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When I shoot game I dont hear the shot. I dont feel I am suffering at all when shooting at game, weather it be ducks or big game with any caliber of gun.
I am curious when shooting game with a rifle equipped with a muzzle break if you hear it and if its ear piercing like it is when target practicing.
Sometimes it is louder as you are closed in by the environment, tree,s etc, yes can be very loud.Quote:
Originally Posted by toddy
I ALWAYS wear ear protection. My hearing was damaged in the military because of either no, or poor quality hearing protection.
When I hunt with a gun I use electronic ones that allow me to hear all around like super hearing and they cut out with the shot.
My experience with a muzzle break is it makes the sound louder, at least for those to the sides of you.
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Back in the day, in units like the Herbies..(RCHA), it wasn't manly to wear the ear defenders.....lots of deaf guys getting medical pensions due to stupidity.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob Stewart
You do not feel like you are suffering but you are.Quote:
Originally Posted by toddy
I had a bout of tinnitus, I thought it was from the concerts I went to in the past but the hearing test proved that it was from shooting. My left ear is on the verge of needing a hearing aid and my right is fine, the stock blocks your right ear if you are a right handed shooter. The proof is in the testing, I always used hearing protection at the range and never hunting, this is what happened. I asked the tech about it, we are a hunting community, she said it is typical hearing loss for a hunter.
Wear your ears.
I don't agree about the stock blocking your ear. My ear doesn't press against any stock of any of my firearms and my right ear is worse than my left.
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Your right ear is blocked by the stock from the direct sound wave from the gun going off, this is what I was told.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob Stewart
Here is a write up from a doctor talking about it.
https://www.audiologyonline.com/ask-...om-shooter-347
I agree I have the exact same problem. Didn’t know better when we were kids. Both my brother and I have very poor left ear hearing from shooting. Not good for the right ear either but it doesn’t get as much as the left doesQuote:
Originally Posted by Fox
Most of the damage I received to my hearing is in my left ear... when distracted and forget to put on my ears on when on the range and the guy next to me shots..especially when it's a Leopard 105mm Tank :)
I'll read the study but I just don't see it being correct, especially when my damage was done while shooting the C7 which tends to have a head up position.
I was also a mortar man and usually #1 on the tube so that put my right ear toward the blast.
I also don't see the amount of sound energy coming to the left side as significantly lower than what's hitting the right side.
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I'm thinking everyone's hearing sensitivity is different. In the past I never wore hearing protection as a kid and on my own even running power saws I never wore protection. My hearing although it has been impacted I still hear better than most people. I do wear hearing protection when shooting as per range rules and to set an example for my son. But when out cutting trees I still don't. So I think everyone s hearing is affected differently
Only testing will tell you how well your hearing is...you might be surprised how much damage has been done but you don't notice becasue it's been done over a long period of time.Quote:
Originally Posted by greatwhite
While it's not medical quality, you can get an idea how your hearing is with a modern smart phone and headphones. Just look for a hearing test app!
For years I've been complaining to my doctors about ringing and having trouble hearing and got nowhere. They'd say it was wax or just ignore me. It wasn't until I used a test app that I could see just how bad it was.
When I finally got to a audiologist the loss graph from my phone closely matched what they did with their proper test equipment.
As of a week ago I've been wearing hearing aids and it's amazing what I was missing!
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My hearing failed during the release medical...sent to the audiologist. He cleaned out a huge wad of wax , probably what saved my hearing that I had no idea was in there. Passed the second test with flying colours :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob Stewart
Very true, you never really know.Quote:
Originally Posted by MikePal
I had this ringing and it did not go away in 24 hours. I took a sick day and went to the doctor, the concern was the ear drum. They sent me for testing and I never had any idea that my hearing was that far gone.
At least I actually have an excuse for not "hearing" my wife :D
I notice that the radio when on an AM station drives me nuts, my bad ear tends to ring with things like baseball games and CBC radio. I don't know if it is just the talking rather than music but I hear it and nobody else does, annoying as heck.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob Stewart
The doc also told me that ear plugs do not do all that much. She said that muffs are much better because they cover up the outer ear, the vibration in the bone below the ear can also do damage. She told me that guys running heavy equipment, even with hearing protection, tend to lose their hearing as the constant shaking from things like jack hammers cause hearing loss through the bones. It was very interesting to talk about, explains more and more about the hearing loss in our family.
I was out ringing gongs a few years ago with my 5.56 and newly installed muzzle brake,wearing muffs,shooting off the front rack of my quad as a rest.
Took a smoke break and reload a few mags,then just about to shoot first round I realized I didn’t have my muffs on and thought”oh well wtf,I won’t be wearing muffs hunting coyotes with this....how loud can it be?”
Not sure if the shock wave deflecting off the front of my quad made it worse or not,but only fired one shot and I thought I blew my effin ear drum,it hurt like hell and rang for 3hrs,hearing was messed up all night and still discomfort the following day.
That was my first,last,and only experience shooting a braked rifle,F that,I threw that POS in the trash,no more MBs for this guy....and that was just a 5.56,I can’t imagine what my big game guns would do!
I always hunt with plugs and electronic ear pro. You cannot get your hearing back once it's gone.Quote:
Originally Posted by toddy
What???? :DQuote:
Originally Posted by walkinandsittin
WWear the electronics at ALL times when shooting!Quote:
Originally Posted by Fox
I’m on my 4th set of hearing aids because I wore ear plugs trap shooting, but nothing when hunting for 50 years!! Now I’m paying for it!! I’ve put over $12,000 in my ears so far, and I continually bemoan the fact that I could have bought a lot of guns for that money if I’d worn ear protection when hunting all those years!
Well I lost my hearing in my left ear with one shot in a treed laneway because the reflected sound wave.
Completely gone for three weeks and will never be the same.
Wear something all the time....
When my wife starting hunting we went out and bought electronic muffs, they work great for hunting and also keep your ears warm.Quote:
Originally Posted by genec
I always wore something when target shooting but not while hunting, I blame rock/punk concerts and goose hunting for my hearing loss, a single shot from a rifle at a deer is one thing, hunting geese with a group of 5 guys all opening up for a morning and off to the side of you is a totally different thing.
Oh yeah... The "macho" way is not to wear any ear protection, and MANY hunters and shooters are suffering in the hearing department as a result. As mentioned above, you CAN'T get your hearing back when it's gone!!!
I always use this analogy: Your finger heals when you get a cut on it, your hearing doesn't heal. EVER.
I have never been the kind of person who shoots a lot, but I have been shooting guns since my early teens. My right ear rang a lot when I fired guns and I do shoot right shouldered. I was in my early 40's and working in a large factory when we got mandatory hearing test. The technician asked me after, "Do you shoot guns?" Well, I was stunned by the question to be honest and I replied, "Yes".
He told me that it was evident from my hearing test and told me to protect my ears, especially the right one!
I have paid attention since, wearing good ear plugs and sometimes muffs WHENEVER a loaded gun is in my hands - or my friends' hands for that matter. Don't go with the cheap spongy ones that do nothing. Industrial safety shops sell good plastic or rubber plugs that at least take the sting out of the blast. Your hunting capabilities will not suffer. Trust me!
Of course my wife and my daughters constantly make fun of my poor hearing. I blame them for mumbling... :D
I am surprised that your right is worse, the audiologist said that the ear down on the stock is generally better as there is a shadow effect of the stock.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hawkman
She told me I was not at the point of needing hearing aids but close and the fact that one is worse than the other makes the better one compensate so it is not noticeable.
I had ringing for 24+ hours and freaked out a bit so that is why I bothered going in to get tested.