quote:

Originally posted by 4x5:
My question to you is, have you ever fired a 357 magnum without hearing protection? What was the immediate and long-term effect on your hearing?

Mom did, about 40 years ago -- probably just one or two rounds. She's still peeved about it, and deals with a constant "ringing in the ears."

I like to tell young people to think of the nerves that control your hearing as a large rock. Every loud noise or shot is a rock hammer chipping away at your hearing and the rock never gets bigger it only gets smaller.

I always wear hearing protection now. Back in my younger days I let loose with a .357 magnum without them. I can't point to the exact cause as I have had many, many ear infections in my life but I have tinnitus all day every day for 30 years and it sucks.

I’ve shot my Colt Trooper .357 a number of times without protection. I’ve fired my 12 gauge a number of times without protection. I’ve played in front of a Fender Dual Showman without protection for a few years. I’ve worked a a Navy propulsion plant for 3 years without protection.

I’ve been lucky as I haven’t lost too much of my hearing.

Lord knows how many shotgun rounds I've fired without protection while bird hunting, rifle rounds I've fired without protection while game hunting, or pistol rounds I've fired without protection just being a dumbass.

And yep, the ringing is there...always.

Any trip to a range or out in the woods to shoot recreationally though, is accompanied by MSA Supreme muffs. Sadly though, as much as I love my SCAR 17, it is so damned loud, I have to use foam AND the MSAs. I need to buy a suppressor or at least a new type of compensator for it.

The decibels (sound pressure) of the .357 Magnum are probably not a great deal different than that of other handgun rounds, but the effect on your ears feels very different. Subsonic rounds like the .45 ACP have a "boom" report, transonic or supersonic like the 9mm Luger have more of a "sharp 'crack'" report, but the .357 has both a "crack" and a loud "roar" sound. I fired some without "ears," in a gully whose sides probably amplified the sound, and it was downright painful.

quote:

Originally posted by kkina:
I have, actually. Just one round, and it was indoors. Like stuffing my ears with cotton for maybe half an hour. I don't think there was long-term damage, but short term was most impressive, I must say.

Unfortunately, there can be permanent damage from even a brief but very loud sound.

Huh?

...What?

I only did that once. I was firing a 22lr from a German flare gun (using a bore sleeve) and the extra 2 1/2 inches of barrel promptly served as an echo chamber and made it super Fr!<!^& loud.

Don't think I'll be without hearing protection unless someone breaks in the house. Then it will be louder than 'just a 22'.

I use hearing protection for everything but hunting. As a young teen my dad and I would occasionally squirrel and rabbit hunt with shotguns. I'd plug my ears when he'd shoot, but no protection when I shot. Every year I shoot once or twice at a deer with a BAR Mark II in .308 without protection. With the adrenaline I never even notice the sound. Dad never wore hearing protection sighting in rifles every year, mowing and trimming the yard, qualifying in basic and AIT with M14s and he hears perfectly fine at 71. My mom never shot a gun and can't hear anything.

The loudest noise I ever went through was having the front airbags go off in a MINI Cooper. Not much room for the air to expand in something that small.

In the 60's and 70's I never wore it, including my first tour in the Army. I now wear several thousand dollars worth of hearing aids to keep the ringing down and to remain somewhat functional. You can think you have "no noticeable loss" right up until you get tested.

I've fired a few hundred rounds of 22lr, a few dozen 12 and 410 shells, and about a half dozen centerfire rifle rounds in my years in the woods.

My hearing tested very well on an official audiometry exam.

I've thankfully never fired a round indoors, hopefully I never have to.

I haven’t and won’t unless it’s a life or death moment. The 686 is loud enough that everybody on the indoor range takes notice and they’re all wearing ear gear. There’s no reason to risk long term damage. I’m in my early 40s and wear hearing aids and need to keep whatever hearing I have left.

Charlie: "I don't wear no hearing protection - I don't need that stuff!"

Bill: "So, you've never noticed any hearing damage - like a constant ringing or an inability to hear certain sounds?"

Charlie: "What?"

I've only shot a few times without hearing protection--I always wear it now. Of course, I like to shoot .50AE and .45 Win Mag and they are kind of loud (!).

flashguy

Sure, lots of times over the years (40yrs of shooting, as of this year).

I'd rather have it, of course, but it's not always available.

Lets see... Loud rock music and drag racing in my teens. Jet engines and gunfire in the military. Gunfire, sirens and 15 years of firearms instruction as a cop.
Forced retirement due to hearing loss. And the 357 125gr load was our duty load in the revolver years. So I heard it a lot.
I wish I hadn't.

I had a negligent discharge some 25 years ago inside my bedroom with a 9mm. That one shot damaged the hearing in my left ear permanently.

I sent a 300 win mag round down range having forgotten to put my hearing protection back on. My ears have rung ever since.

quote:

Originally posted by dry-fly:
I had a negligent discharge some 25 years ago inside my bedroom with a 9mm. That one shot damaged the hearing in my left ear permanently.

This wants me to get electronic muffs for home defense. If I'm serious enough to do the armed part, I should be serious enough to prepare for all consequences.

I've spent years using loud equipment at work and wearing protection. You bet I use it when shooting.
ETA: Also, a teacher who's past shooting spot in the sport was the last lane up against a wall has made it plain what the consequences are.

quote:

Originally posted by dsiets:

quote:

Originally posted by dry-fly:
I had a negligent discharge some 25 years ago inside my bedroom with a 9mm. That one shot damaged the hearing in my left ear permanently.

This wants me to get electronic muffs for home defense. If I'm serious enough to do the armed part, I should be serious enough to prepare for all consequences.

I think in a home invasion scenario, the potential for some hearing loss is just a given. I’d be afraid of losing what little situational awareness I had in the middle of the night to add ear pro to the mix. A suppressor on the other hand