Hearing protection while hunting?

[Atroxus]

How most people address hearing protection while hunting? I plan to start hunting this year, and am interested in finding an inexpensive way to protect my hearing, without sacrificing my ability to hear the sounds of the wildlife.

[Dean C]

The occasional shot while hunting will not have much effect on your hearing. As a matter of fact I can't say that I ever heard the shots I've taken while hunting. Adrenalin is high and your concentration is on your game. Been hunting for over 30 years now.

Target shooting is another thing.

dean

[mete]

Not a problem .But are there other loud sounds in your life ? Loud music, machinery etc ? Do something about that too.

[Art Eatman]

I wear hearguards at the range or when just practicing. When deer-hunting, I don't bother. I'm not going to shoot often enough that the cumulative affect will matter.

There are electronic hearguards which can actually amplify your hearing, but any high-db impact noise is instantly blocked. They're not cheap, though.

[fisherman66]

Art, they have dropped quite a bit in the last several years. Some of the less expensive ones might miss features such as stereo sound, but even the cheaper models are starting to incorporate those higher end features.

http://www.midwayusa.com/browse/Brow...686***10509***

I don't use anything to protect my hearing when hunting. If I went to a p-dog town I might change my mind.

[horseman308]

I'll agree with others that if you're hunting deer or something else where you'll only fire a handful of shots in the course of a season, then it's not a big deal. However, if you're hunting any kind of fowl where there is usually lots of shooting and often a few other shooters, then get good muffs.

I think the military has also been issuing a set if ear plugs that appears to work similarly to the muffs mentioned earlier. I've never tried them but I plan to sometime soon.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/te...801&hasJS=true

[markallen]

I used my Ruger Super Blackhawk .44Mag this last deer season in Ohio.
The .44 mag is loud, and when I target shoot I always wear hearing protection.
This was the first time I hunted deer with a pistol. I was concerned about hearing also, since I know how loud a .44 mag is.
I had been sitting still for over an hour, when four does ghosted by off to my left at about twenty yards. I fired three shots, two misses, and one hit. I barely noticed the blast, and in fact had to stop and think for a second about why it wasn't as loud as I expected. And that goes for recoil as well.
I wanted to know why I missed the first two shots, cause I shoot better then that. So I sighted in on a tree stump, and shot.............. should have had hear protection on. The adrenaline made that much difference.
As to the sights. I let my brother take my Ruger shooting, and I didn't test the gun before I went. I never thought he would mess with the sights. The sight was way too low.
Lesson learned for me.

[waterfowler]

Art Eatman

There are electronic hearguards which can actually amplify your hearing, but any high-db impact noise is instantly blocked. They're not cheap, though.

That is what I would recommend. Hey you only live once.

[Kreyzhorse]

I do not wear hearing protection while hunting deer. It is unlikely a few shots a year will cause damage. I do not target shoot without hearing protection however.

If you are worried about it, as Art mentioned, the db reducing headphones could be a solution.

[dstyle47]

I wear the cheap plugs on a string around my neck, when i see my quarry i put them in and continue my stalk. I don't know if i don't get the adrenaline dump of others, but i shot once while hunting with no plugs and found it immediately painful.

[LateNightFlight]

I tried wearing ear plugs on a recent hunt because I was carrying an AR with a JP muzzle brake. (It's the best muzzle brake out there - I like how you can see the impact with a .223 - but it is the LOUDEST damn thing ever!) At any rate, it was my first time trying hearing protection while hunting. I thought it would be fine, but I felt like I couldn't hear myself call; I just didn't feel like I knew if the tone and volume was right, and I just wasn't hearing the sounds of the great outdoors. I took the ear buds out, but then I knew if something came in and I took a shot, my ears would be ringing the rest of the day.

I guess there's no free lunch. I've since taken the muzzle brake off.

[Buzzcook]

I wear an ear plug in my right ear. Not perfect but it does address the worst of the sound waves.

[Scorch]

I use Sonic Ear Valves, an ear plug that has a spring-loaded diaphragm that closes momentarily when concussion hits it. Works for me!

[mgdavis]

My electronic range muffs only cost me $70. They're not top of the line, but they work. Howard Leight, IIRC.

[reloader28]

The only times I dont wear hearing protection is shooting 22's or hunting.
Even when I just step out the door to test fire 1 or 2 rounds I have my muffs on.
Even with my muzzle break gun I dont hear anything when I'm hunting. But you could also use a mag rifle without a pad and you wouldnt feel it with a buck in the scope.
For some reason the plugs hurt my ears so I wear muffs.

And as already stated its not just the guns either. We build alota fence and even our jackhammers aint as loud as a hydralic steel post pounder hanging next to your head. You start pounding steel posts in rocky ground for a few hours ,and you will wish someone would shoot you to get the machine gun clanging out of your head!
Even worse than that is pounding pipe posts with the trackhoe mounted jackhammer. Feels like your head will explode. Its best to use plugs and muffs with that one!

[themusgrat]

Depends. With a .22 no. But when I take my 300wm out, the one with the brake, I wear a pair of muffs around my neck and put them on before the shot. I've only ever shot it twice without muffs, and both times I could feel the pressure for weeks. There's got to be some permanent hearing damage there.

Even if you think you're fine, you're not. Just wear the muffs.

[Zhe Wiz]

Hearing loss is cumulative. EVERY unprotected shot you fire causes hearing loss, whether you "notice" the shot or not because of adrenaline, excitement, concentration, whatever.

I use a pair of Walker Game Ears now, but used to hunt fine with a single Game Ear, while the other ear was plugged. Both methods worked for me while deer and varmint hunting.

Get a pair of muffs that amplify normal sounds and deaden loud ones, cover up before the shot, do something! Your 50-60 year old ears will thank you when you get there.

Zhe Wiz

[James R. Burke]

You probably should. They do have some nice one's out that will amplify then block when it gets to a cetain deciable. But they do cost like eveything. I myself do not, and agree that one or two shots probably wont do much, but that is just me I am not saying not to it is for you to decied. I loved it in the Army they made sure you had your little plugs in while the D.I.'s wore pluges with the muffs over them.

[PRONE2]

Trust me on this one, hearing is my business and how I pay the bills. If you if you shoot without hearing protection your hearing will pay the price in the next 15 years. Take care of your ears it will save you thousands of $ you could have spent on hunts and new guns.

[Double Naught Spy]

The occasional shot while hunting will not have much effect on your hearing. As a matter of fact I can't say that I ever heard the shots I've taken while hunting. Adrenalin is high and your concentration is on your game. Been hunting for over 30 years now.

As noted above, hearing damage is cumulative and just because you don't notice hearing losss, doesn't mean it hasn't happened. Just because you don't notice the sound of the shots doesn't mean you didn't do damage. Auditory exclusion is psychological, not physiological.

[Ridgerunner]

I agree with the last two posts. Don't let anyone tell you that occasional shooting will not hurt your hearing. Nothing could be further from the truth. ONE shot can do a lot of damage. Trust me... I have $7000 worth of hearing aids as a testimony to that concept. I use Starkey Magnum Ears for all shooting, even for .22's. I don't even uses a hammer or a nail gun anymore without hearing protection. My hearing is pretty shot. The Starkeys work very well and are worth all of the $800 I paid for them. Even with them turned all the way up I can't hear as well as I should. Hunting grouse in Saskatchewan last fall our young guide could hear the dog bell 250yds out in timber and I couldn't hear it until 50yds out. I never ever shoot any firearm without hearing protection, period....

[phil mcwilliam]

The "BANG" from some guns are worse than others. If I was just hunting with a 22 I wouldnt worry , & the occassional shot from my 308 or 22-250 I can live with. I once owned a 44 mag S&W revolver that felt like an anvil had been struck with a sledgehammer everytime it was fired. I mostly wore ear muffs with the 44 as your ears would be ringing for several minutes without.
My hunting buddy is a bit deaf - from shooting, & he purchased a pair of those expensive db amplifier ear muffs.I tested them out on his ranch while hunting & you could hear cows chewing 200 yards away while still offering hearing protection. We could also directionally locate feral goat herds in the hills by their calls, which we could otherwise not hear. This was to be our new hunting tool.
Went into the cupboard after that first weekend & hasnt been used since.

[Double Naught Spy]

There are also the benefits of wearing electronic muffs. You not only get hearing protection, but can have improved hearing at the same time, and in winter time, keep your ears warmer!

[Ridgerunner]

I have a pair of the early Peltor tactical 6? muffs with the single volume control and love them for target shooting. They REALLY amplify your hearing ability. They were, I'm told, designed for the military to be used in listening posts "outside the wire", for which they would be most effective. You can listen to the grass grow with those things. I like them for stand hunting for deer but tried them for pheasants once and that didn't work at all. Every time a plane went over it sounded like they were landing on my head and pushing through cattails was so loud it overloaded the ears. I would use them for chainsawing firewood but they don't suppress non-percussive sounds, unfortunately. I do love those things; they really work. I do not like the twin volume control model except for the lower profile. They tout the dual control as being better for folks with differing loss in each ear but I find them to be a royal PITA. One control works just fine.

[FrontSight]

Get the peltor electronig, around the back of the head ones so you can wear a hat.

I duck hunt a lot, with a lot of 3 1/2 magnums going off, in small blinds and smaller boats.

I'd rather forget my lunch than forget those muffs!