you can take valium until you don't hear it.

I'm lucky, I don't always notice it. Sometimes it quiets down, sometimes it turns up, and once in a while surges immensely.

At least it's tolerable. It's middle E. If it happened to be say, B sharp or F flat, it would be really hard to bear. Seriously.

I hear pretty well. As long as the singing in my ears doesn't drown it out.
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Old October 23, 2011, 10:10 PM   #40
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Bad call.
Don't do it.
I speak from experience and hear "somewhat" through electronic enhancement.
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Old October 23, 2011, 10:18 PM   #41
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The only advantage to hearing loss is that the VA sends me money every month for it. I got most of the loss while using double protection around jet engines. I would gladly give back every cent if the ringing in my ears would stop, it is driving me crazy now even with the background noise of the TV trying to drown it out. Another "benefit" is I will be going to bed soon and the ringing will be more noticeable and make it even harder to go to sleep.

Use hearing protection for anything that can cause damage, not just shooting!

Quote:
At least it's tolerable. It's middle E
Mine is more of a high C sharp or D flat, if you prefer. Strangely playing the piano will sometimes calm the ringing.
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Old October 23, 2011, 11:02 PM   #42
Sheikyourbootie
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From personal experience, as a teenager, damaged my hearing through shooting without hearing protection (shotguns, 30-30 hunting, and .357 outdoors and on occasion from the cab of the truck at jackrabbits), and listening to LOUD rock music. DUMB...DUMB....DUMB!!

My kids KNOW there will be a beating if they refuse to wear hearing protection. They see my father and I saying "huh?" a lot. The ringing DOES NOT go away.
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Old October 23, 2011, 11:55 PM   #43
briandg
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Quote:
Mine is more of a high C sharp or D flat, if you prefer. Strangely playing the piano will sometimes calm the ringing.
You understand, then, probably. certain tones, flat or sharp, would be worse to deal with. Like listening to an untuned piano all day.

As bad as it is, I've managed to adapt to it and not notice it most of the time.
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Old October 24, 2011, 09:41 AM   #44
brickeyee
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Quote:
Some people suffer immediate hearing damage when subjected to an unprotedted gunshot .. others suffer no damage at all.
You had before and after hearing tests?

Not all damage manifests as ringing.
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Old October 24, 2011, 04:43 PM   #45
markj
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WHAT???? CANT HEAR YOU.......

Wear em when practising is the best bet for your ears. I wouldnt take time to put em in if it was a HD situation
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Old October 24, 2011, 05:07 PM   #46
m&p45acp10+1
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Take it from a guy that is recently 35 and deaf. Do not screw around about protecting your hearing, and vision. Heredity has a lot to do with the amount of hearing loss that I suffer from. Though I admit my part with loud music, guns, race cars, air planes, and working in an idustrial setting without hearing protection.

Try having people look at you like you are not quite right because you keep asking them to repeat themselves because you could not make out what they were saying. Not to mention how hard it is to speak with children, and women with high pitched voices. Oh and if someone has a thick foreign accent I can not make heads or tails out of what they say. It makes life hard when you can not hear.
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Old October 26, 2011, 08:14 PM   #47
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I am willing to accept that the db from a gun shot can damage my hearing if that is the cost for saving my life. I will NOT expose myself to that level of db in some sort of odd-ball training experience, not even once.
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Old October 26, 2011, 09:00 PM   #48
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You have a choice. Wear hearing protection all the time every time and be able to listen to your wife, children hear music and enjoy life.

Don't wear hearing protection. Have a constant hum in your head. Not hear your children, wife and music. Lay awake at night because of the hum in your head.

Mine is a harmonic of a 400 hertz generator.
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Old October 26, 2011, 09:37 PM   #49
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We always used ear protection during live fire. Come to think of it we even wore em while on patrol on my last deployment. We would put a foam plug in one ear and the headset to our radio over the other. Cant hear much over a hmmwv anyway.
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Old October 26, 2011, 10:09 PM   #50
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I only noticed the "hum" in my ears a few winters ago.

I woke up one morning in January and thought "wow, the cicadas are already out."

Then I realized that there are no cicadas in Chicago in January.

I have a constant buzz in my ears that sounds like cicadas in the summer.

I own a Casio watch but the alarm on it is completely useless. I can't hear the beeping of the alarm at all. I must have bumped it or something because it was beeping in a meeting and a guy next to me was kind of aggravated and he turned to me and said "Are you going to shut that off."

I had to explain to him that the alarm must have gotton turned on by accident, because I never use it and that I can't even hear it because one day - like a dumbass, I listened to some jackass who said that in order to be ready for real combat I needed to do realistic training and not use hearing protection while I shot my pistol and because of that I lost my fricking high-frequency HEARING !

And even if I hadn't lost my high frequency hearing I'd never be able to hear the alarm anyway over the buzz of the <redacted> cicadas !!!!

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