doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Hearing protection

Just curious, but how many of you use hearing protection while
shooting? I've noticed that in the past year or so that my hearing
seems to be getting a little less acute. At least my wife seems to
think so. She's convinced that I have selective hearing. But seriously, how many of you have the same problem. To me, one of the
great things about hunting is listening to the sounds of the wild.
I don't think I could wear hearing protectors in the woods while
bird hunting. I just turned 50 last July, and I'm using that as an
exuse for my hearing loss. I think that all those years of trap
shooting without protectors has caught up with me. Ron

Ron,
I use foam earplugs I think with a 25db rating during any target shooting. Virtually all my hunting is without hearing protection. With more of my hunting shooting being done with low pressure 12g loads and 410, I hope it's less damaging.

What? What???

I worked in a steel mill for several years before we had ear plugs so my ears ring 24 hours a day. I constantly hear ringing and ping-ping-ping in my ears almost to the point where I can't sleep. If it were any louder I couldn't stand it. So guys, wear ear plugs for everything. Those lawn mowers, motorcycles, shop tools, loud music, guns and anything else that makes noise will get to you sooner or later if you don't. The thing that really ticks me off is, as a union rep, I told them for years at work that we needed ear plugs and they wouldn't let us wear them. Now they want to take away what medical benefits we retirees have left. But- wear them guys. One day you will be glad you did. Good luck.

I wear both plugs and muffs for longer sessions or handgun shooting, but still don't wear anything for hunting or the occasional single shot out the window with a .22 at a groundhog in the garden. Hunting related hearing loss is less risky nowadays in Pennsylvania. Pheasants are about extinct and deer are an endangered species. Thanks Pa. Game Comission. Like Jimmy W, I did some time as an electrician in a steel mill and have some hearing loss. Our Motor Room was like standing behind a jet taking off, all day. Years of shooting, loud music, power tools, and chain saws added damage. I was somewhat surprised to see a common hammer striking a nail generate a higher decibel level than a pneumatic framing nailer on "This Old House". If I could go back in time I'd be more diligent about hearing protection.

I worked for 27 years in commercial Nuclear Power Plants. When I started hearing protection was not mandatory. Along the way OSHA came into being and areas were posted with required hearing protection. Some areas such as Diesel Generator rooms actually required both inserts and external muffs for adequate noise reduction. For over 40 years I did not wear hearing protection while hunting. A couple of years ago I took up Sporting Clays and wore foam plugs. About a year ago I developed mild Tinnitus.
An ENT I saw said that my hearing was normal and that most Tinnitus patients had suffered some sort of hearing loss. I stopped Sporting Clays, used foam plugs for hunting and the Tinnitus has gone away for the the most part. Hearing damage can in some cases be somewhat reversable. I remember early in my career crawling around some turbines without hearing protection. My ears buzzed for a few days but gradually stopped. I don't know the actual reason for the cessation of the Tinnitus but I will only use external muffs for target shooting now and will have a pair of electronic muffs for hunting this fall. I don't trust ANY type of internal hearing protection anymore.-Dick

Sound-cancelling headphones for flying, earmuffs for clays shooting, lawn mowing, leaf blowing and snow blowing - but never for hunting. In the woods, my senses are dull enough without further reduction.

I have found the ESP or whatever the electronic inserts molded to my ears are to be life savers. Without them, I can't really hear well enough to tell if other shooters are close, where the birds are, etc. I won't leave home without them now. The amplification is there when I need as is the sound dampening if I take a shot. These are expensive but they let me keep shooting.

For sporting clays, I have tried the ear muffs which get in my way and the gunstock hitting them is annoying.

I regularly use the foam inserts for target shooting. It seems like they block as much noise as the ear muffs.

I have not tried the newer style of ear muffs that look more like tubes attached to plugs.

For Sporting clays I use the type that start out as a putty type of substance and this gets pushed into your ear canal. These are more comfortable and as an added protector I put some Hydrocortozine ointment on the inner part to make a better seal. The added ointment also makes for less itching in my ear canals.
For hunting I don't use anything


Regards, Gordon

When I started my sons out shooting the first three things they learned was gun safety, wear shooting glasses and always wear hearing protection. If they failed any of the three they just got to watch after a strong lecture. Message got through to all of them. Even in the duck blind they will put their ear plugs in before loading their guns.

Hearing loss is cumulative and not reversible in most cases. Destroy the hair cells in the ear inner ear canal and they do not repair very well. Loose 1% per year and by the time you are 50 you hearing loss will be real, you will have major hearing loss long before age 60. Worse you loose entire bands of hearing. All the high notes or a band of middle tones which make hearing speech difficult.

Ever see a group of old Trap or Skeet shooters talking. You can monitor the conversation from 30' away because they are all half deaf and need to almost shout. No ear protection, for years takes its toll.

We use custom plugs and ear muffs. The boys have learned how to shoot with them and will do so as longs as they shoot with me.