OK, so I have wondered....if you are in your house and end up in the unfortunate situation where you have to protect yourself by firing a few shots from your revolver (mine happens to be a 686P)...and you have 38 special or worse yet, .357 magnums loaded up....what's going to happen to your ears??? Dumb question? Maybe so, but I have wondered.

They'll certainly ring for a while. Depending on the exact circumstances actual damage could happen. Of course, you'll be in far better shape than the person on the other end of the gun.

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NRA Benefactor

True enough. :-)

That's why they sell hearing aids. Say WHAT??? The idea is that you have survived the challenge and can move on in life. Kyle

IIRC, Right before Dillion Klebold and Eric Harris went on their murderous (indoor) rampage at Columbine High Screwal, they both inserted E.A.R. plugs in their ears, despite that they were on a "suicide mission."

Do you get the feeling that perhaps they were, "over-mothered?"

I was in two close quarters shooting incidents over 35 years ago.
I have had pretty severe tinnitus ever since.
I listen to crickets singing 24/7

There's a lot better education on hearing protection nowadays, (thank goodness!), than when I was coming of age. I am thankful
that my hearing loss is no worse than it is. I never go anywhere without
at least one set of earplugs.
That said, if you are worried about hearing loss during an
incident involving your firearm(s), you probably shouldn't be using it.
In the "Gravest Extreme" as Mas would say, your personal survival
is the measuring-stick. Not much worth hearing from the grave.
JMHO, TACC1.

WHAT--what did ya'll say?
I woulda got me some new fangeled muffs if'n they had had em. too late now.
Ya'll need to speak up.
Blessings

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TEXAS, by GOD

Some people report not even hearing the shots due to their adrenaline rush, but damage is done anyway. I once asked a question bout the sound of a .357 being fired outside and one forum member even questiond my law enforcement background! Firing a 9MM OUTSIDE leaves my ears ringing for 30 seconds (I've done it once or twice). I keep a set of electronic ear muffs next to my home defense gun. i MIGHT not use them, but the option is there. I'm not searching the house for an intruder unless I HAVE to. As for .357, I wouldn't use it in a home defense gun. Indoors, the noise and flash would be fierce. I once heard a 12 gauge go off in the room I was in, and my ears rang for HOURS.

I have two suggestions. The first is Walker Game Ears muffs - you can hear even better than normally but aren't deafened by gunfire. Of course, you'll still be momentarily blinded by the first shot's muzzle flash. Second is use a shotgun. It's a better home defense weapon because #6 shot will do significant damage to its intended target (if you even hit it with a handgun in your state of excitement/panic) and won't kill the people in the next couple of rooms.

Seriously - a magnum inside an occupied residence?

Ed

Back in the olden days it was manly to shoot one handed and without hearing protection. Then we grew up.

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NRA Benefactor

I too have the crickets singing....
due to my time in the Infantry (Airborne!!) and most recently, a tour of Iraq.

I have gotten used to it, and barely notice it anymore...
If someone comes into my house to do me harm..it is .357 magnum that they will experience.....
My hearing is already damaged....what do I care?!

It would be nerve rather than eardrum damage that would result from the sound of gunfire, although if the noise is intense and close enough the eardrum can rupture. The idea about electronic muffs is a good one, if you have time to put them on - even a .22 can cause hearing loss.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

I accidently fired a .357 into a corner of my dining room. The sound of the gun plus the echo rebounding from just a few feet away. The next thing I heard was what sounded like a siren inside my head. My left ear took most of the noise. The hearing quality in that ear has diminished.

The lathe and plaster wall was a major project to repair.

IMO a 357 Magnum is a poor choice for Home Defense. In a Home where you know the layout intimately you really shouldn't need that much power and in an enclosed setting it will simply destroy your hearing. IMO a 617 with a 6 inch barrel would be a vastly wiser choice. However the downside to the 22 is the potential legal consequnces that might result in shooting just for the head.

As another who hears crickets 24/7 I'm concerned about preserving what hearing I have left. As for hearing aids, a good pair will cost enough to purchase a pretty decent used car, so I'd prefer to put that cost off for as long as is possible.

One thing I've noticed is that longer barrels are quieter than short barrels. In addition you get a lot less muzzle flash from a longer barrel. I've also noticed that the low pressure calibers are quieter than the high pressure calibers. IMO, if you want a Home Defense revolver something along the lines of a 625 in 45 ACP with a 6 inch barrel would be ideal, it's too bad that S&W doesn't offer this. A close second would a 6 1/2 inch 44 Magnum loaded with 44 Spl. A bit more distant third would be something like a 6 inch 686 loaded with 38 spl. Point is, if your going to rely on a handgun for Home Defense choose something that throws a bit fat bullet at low velocity out of a long tube. Granted, the 38 spl. isn't exactly fat, however it will do the job if the shots are placed properly and longer barrels to tend to allow more rapid followups in the event they fail.

Finally, many of us are protecting more than just our Home, we are also protecting our family. Think about the effect of a 357 Magnum on that 5 year old sitting next to you on a couch when a BG kicks in the door. I'd suggest that those who don't live alone train their family members to cover their ears in the event you have to go into Combat Mode.

Sounds like another valid reason that it should be easier for you to buy a suppressor. Since everything is supposed to be safe these days…

You will probably do some damage to your hearing...check that you will have some damage.

Although I doubt you'll have time obviously hearing protection would help but here at work I wouldn't have time for hearing protection in a use of gun situation and i'm awake...

As others have said - at least you're on the delivering end of the gun...and not the receiving end!

Would someone answer that phone? I hear the ringing all the time after 20 years on tanks in the Army. Of course, the one time I fired a .357 Magnum indoors down a hallway without hearing protection didn't help. It flat took the ear wax right out of 'em!

Don't fire anything without hearing protection EVER. Most of my damage resulted while wearing ear plug and a CVC helmet with the ear cups cinched up tight! There is only so much you can do to protect yourself from 105mm or 120mm tank gun fire.

+10 on electronic muffs for home defense. They should be right with your defensive handgun. Got a pair for my wife to wear as well. Hers are right next to what-used-to-be my 4" Model 681 with Crimson Trace grips. Both guns are loaded with Speer 135 grain .38 Special +P ammo.

ECS

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CPT, Armor (Ret)
Luke 22:36

dead or deaf, you decide. or you could always sleep with earplugs in? lol

Slightly off subject, but would subsonic loads produce a lot lower noise impact?

if im not mistaken MOST handgun loads in the home defense realm are subsonic. i believe you have to be around 1500ft per sec?

edit, supersonic is 1125ft per second, my m+p 40 only shoots at like 850-900 ft per sec with 180 grain.

Hearin loss is multi-factorial! Ever been hunting and never heard the shot? The loss we experience is usually due to repeated exposure o a noxious stimuli over a given period of time. A few shots indoors from any weapon in that time of stress will likely go unnoticed. It is the repeated exposure of said stimulus that causes the eventual loss or decreased hearing. The sense of hearing is actually a mechanincal phenomenon that is turned into an electrical perception. The small bones in the inner ear vibrate and send a signal to the auditory nerve that then goes to the brain allowing us to hear. it is usually some sort of damage to these mechanical areas- cilia/bones/fluid that causes our hearing to become less than ideal. In any given lifetime you may have to fire a weapon inside your home, etc once, maybe twice> Anymore than that then you need a new place to live! Or, sleep with ear plugs in!

load with regular .38 spl. it will cause hearing damage, but home invaders will cause more... i have the afore mentioned electronic muffs avail. with my .38, but that wont help the wife or daughter. do not, load full power .357 in your house gun, unless you live in the wide open spaces of north dakota, alaska, or the alagash of maine. those are the only likely places you wont put over penetrated slugs into your neighbors home.

My guess is that it would only make a very small difference. The detonation of the gun powder produces most of the noise and the subsonic loads probably use less powder so they would have a slightly smaller "explosion". The subsonic rounds would not produce the sonic pressure wave (sonic boom) as they pass an object, so you wouldn't hear the "crack". The sonic boom has a much smaller pressure rise associated with it than the detonation of the powder at close proximity.

If i had to shoot a home invader, my hearing would be the last thing that I would worry about.

Usually hearing loss from just one or a few short, percussive bursts is short term and will clear up after a while but if it's a you or them situation, some hearing loss is a small price to pay for your life.

I was involved in a couple of shooting incidents, one with a 14in 12g and the others with a 4in 38. NEVER did I hear the shots and NEVER did my ears ring immediately following. Life or death is far different than firing outside to see what its like or a negligent discharge even inside your house. If you fire outside to see what it might be like you are wasting your time. All the others I worked with had the same experience as I did. When I have had partners fire it always sound like a dud round to me.

I would call timeout while I put earplugs in! Then time in, I'm ready, but nobody follows gentleman rules anymore, lol.

Given the chance, I have learned to put my right ear down on my raised right shoulder, and stick my left finger in my left ear, but not in anything even approaching deadly force situations. I hear those same crickets that Iggy hears, even though we are a long distance from each other. Tinnitus is just one of (and a mild one at that) the extended list of negative things that result from being in harms way with a firearm. But I would suggest that you not even considder this consequence in your mental preparaations for finding yourself with NO OTHER CHOICE than to apply deadly force to another human being. I would hope that I would not be tenative, but deliberate in that case, and that my focus would not be on my ears, but the lives of those involved. Flapjack.

my guess is about the time your in a situation that has your heart beating out of your chest, your eyes fully dialated and your ears capable of hearing a mouse fart 100 miles away the gunshot and your potential for hearing damage will be the last thing on your mind.

Funny you mention the earplug thing....
I actually DO sleep with earplugs in..due to train tracks and loud neighbors! So my .357 mag for home defense suddenly seems..perfect! (ok, ok....I sometimes load with .38+Ps at night)

Wondering about something as silly as this leads to hesitation. Hesitation leads to being carried by six! My ears buzz 24/7/365 and that would be the least of my concern!!

I have my 686 4"bbl loaded with 158gr .357 rounds for home defense. I usually close the eye Im not sighting with so if its at night Ill have one eye thats not blinded. Plus I can slam my right shoulder against my right ear and cover the left ear with my left hand. I figure itll still be loud but maybe not any permanent damage.........

Worried about hearing loss with gunfire? Try working in an engineroom of a crewboat with four v12 Detroit's running on the governors.

I prefer lower pressure rounds for self defense. Although I sometimes carry 9mm I keep a .38 and a .45 near the bed.

Bill

I always thought a suppressed .45 auto would be the ideal home defense gun.

I think Trauma1 said it very well. There is a difference between a one time noise exposure and repeated, i.e. "occupational" exposure day after day to the point it can damage the nerve/bone/cillia mechanisms of the ear.

Worst case is ruptured eardrums,best case is listening to the "Music" for awhile. However..being alive and your Family safe during a home invasion is worth Everything to me. You will only have seconds to respond and lives will be in balance,I prefer to be the Winner. I`ll worry about these things later. Always Carry,Never Tell.

Iggy I'm in the same boat. Shot a mdl 19 for awhile as a dumb teenager growing up without hearing protection. I hear those same stupid crickets as well. As for the close quarter fight inside a house or other structure. You'll never hear your gun discharge. Same as deer hunting.

Dirty Harry never had a problem shooting a .44 mag indoors