I Messed up on Ear Protection

S

stevelsd

Beginner
Mar 6, 2025
49
67
Got to the range yesterday and realized I did not have my range protection earmuffs but only had ear plugs.
After shooting a number of round with the 338 Win Mag (muzzle break), 30-06, and 7mm 08, I did not realize my hearing was affected till I got into the truck and called home to advise I was heading back. Sound coming thru the truck radio for the phone and OMG!
My hearing for both ears was seriously muffled. For the remainder of the evening my hearing was seriously impaired. Got up this morning and left ear might have returned back to normal but right ear still muffled!

I always do double ear protection so this is a first for me.
Has anyone else ever experienced this and recovered and if so how long to recovery?

I am on Amazon trying to find a better set of Ear muff protection but so many products with negative reviews that I am concerned on what to buy.

Anyone have a suggestion? Do I really need the electronic ones for the rifle range? What is the minimum dB you use?
I am open to all suggestions please!

Thank you
Steve
 
I can relate to this. In the 1950s when I started shooting I had not even heard of ear protection. It wasn't until I started shooting trap and skeet that I saw people using ear protection and got my first set of ear plugs. We still didn't use anything while hunting. I'm sure this is why I'm wearing hearing aids today. It is a little late but I wouldn't thing of shooting, running power equipment, or driving my tractor without it. For most shooting I also use double protection.
 
Most foam plugs are rated at about 25db I think. It’s a start. If you’re on a range with an active range master and periodic commands being given, you probably want electronic ear muffs. Especially if you’re wearing foams under the ear muffs. I’ve lost 60% of my hearing and always wear both foams and good muffs. I like low profile muffs offering about 25% or better, I don’t worry about electronics as I usually have the range to my self, perhaps one other shooter.
 
Years ago I took a buddy out behind my house to fill a late season doe tag. He shot a doe with his muzzleloader however I didn't realize that he scooted back in the blind so the muzzle was inside the pop up blind just a couple feet from my right ear. At the shot the blind filled with smoke and I wasn't sure what happened. My ear rang for 3 days and the muffled sound faded away.

JD338
 
Yes, shooting can permanently degrade your hearing.
I always wear both custom molded ear plugs (WITHOUT a vent) and earmuffs when target shooting. That keeps my hearing from degrading. My hearing aids will block a shot or two in a hunting situation. However, a year ago, I had to change the style of silicone piece that holds the speaker for the hearing aid. My previous style came loose while hunting and I shot a deer with the report causing permanent damage.
The new (to me) style stays in the ear better and blocks the few shots used when hunting.
 
Yup I have learned my lesson for sure. The right ear is just starting to maybe get to normal. Pretty scary all last night.
NYDan and Charlie-NY where are you guys in NY..
NY is my home state and I grew up directly in the middle of the Adirondacks in a little town called Newcomb!
I left a long time ago and look back and regret it ever since. Visited a couple of times but after almost 45 years, no one I remember is either not there any more or doesn't know me.
I was 100 ft from hunting and fishing in my back yard.
 
stevelsd said:
Yup I have learned my lesson for sure. The right ear is just starting to maybe get to normal. Pretty scary all last night.
NYDan and Charlie-NY where are you guys in NY..
NY is my home state and I grew up directly in the middle of the Adirondacks in a little town called Newcomb!
I left a long time ago and look back and regret it ever since. Visited a couple of times but after almost 45 years, no one I remember is either not there any more or doesn't know me.
I was 100 ft from hunting and fishing in my back yard.
Click to expand...
Steve,
I live near Corning, at the southern end of the Finger Lakes Region. I am south/southeast of Rochester just a few miles above the PA border.
I think I have snowmobiled or driven near Newcomb. Went to college at Clarkson University, in Potsdam, NY.
Dan
 
I lost a lot of my hearing in the Navy. I was the pointer (trigger puller) on a 3"X50 and I was told by the gunner's mate that my Sound powered earphones would protect my ears. And I actually believed him. I just couldn't understand why I couldn't hear for three days after having shot a number of rounds. When returning to Civilian life I used earmuffs religiously but the damage was done and now hearing aids help somewhat. All it takes is one shot to do some permanent damage and the damage over time is cumulative. As a police officer I had the (opportunity) to fire a shot in a concrete/metal stairwell. Talk about screwing your hearing up.
 
xphunter said:
Always wear muffs...Sordin is my favorite.
I have permanently hurt my hearing by wearing plugs and or ear molds by themself
Click to expand...

Sounds enters the audio canal (or whatever you call it) from all around your ears, not just through the opening. Over-the-head protection is far better than anything that you put into your ear. A comprehensive hearing test includes detecting sound that does not directly enter the opening in your ear.

Using a brake almost demands that over-the-ear (OTE) protection be used. Using OTE protection in conjunction with high quality plugs is becoming more common, and for good reason.
 
Charlie-NY said:
Sounds enters the audio canal (or whatever you call it) from all around your ears, not just through the opening. Over-the-head protection is far better than anything that you put into your ear. A comprehensive hearing test includes detecting sound that does not directly enter the opening in your ear.

Using a brake almost demands that over-the-ear (OTE) protection be used. Using OTE protection in conjunction with high quality plugs is becoming more common, and for good reason.
Click to expand...
THIS!!!!!!!
 
When I'm shooting handguns (9mm & 45 acp) I use Walker electronic ear buds. They provide good protection. If someone breaks out a 357 or 44 it's time to put on the muffs. I use a pair of cheap sonic ear plugs and muffs when I'm shooting rifles or anything under a tin roof.
 
I shot my first centerfire rifle at a deer and killed it. I was at the ripe old age of eleven. Ears rang like crazy for some time. The rifle was an old M94 Winchester 30-30 carbine that was made in 1911 according to the serial number. the year was 1949. I didn't get much shooting done until 1954 when I had friends with cars and we could get to the range to do some shooting. Ear protection if any was either cotton balls or cigarette filters. They seemed to muffle the sound but the ears still rang like crazy.
Fast forward to 1973, a banner year in my shooting career as one, I probably bought more guns that year than in any other year and got my first set of muffs made for hearing protection, a birthday gift from my kids. That came about after I bought a Remington 660 in .308 and the bark from that rifle was vicious, It seems to kick like a very angry mule. Well, I tries the muffs my kids gave me and all I could ask was where did the recoil go? I've been using them ever since, even on hunt after I bought a set that allowed you to hear people speak. Currently I'm legally deaf in my right ear and lost 50 to 60% in my hearing in the high frequency range in the left ear. A nice side effect of using hearing muffs on a hunt is one, you hears sounds you thought you'd lost forever and two, they help keep your ears warm when the temps get way down there.
Paul B.
 
salmonchaser said:
One night I was point man, no knock warrant on a homicide suspect. Breacher, took the door, flash bang went in, I counted down, rounded the corner thinking my count down is off, as the flash bang went off right between my feet. That really messed with my hearing.
Click to expand...
A good friend of mine did that same thing! He went a tad too early and got flash-banged. :( Went on to eventually become the team leader, so I'd say he learned from the experience.

I was across the street with my sniper rifle watching and thought "Oh no!" when he went in...

Guy
 
NYDAN said:
Steve,
I live near Corning, at the southern end of the Finger Lakes Region. I am south/southeast of Rochester just a few miles above the PA border.
I think I have snowmobiled or driven near Newcomb. Went to college at Clarkson University, in Potsdam, NY.
Dan
Click to expand...
Hey Dan!
I went to Canton ATC but it was back in 1975. Had a good friend that went to Clarkson U. Had a steady GF while I was there who lived in Potsdam. Had friends work at Kodak in the day. I was in the army as an MP in Seneca Falls next to Cayuga Lake as my last duty station. Again back in the late 70's.

When I was a kid, the hunting and fishing was just phenomenal. I had a great time growing up in the Adirondacks.
 
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