I Messed up on Ear Protection

[NYDAN]

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.

I was there a little bit earlier than you. I graduated in 1973. I hunted a couple of times in the North Country but I don't remember where now. Maybe St. Regis Falls area?? I also visited Cranberry Lake.

For some reason, I think Charlie-NY lives in the Catskills, but don't quote me on that.

 

[Blkram]

As a kid, no one bothered with hearing protection when shooting. (At least not anyone I shot with.) Or when operating machinery, equipment, and chainsaws.

It wasn't until in my mid-20s when I started to wear ear plugs when shooting, after learning about hearing protection while working in industry. And I had already acquired a flinch from the noise of shooting a 300 Win Mag that had been Magna-Ported, in my early 20's.
I quickly found that I could learn to work through my "flinch" from the noise by wearing ear plugs and muffs when shooting from the bench. (My "flinch" is blinking when the rifle fire, not recoil related.) I can work through it by starting with the 22 LR and working with it until I can shoot without blinking, and working up through progressively more powerful cartridges, but it is a process that I go through every year when I go months without shooting after hunting season in the fall, and the spring bear season. It isn't as prevalent if I spend more time shooting through the off season. I have been doing this for approx. 30 years.

A couple of years ago, I finally got a pair of moulded ear plugs (they are vented, but I keep the plug in the event for shooting), and also got a pair of electronic muffs that aid greatly when at the range.
For hunting, I have picked up a pair of Walker's electronic plugs for hunting. Still have to try them out.

Fortunately, I have not an issue with ringing ears from shooting, or being around shooting...to date. (I do hate the noise and muzzle blast from muzzle brakes on rifles others are shooting next to me at the range!)

 

[Charlie-NY]

Related story:

I occasionally bring my brother to the range to punch holes in paper. He's not really a shooter and the two rifles he owns I bought for him. For a short while, I had two pairs of Sordin OTH (amplified) hearing protection, so I let him wear a pair. He told me that he was hearing things he never heard before. He could hear the distant birds, he could hear the traffic off in the distance and he could hear people walking nearby.

It was that day that he decided to have his hearing tested. He was shocked to learn that he had a marked decrease in hearing ability. He got a set of hearing aids and now enjoys hearing everything that he hasn't heard in quite some time.

Morale of the story - even if you 'think' that your hearing is fine, you don't realize what you are missing without a comprehensive hearing test.

 

[NYDAN]

That so true, Charlie.

 

[Teknys]

Hearing loss is real and can be permanent. Double ear protection is the way to go if at all possible!

So real ! When a teenager I sandblasted in the family business. No hearing protection. Shooting , snowmobiles, chainsaws and power tools etc….
Now going on 38 years in paper mills even with ear plugs, I have permanent hearing loss.
I use hearing aids most of the time and hearing protection most of the time when necessary. Protect what you have. It doesn’t come back.

Such a real , sneaky bummer of a thing that we all have to some degree.

 

[8mm Enthusiast]

As a kid I would occasionally shoot 12 gauge and 22lr in open fields without hearing protection. Never any rifles without hearing protection. Those have always been with earmuffs at the range. This season I did shoot my .410 a few times without hearing protection. It wasn't too bad, sounds like a loud firecracker going off in an open field however that was only once and I now wear protection even when shooting a .410.

I use Axil X20 Ear Plugs when I am out in the field. If I need to hear more, I'll simply pull them out a little bit, and when I am ready to shoot, I'll have them adjusted into my ears all the way in. I feel they are perfectly fine for hunting and I have shot at many birds this season with no ringing or heavy pressure in my ears even with repeated shots with a 10 gauge which is extremely loud.

I am curious to see how shooting a rifle in the field with a muzzle break with compare with the 10 gauge while wearing the Axil Ear Plugs.

 

[PJGunner]

"and I now wear protection even when shooting a .410."
Guess what? Even shooting a .22 LR with a longer barreled rifle will damage your hearing. Like any other cartridge, the noise damage in cumulative. Don't know for sure on .22 longs or shorts but it would not surprise me if they too caused damage.
I've had jobs in paper box plants where the use of an air hammer for 8 to 12 hours didn't do my hearing any good. Same thing working at the tail end of a hot waxer. But very loud jobs with lots of 12 hour shifts. Great for overtime but crap on your ears. Back then, (1966) if anybody knew about hearing loss, nobody was doing anything about it. Add that to the fact that I shot something, whether rifle or handgun whenever I could find the time and it's no wonder my hearing is shot, no pun intended. Legally deaf in the right ear and 60% in the high frequency range in the left ear.
For some time now I use a set o electronic hearing muffs when at the range or on a hunt. If I'm hunting with friends or a guide I can hear what they say. I can hear deer and elk that may be trying to sneak past me and I'm more than positive they've helped me fill a tag just because I heard them coming. Be diligent in protecting what you have left because once it's gone, it's gone forever.
Paul B.

 

[8mm Enthusiast]

"and I now wear protection even when shooting a .410."
Guess what? Even shooting a .22 LR with a longer barreled rifle will damage your hearing. Like any other cartridge, the noise damage in cumulative. Don't know for sure on .22 longs or shorts but it would not surprise me if they too caused damage.
I've had jobs in paper box plants where the use of an air hammer for 8 to 12 hours didn't do my hearing any good. Same thing working at the tail end of a hot waxer. But very loud jobs with lots of 12 hour shifts. Great for overtime but crap on your ears. Back then, (1966) if anybody knew about hearing loss, nobody was doing anything about it. Add that to the fact that I shot something, whether rifle or handgun whenever I could find the time and it's no wonder my hearing is shot, no pun intended. Legally deaf in the right ear and 60% in the high frequency range in the left ear.
For some time now I use a set o electronic hearing muffs when at the range or on a hunt. If I'm hunting with friends or a guide I can hear what they say. I can hear deer and elk that may be trying to sneak past me and I'm more than positive they've helped me fill a tag just because I heard them coming. Be diligent in protecting what you have left because once it's gone, it's gone forever.
Paul B.

Indeed. Outdoorsmen, reloaders, and industrial workers need to take this all very seriously. The noises produced by modern equipment are well above anything the human ear was designed to handle especially with regularity. I hope I started protecting my hearing at an early stage. Before hearing protection, my portfolio of shooting was very limited with zero rifles in the mix.