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Hearing protection: Muffs, plugs, both, none, too late, depends?
- Thread starter ccather
- Start date
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Rebel_Rider1969
Well Known Nuisance
Impact Sports electronic muffs. Great for hunting too. You can turn them up so you can hear every rustle, twig snap
MauserLarry
Master
I have been around......tanks, earth moving equipment, explosives, helicopters, airplanes, really loud honky tonks and of course fired guns since I was young. I don't think there was really much around till the past few years that would have really protected my hearing. I just do what I can to protect what hearing I have left. The electronic muffs nowadays are really impressive.
PS...........forgot wife hollering at me for 45 years!
PS...........forgot wife hollering at me for 45 years!
3 men & a boat
Master
I wear muffs, just a cheap HL electronic set I caught on sale on Amazon a few years back. My only complaint is they sometimes bump the stock when shooting through a scope, so I would like to get a lower profile set sometime.
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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Rebel_Rider1969
Well Known Nuisance
;-)
I consider myself lucky. My "audacity" is pretty good considering mortars, small arms, sirens, loud radios etc., going off around me. My only problem is selective hearing...I don't hear half of what my wife is telling me
Between working on aircraft, shooting guns and “Incoming” indirect fire my hearing is shot, I have to listen to the TV at full blast to hear anything, but shooting anything other than a .22 really hurts my ears. Now days I always wear hearing protection when shooting
Tinnitus sucks the ringing never stops. I have lost all of the upper frequencies and most of the mid-range the human voice can produce. Now I wear both when I’m shooting as I don’t want to lose more.
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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
wildrider666
Master
Hearing protection (HP) awareness is much great now than in the 60's, I suffer that baggage too. More recently hearing protection wasn't compatible with foul/bird hunting. You don't hear the birds moving through the underbrush and you miss the initial wing flutter flushed. Same thing with cues from other animals you can't hear with HP including electronic HP. Never rifle hunted game animals with HP on, used HP on overwatch of prairie dog and ground squirl towns with multiple red mist events per minute.
It's never to late to try and hold onto what hearing ability you have. It doesn't grow back/heal though sound deprevation will allow slightly better hearing initially after silencing measures are removed. Its the reverse process of hearing quality returning after a high DB exposure like a concert or other long loud exposure. Loss can be in specific frequency ranges or across the spectrum. I've told the wife I have "selective audio lockout" in my male DNA but she says I'm just ignoring her! Lol. It's actual that her voice falls into a hearing frequency I have problems with. With TV, movies and music: I have to turn off sub-woffers and minimize bass as it overpowers my limited ability to hear audio voices, increase treble and volume are needed. Face to face guy conversation is fine out to about four feet then its iffy at best. Hind sight is 20/20. I'm a rigid HP enforcer to family and have no reservation reminding friends.
Muffs, Plugs and electronic variants have different db ratings within their respective categories. Buy poor choices now, pay later. I wouldn't wear electronics if a plain set offered better protection and I didn't have a closer listening requirement like instructing/rangemaster. Plugs under electronic muffs was too sound restrictive for what still wanted to hear. Plugs under Muffs is the only way to go if your serious about protection IMHO. You also have to dig a bit when evaluating HP since companies Interpetations and testing varies.
It's never to late to try and hold onto what hearing ability you have. It doesn't grow back/heal though sound deprevation will allow slightly better hearing initially after silencing measures are removed. Its the reverse process of hearing quality returning after a high DB exposure like a concert or other long loud exposure. Loss can be in specific frequency ranges or across the spectrum. I've told the wife I have "selective audio lockout" in my male DNA but she says I'm just ignoring her! Lol. It's actual that her voice falls into a hearing frequency I have problems with. With TV, movies and music: I have to turn off sub-woffers and minimize bass as it overpowers my limited ability to hear audio voices, increase treble and volume are needed. Face to face guy conversation is fine out to about four feet then its iffy at best. Hind sight is 20/20. I'm a rigid HP enforcer to family and have no reservation reminding friends.
Muffs, Plugs and electronic variants have different db ratings within their respective categories. Buy poor choices now, pay later. I wouldn't wear electronics if a plain set offered better protection and I didn't have a closer listening requirement like instructing/rangemaster. Plugs under electronic muffs was too sound restrictive for what still wanted to hear. Plugs under Muffs is the only way to go if your serious about protection IMHO. You also have to dig a bit when evaluating HP since companies Interpetations and testing varies.
Duckyou
I don’t give a Weiner shit!
Even with a suppressor you should use hearing protection on most items - just because it is “safe” does not mean it is good.
FrankT
6.8 SPCII Hog Slayer
Hey at 71 I don't care, besides I always use it to disregard the wife
wildrider666
Master
Ear plugs have saved quite a few marriages when your Love snores. Don't be discouraged if she spits a few out the first few times.
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Rockola2004
Old Soul Gun Enthusiast
Totally not what I expected to read.
Yep, hearing loss is gradual and mostly painless. Its so very worth it to have at least some some proper fitting* ear plugs in. And they have to be properly worn, too.
Me too. I was in an artillery unit too and then became a heavy equipment operator. Loved shooting guns and Harley's all along the way. I had an occupational health physical before getting hired at my last job and they almost wouldn't hire me based on my hearing. Halfway thru the test, I'm blankly staring out of the sound booth waiting for the test to start. The old lady was like "maybe I didnt explain it clear enough" and I was like "what do you mean the test already started". Then on the exit physical 5 years later I kept the paper the tech gave me showing me where I'd lost half my hearing. It goes quick. For what it's worth, I can suggest anybody wanting to protect their hearing should try 45 ACP. It is naturally subsonic. I've found it nice and tolerable without muffs or ear plugs, mainly because one day I was plinking in the creek bottom and didnt even realize I'd forgotten ear plugs until I got home. Oops.
