Have you personally fired a gun in a car or room without ear protection?

[Scorch]

Have you personally fired a gun in a car or room without ear protection?

In a car, yes, but not on purpose. Had an ND with a rifle inside a pickup truck once. Really, really loud. And BRIGHT!

Inside a building, also yes, but on purpose. Also very, very loud, but since it was a 1911 in 45, not so bright. It will definitely open up your sinuses!

[Joe-ker]

I shot a raccoon with a 12 gauge down a silo chute once. That stung a bit.

But the one I remember most was when I fired a .44 mag in high school outdoors but no ear plugs. My ears ran for a couple days................ just like they did after an AC/DC concert.

[thallub]

Loudest noise i ever heard happened when my wife shot a home invader with a stout handload from my N frame .357. i was in another room. Wife's ears hurt for weeks afterwards.

[HWS]

I put a muzzle break on my AR and fired it outside. I almost went deaf. Inside, in a car? I don't even want to think about it.

[Prof Young]

I was demonstrating how to use a SA stage revolver that only shot 209 primers in the lighting booth of a theatre. Well, I had everyone else plug their ears but some how forgot about myself. My "normal" tinnitus took a volume increase for a few days. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

Life is good.
Prof Young

[Rockrivr1]

Yep, once in my clubs indoor range. Was by myself and shooting full load 44 mags out of my 629. I changed targets and had removed my hearing protection and forgot to put it back on before I fired my next round. The range is reinforced concrete with a very solid roof. The pain was instant and I really thought I had blown out one of my ear drums. Not a fun experience and something I'll never forget.

[Just1short]

Going against he grain with this. Ask anybody that has been in close combat indoors if the gunfire hurt their ears.

I think you might be surprised. I was within 2 feet of a ND discharge and was so scared that my ears didn't hurt, or ring, nor did I experience any pain, only embarrassment when I peed myself.

Think about the SEALS that killed OBL. They were indoors firing multiple rounds and not one has complained about hearing loss. Adrenalin is sometimes a wonderful thing.

Just my $.02.

[cslinger]

Most folks experience auditory exclusion when they are puckered up tight enough to turn coal to diamonds. Just because your brain doesn’t have time to deal with the noise doesn’t mean your ears don’t get damaged just the same.

I have come off a car at around 20-25 mph and spoiler, it’s not like the movies. The fear and adrenaline and ...... alcohol made the event not all that painful at that moment. My body was nice enough to give me about 6 hours before let me know of my transgressions by hurting head to toe like a sonofabitch. Adrenalin is great but it doesn’t mitigate damage. Just allows you to ignore it.

As to the SEALs or most high speed low drag folks, I believe most are wearing abbreviated helmets that allow for commo “ears” that probably have some noise cancellation capability as well as likely running largely suppressed.

[JohnKSa]

Going against he grain with this. Ask anybody that has been in close combat indoors if the gunfire hurt their ears.

I know an officer who was in a shooting. 3 pistol shots were fired. The officer reported no discomfort or ringing but did suffer temporary deafness and permanent hearing damage as a result of the incident. Adrenalin has its limits.

As to the SEALs or most high speed low drag folks, I believe most are wearing abbreviated helmets that allow for commo “ears” that probably have some noise cancellation capability as well as likely running largely suppressed.

Yup.

[pete2]

I drove an APC for a while, try sitting within 3 feet of the muzzle of a 50 cal machine gun for a while. I don't worry about a shot or 2 in a closed room. B Troop 1/1 Cav 67/68.

[Ifishsum]

Full power .357 mag in a pickup. very bad idea, actually painful and my ears rang for 2 days. I still have some degree of constant tinnitus, luckily fairly mild most of the time (it was probably 20 years ago or so). I'd still do it to defend myself if necessary but under no other circumstances.

[Kevin Rohrer]

It's not too bad w/ the windows down, but I would not recommend it w/ them up--unless you have an pair of eardrums.

[jersurf101]

Yes, more than I wanted to. My 590 was a frggin boom stick inside. I have hearing damage from my Marine Corps time and my suggestion to anyone is wear hearing protection at all times.

Our high speed low drag was using cigarette butts for hearing protection

[jackstrawIII]

I was in an interior room when a 9mm handgun was fired. It was awful.

Since that experience, I wear hearing protection EVERY time I shoot, including hunting. I bought some electronic plugs and wear them when hunting. I will never allow anyone to shoot around me without plugs again in my life... if I can help it.

[44 AMP]

I was in an interior room when a 9mm handgun was fired. It was awful.

Remember that when you see a tv show or movie and there are 2,3, or more
people shooting pistols and RIFLES (AKs AR, etc) inside a building.

And especially remember what it was like when you see and hear the actors speaking in normal tones of voice with normal hearing immediately after the shooting stops.

If there's one thing the entertainment media gets wrong, and never seems to get called on it, it is the effect on hearing of gunfire, and especially gunfire in enclosed spaces.

The guns are firing blanks, and the "sound" of the gunfire is created after the fact, using various sounds to simulate (not reproduce) the sound of the shot. No recording media can accurately capture the effect of a gunshot, nor can any speaker faithfully reproduce the effect, either.

Video someone shooting, watch the tape, the gunfire is all a bunch of "pops". Bigger guns make louder pops, but that's all. Compare that to what you heard and felt when you were videoing the shooting. Quite different.

[JohnKSa]

And especially remember what it was like when you see and hear the actors speaking in normal tones of voice with normal hearing immediately after the shooting stops.

After my experience, I was mostly deaf for several minutes--maybe 10-15 and then had very bad tinnitus for the rest of the night.

The officer I mentioned in my earlier post was standing around in the room where the shooting occurred talking with the other officers who had also been present in the room during the shooting. A new officer arrived on the scene and entered the room. The new officer's first question: "Why don't you guys turn off that smoke detector?!" There was a smoke detector which had gone off from the discharge smoke of the shots and was still blaring. Those present in the room when the shots went off were so impaired that they couldn't hear the alarm.

[MarkA]

I'm betting this guy could tell you a thing or two about it; in the news feeds yesterday. At about 3-1/2 minutes in, this officer draws, while driving in pursuit, and engages through the windshield.

We could probably have a whole other thread about how reckless this was; only once or twice does he use a support hand.. and how many bystanders could he have hit?! Towards the end, you can clearly see a guy that was on the sidewalk who was in the line of fire, ducking, trying to hide. On the other hand.. the officer had already been equally engaged by the bad guy.. I'm on the fence really. IMO, he wasn't making a confident shot, and should have pitted him first.

https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/...own-las-vegas/

[Lohman446]

My hearing is not good to start with nor is / was the hearing of anyone involved as most of us have worked in shops of some kind or another for MANY years.

One day a group of friends and I were shooting from my office window. It gives us elevation, shelter, and in the rural area where I live is not big deal.

One of us, likely me though I don't recall, failed to get the barrel of a .357 magnum out the window. This is a smallish room (10X10 or so) and the doors were closed. It was LOUD and all of us noticed some ringing for several hours after. I would hate to think how much worse it would have been had the window not been open or the barrel not been pointed in that direction.

[cw308]

Yes , aside from the high pitch ring that has been with me for 50 years , I say WHAT alot . What

[Don Fischer]

Do it all the time at the range, no problem. Have always heard more than I want to anyway!

[Sure Shot Mc Gee]

About the age of 9. I got a hold of my fathers 1953 Marlin336 sc model 30-30 and three cartridges.
Put my Fathers 7.10 X 15 snow tires up against a poured cement basement wall and covered those tires with old heavy living room carpet triple folded.

Took aim. About 20 ft away.
Shot once the bullet ricocheted off the cement wall and backwards about a foot or less from my belly and punched a hole in the water heater tank behind me a bit to my left.

Under duress questing; Coming up with a excuse was a bad avenue to proceed down. As I was expected to take responsibility for my {dumb foolish behaviour} Oops.

Back in those days parents didn't spare the rod so to spoil their child i.e. very often observed these days. Quite the opposite.
A dose of Physical punishment I received for my >disturbing behaviour.

[M88]

Like many on here, growing up on the farm, not only did we not wear any ear protection around loud machinery, but not when firing weapons either, not shooting targets and not hunting. Looking back, obviously I wish I had, as I have hearing loss now. At least in the military when on the firing line we did wear ear plugs... but not during war games shooting blanks.

Never fired a weapon inside a building without protection, nor have I been inside a building and that happened that I can remember.

[craddleshooter]

I remember the ringing in my ears for about a week afterwards. Now it's constant. Tinnitus and Also HF hearing loss. Old artillerymen are notorious for being deaf. DUH!
It is cumulative. The cochlear cells get their little filaments fractured IIRC and they don't grow back. Being hard of hearing can have it's advantages. You can ignore some people that need to be ignored but I would rather be able to hear Bambi or that pesky Rufous-sided Towhee rustling in the leaves than the constant high pitched whine... Growing old ain't for sissies!
What did you say?

[FoghornLeghorn]

There's a high-pitched whistling going on in my left ear while I type this.

Well, stop typing!

[Nanuk]

Yup, 380, 357 magnum.