Paul in Nevada
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So you are saying that with plugs and muffs, 140dB still reaches your eardrum? That doesn't seem right.
Hearing protection merely delays tinnitus?
- Thread starter tomhenry
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I don't know the state of my dad's hearing, but in our childhood he always insisted that my brother and I use hearing protection (earmuffs) when we were shooting. I shot a lot of rounds on the trap range when I was growing up. And that got me in the mindset of protecting my hearing at all times. When i was on the radio I only wore the earphones when I was talking, rather than having the sound pumped constantly pumped into my ears. Earmuffs were so inexpensive that I hung a pair on my lawn mower that I wore when walking behind the lawn mower. Thanks to my dad insisting on my wearing hearing protection when I was a boy, at 70 years old I still have a pretty high percentage of my hearing.
messmergreen
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I wish someone would tell me that before. Have tinnitus for many years now. It gets better and worse but definitely never goes away for good. On my last visit to audiologist we started to discuss best prescription hearing aids and when gonna be time for me to get those. I am not sure that i am ready for that step, just really badly want to get rid of tinnitus.
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I've lost some hearing and I've had tinnitus for 15-20 yrs,but it rarely bothers me-luckily. Mines from decades of using power tools without hearing protection. Take care of your hearing- the mornings I can still hear the birdies are amazing,though rare.
Rpg
Member
I wear hearing protection at the range, but not when hunting. I won't shoot in an indoor range or an outdoor range with a crowd.
It's unusual for me to fire more than a few rounds while hunting. For big game, I can't remember the last time I fired more than one round. Bird hunting can present multiple opportunities to shoot the feathered game I'm after, so I'm likely to shoot more rounds bird hunting.
Although I'm sure I've lost some hearing over the years, the gun that's done the most damage is a Ruger convertible in 22 magnum. The first time I shot it, I had tinnitus from the first shot. It lasted about a week. I was 12 at the time. Taught me a lesson! Haven't shot the 22 mag since.
I've found that revolvers are the worst in terms impact on my hearing. Rifles and shotguns are the least troublesome (I think because the muzzle is furthest from me, there is less noise impacting my ears than with a rifle or shotgun.). The velocity and caliber of the projectile makes a difference: higher velocity means more damage. Large diameter projectiles at high velocity are likewise worse than lower velocity projectiles: probably the reason shotgun hunting is less damaging than high velocity rifles.
It's unusual for me to fire more than a few rounds while hunting. For big game, I can't remember the last time I fired more than one round. Bird hunting can present multiple opportunities to shoot the feathered game I'm after, so I'm likely to shoot more rounds bird hunting.
Although I'm sure I've lost some hearing over the years, the gun that's done the most damage is a Ruger convertible in 22 magnum. The first time I shot it, I had tinnitus from the first shot. It lasted about a week. I was 12 at the time. Taught me a lesson! Haven't shot the 22 mag since.
I've found that revolvers are the worst in terms impact on my hearing. Rifles and shotguns are the least troublesome (I think because the muzzle is furthest from me, there is less noise impacting my ears than with a rifle or shotgun.). The velocity and caliber of the projectile makes a difference: higher velocity means more damage. Large diameter projectiles at high velocity are likewise worse than lower velocity projectiles: probably the reason shotgun hunting is less damaging than high velocity rifles.
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jag312
Member
When I had to go for my first draft physical at 19, the hearing test already showed severe hearing loss in the high frequency range. Hearing protection? What's that? I started wearing hearing protection later, but it was too late. Shooting, motorcycles, sports cars, racing cars took their toll, but my head set when flying did give me some protection.
at some point your skull is transmitting the vibrations to your ears. All muffs and plugs do if plug/cover the 2 obvious holes in your skull at the base of the cartilage funnels.
Paul in Nevada
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Interesting thought. I am not sure that type of vibration directly leads to hearing damage. If so, we just have to accept a certain degree of hearing loss as inevitable.
I hurt my ears in 1964 and was not using hearing protection. I've worked around machinery, cars, trucks, and lots of noise. My left ear has loud ringing most of my life. In 2018 I was using foam plugs and my Howard Leight Sport Electronic muffs and shooting pistols. After leaving the range and for the days and months that have followed, my hearing has deteriorated even more. Audiologist said hearing aid won't help my left ear but would help my right ear. I'm going to the ear doctor again in two months and I will see if some hearing aids might help me. My hearing used to be so good when I was younger but the years have taken a toll.
Loud music, shooting, and three decades of sirens and air horns has taken its toll...but...
My doctor recommended I try Lipoflavonoid for my tinnitus, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was effective...
#1 Doctor recommended supplement for ear ringing - Lipo-Flavonoid Plus
My doctor recommended I try Lipoflavonoid for my tinnitus, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was effective...
#1 Doctor recommended supplement for ear ringing - Lipo-Flavonoid Plus
RobertJ.
Member
Apparently, this poor dog couldn't take David Gilmore's playing, either!
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHZgw9RcHj4[/ame]
I did a fair amount of hunting with shotguns and 22's as a kid, without any hearing protection at all. I can remember my "ears ringing" for hours afterwards, many times.
I also listened to 1970's hard rock music at max volume for hours on end, and went to many rock concerts where I got as close as I possibly could to the wall of speakers the bands put up.
When I went for my delayed-enlistment Navy physical in the summer of 1980 they gave me my first ever hearing test. The audiologist said I had about a 20% hearing loss in the upper frequency ranges.
Of course I didn't think much of it and continued listening to the same music at the same volume levels Then I spent 3 years working on the oil rigs with no hearing protection.
After that I had a 26 year career working in warehouse facilities with constant machinery noise from conveyor systems, punctuated with blaring warning horns every couple of minutes (every time a conveyor started up).
In the 43 years or so since that first hearing test, I think it is pretty safe to say that my hearing didn't get any better.
Just before I turned 59 I got my first set of hearing aids. In less than a year since then I have already upgraded to a better pair. The main benefit for me has been that, for the first time in over 35 years with my wife I can hear and understand what she says the FIRST time - without having to ask her to repeat herself. At least most of the time.
Thankfully tinnitus is one issue I haven't had to deal with so far - and I hope I never do. I protect my hearing now with a good pair of Walker's Razor electronic earmuffs whenever I do anything loud - like shooting, mowing the lawn, or running loud power tools like weedeaters, or chainsaws.
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A key facet of most db ratings for shooters is duration of impulse. Most ratings are based on industrial use of hearing protection emphasizing dbs as being continuous, as would occur driving a patrol car with radio squawking, operating heavy machinery, et. al. Apparently, hearing loss can be prevented even from an ear-splitting muzzle blast when adequate protection is used — because the sound impulse is extremely brief. I picked this tidbit up from my audiologist during a visit for a non-shooting issue.
Hope this helps.
Hope this helps.
I've had tinnitus for as long as I can remember. Its a constant 2 high tones for me as well as a "rushing" sound. Hearing aids help me with understanding voices in loud backgrounds (restaurants, meetings, etc.) but they are no panacea.
Yeah, I don't even like going out to clubs or busy restaurants with friends because I can't understand what anyone is saying. In normal environments I can understand people fine but in bars and restaurants I'm just sitting there unable to be part of the conversations. I can hear the voices but I can't distinguish the words.
Thirty three years in the Air Force and Air Force Reserve exposed me to noise airborne and on the ground from T-37, OV-10A, and a variety of C-130 aircraft types. Late in my Reserve career in 2002 I failed a flight physical for hearing and had to go to a specialist at Andrews AFB to establish and new hearing baseline and obtain a waiver to finish out my career. I made it to retirement in 2007 then went to the VA and was awarded disability for hearing. My damage was in the 4,000 hertz range which is typical of flightline exposure. I have tinnitus as well. The VA-supplied hearing aids help some, but not when I am in big crowds of people. It's hell getting old.
Have you tried hearing aids?
FWIW, they have made a big difference for many of us.
Frank46
US Veteran
I enlisted in the navy in '64 and was assigned to # 1 engine room, Pump room and generator room. Those spaces were lit off prior to going out to sea. Sometimes at least 8 hours prior to leaving. Working in those spaces,especially the generator rooms with the high pitched whine of two generators running at full speed you walked out unable to hear anything. Took awhile to get some hearing back. Then there were the 5"54 deck guns. Very sharp crack when they went off. Was standing in the hangar bay during one of these episodes and couldn't hear right for hours. Then my civilian job with fuel oil pumps in separate rooms one electric and one steam. Steam leaks especially bad ones did their worst as well. last job I had was starting a 6000 Horse Power gas turbine in an enclosed building. Ear protection I brought from home (shooting ear muffs). Used to get yelled as it was not company issued. Now wear muffs when driving the diesel tractor,riding mower, chain saw, and various trimmers and other gas powered tools. Long term hearing loss, tinitus, and probably memory loss from all those years. Frank
I've had a couple hearing tests in fairly recent years. They showed some loss with more in my right ear. The tests indicated I should be OK without the hearing aids. I think part of the problem is I'm too good at taking the tests. I'd push the little button when I couldn't hear the tone but I could tell something was somehow different. Oh well! I'm not real thrilled with having something else to bother with anyhow.
