Handgun Caliber and Ear Damage !!!

[Sigmund Sauer]

Hi, friends,

we carry for SD because we want to be safe, right?

Not because we want to be safe and handicapped after.

I have had several people tell me that it is only after prolonged exposure to loud noises that you get hearing damage. That a few shots won't do any harm. But the internet is full of plausible stories of people who had to shoot once indoors in self-defense without ear protection, and are now basically handicapped. Of course, they lived. But how much better would it have been to live with full hearing!

So, I would like to re-evaluate my choice of caliber in my primary carry gun. Obviously, I won't go as far as considering .22 LR just because it's quieter. But how loud are the various calibers really?

Everything I found online seems to be based on these two sites.

How loud is your gun

FreeHearingTest.com - Gunfire Noise Levels

But they don't mention where they get the info. And if it were a serious study, they probably would. Do these numbers confirm what you have experienced? Looking just at the loudness: why would someone shoot .357 Magnum if it's just as loud as the far more powerful .44 Magnum. Looking just at loudness (not price, size and all that) is there a reason to shoot 9mm if .38 Sp and especially if .45 ACP are that much quieter. Or are those numbers wrong?

So, can you experts please give me your thoughts and research on this?

I was always told 9mm was the perfect combination of everything in a self defense situation. Now, these numbers make me believe that I should really consider .45 ACP because it has a more powerful round, and is supposedly quieter for some reason. How does that work? And if a bigger bullet with higher impact is quite a bit quieter (unless these numbers are wrong), then is there an even more powerful round that is even quieter?

I don't mind recoil. I'm a big guy. But I don't want to be a deaf big guy.

Of course, I always wear ear protection when on the range or when hunting. That goes without saying. I am speaking only of a self-defense situation.

Also, can someone please explain how recoil and loudness can be separate things? How can a gun have a much more powerful recoil, but be quieter than another?

I'm a little confused on all this.

But I want to keep my hearing intact. In fact, I need very good hearing for my job. I don't want to be alive but unemployed after I have survived a self-defense situation.

Thanks, friends,

Ziggy

 

[fixitfred]

A 45 is definately louder than a 9mm.

You may want to think about using passive Hocks plugs or electronic ear muffs for hunting.

You should always wear hearing protection at the range. No one can anticipate when and where a gun will be used in self defense. If you're like most folks you will never fire a shot.

You are overthinking it -- choose one:

Ringing in the ear

Beaten to death or shot dead.

After hearing what all of us non-experts say you may want to go and see an ENT specialist and get his learned opinion.

 

[Arik]

Occasional shooting like once a decade should not cause any noticeable damage. Occidental shooting like once a month over a long period will probably build up.

I'm not really concerned with that since I carry for SD. I have shot indoors without ear protection a 9mm, 38spl and 357, 44mag, 50AE, 12G, 7.62x39, 7.62x54. This was not all in one day or even one year. As load as they were I don't see a hearing difference today.

 

[zzzippper]

CAN YOU TYPE LOUDER? I CAN'T HEAR YOU!

 

[cowart]

A 45 is definately louder than a 9mm.

What is the source of your information?

The Hearing Care Blog lists the 9mm as 159.8 decibels, while the 45 is substantially less at 157 decibels. These levels were measured by Dr. Dana Luzon, a trained Audiologist, in a sound-treated room with calibrated equipment.

 

[zzzippper]

What is the source of your information?

The Hearing Care Blog lists the 9mm as 159.8 decibels, while the 45 is substantially less at 157 decibels. These levels were measured by Dr. Dana Luzon, a trained Audiologist, in a sound-treated room with calibrated equipment.

I don't know how decibels are measured, if they are a straight scale or like the Richter scale where an increase of 1 is actually an increase of 10. If it is a straight forward scale then the 45 is only 1.75% less loud than a 9mm. I wouldn't call that substantial.

 

[fixitfred]

What is the source of your information?

The Hearing Care Blog lists the 9mm as 159.8 decibels, while the 45 is substantially less at 157 decibels. These levels were measured by Dr. Dana Luzon, a trained Audiologist, in a sound-treated room with calibrated equipment.

Empirical observations at the range.

It's nice outside if I don't make it fishing I may go to the range. I'll do an A/B test with my 'ole 915 and my XD-s and/or SR1911.

 

[Rustyt1953]

The threshold for pain is appx. 130db @ 1m.

.45acp @1m = 157 db w/a sound pressure level of 1415 pascals.

9mm @1m = 159.8 db w/ an spl of 1954 pascals.

That is quite a jump.

Ear protection is a must. Hope this helps.

 

[loeman]

I know I have some hearing loss and also some moderate tinnitus. However I don't attribute this to shooting but to motorcycling. I've been a motorcyclist for 50 years and have always worn a helmet. However until about 25 years ago I did not use ear plugs. The wind noise coming into a helmet is loud and constant. Today our helmets are much better fitting and much quieter and when using good ear plugs the wind noise becomes very tolerable.

Now when I go to the indoor range or shoot outdoors I use BOTH ear plugs and a good pair of shooting muffs.

Also, I'm sure not going to worry much about ear protection in a SD situation.

 

[cowart]

I don't know how decibels are measured, if they are a straight scale or like the Richter scale where an increase of 1 is actually an increase of 10.

Decibels are measured on a logarithmic scale, so the difference between those 2 sound levels is substantial.

 

[cowart]

Empirical observations at the range.

 

[NYlakesider]

Years back I shot a deer at about 25 yards with a Smith 29 4’’. I wore no ear protection out hunting as listening for them is also important in this area. This was the first time I was around a .44 without ear protection ( I have shot a few deer with rifles before but the longer barrel does get the noise farther away.)

I nailed the deer but boy did my ears ring. About 20 minutes passed and I was now gutting. I never heard my buddy approaching though he said he was talking at me for the last few fee. t Scared the heck out of me when he touched me on the shoulder! It took about 2 hours for my hearing to come back. I do not think it did any permanent damage as I still hear as good as before that incident.

 

[Big Cholla]

There is Some Damage!

Years back I shot a deer at about 25 yards with a Smith 29 4’’. I wore no ear protection out hunting as listening for them is also important in this area. This was the first time I was around a .44 without ear protection ( I have shot a few deer with rifles before but the longer barrel does get the noise farther away.)

I nailed the deer but boy did my ears ring. About 20 minutes passed and I was now gutting. I never heard my buddy approaching though he said he was talking at me for the last few fee. t Scared the heck out of me when he touched me on the shoulder! It took about 2 hours for my hearing to come back. I do not think it did any permanent damage as I still hear as good as before that incident.

Unfortunately, while it seems there was no damage, there in fact was 'some', it just isn't noticeable right now for you. Ear damage is accumulative and will eventually total up to be noticeable to you. While hunting big game in Alaska, I hit on the partial solution of putting a squishy ear plug in my left ear (more toward the muzzle blast) and nothing in the right ear. I found I could hear game sounds while the rifle blast didn't hurt my left ear as much as it would have.

Seeing's how I'm now deaf in my left ear resulting from years of shooting on a rifle range without any hearing protection, I think that I would now spend most of my shooting time even while hunting with the best pair of electronic muffs I could purchase.

 

[ralph7]

I'd like to see the .32-20 and .22 magnum added to that decibel chart.
To answer part of the OP's question as to decibel vs recoil, There is just something painfully loud about a small caliber with a good amount of powder behind it, even though the recoil may not be harsh.

 

[chaparrito]

I already have some hearing damage and tinnitus and don't want any more. I've shot my 9mm Ruger rifle at coyotes at night out of necessity with no time to put on muffs. Ears rang for two days and I'm sure I didn't do the existent damage any good. I can't imagine a handgun going off in the house. It's for this reason I'm thinking seriously about jumping through the hoops and $$ to get a suppressed house gun.

 

[Comrad]

A .22 LR is plenty loud to do some damage. I'm missing the entire range of sound from 4K to 8K so I know a few things about hearing loss. The loss isn't bad at all it's the ringing that I have had since Sept. 4, 2014 that is more annoying.

 

[USAF385]

One shot can do damage. My uncle shot at a coyote inside a barn with a .357 mag and did permanent damage. One shot did it.

 

[ohlins8990]

Just for some info

As Cowart mentioned, sound is measured on a log scale. This means every 3dB is a doubling of sound energy. Every additional 10 dB "sounds" about twice as loud. Sound also loses 3 dB every meter it travels.

Fact is that nothing with gunpowder should really be shot without some level of hearing protection. High frequency hearing is effected first. Check out the youtube video below. Personally I (25) can just about hear right up to youtube clips sound at 16k. My father of 60 can hear up to 13.5k. Because ear damage is cumulative, the older a person is the less likely higher frequencies will be audible.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-iCZElJ8m0[/ame]

 

[Sigmund Sauer]

.45acp @1m = 157 db w/a sound pressure level of 1415 pascals.

9mm @1m = 159.8 db w/ an spl of 1954 pascals.

Very interesting. So, basically, .45 ACP puts more than 38% more pressure on the ear drums than 9mm!!

Wonder why that's not really given much consideration the ongoing .45 ACP vs 9mm debate.

This makes me opt for .45 ACP!!

 

[2hawk]

The easy way around this, of course...

The Europeans are way ahead of us on this. It's considered bad manners to be making a racket with your gunfire, so suppressors are over the counter items in most locales.