Forego Hearing protection at some point

[supernachos]

So this question about ear protection has niggled at me.

So I am in a quandary...all this time we are trained to use ear protection to protect our hearing.

Some are typical ear muffs that muffle sound of the gun shot to a safe Db level while others are electronic type whick block the loud gun shot but allow conversation to pass through to the wearer.

We go by the principle to train with the gear you will use. So if you will use a semi-auto pistol and certain type of ammo for defence you need to train with that same type gun and ammo so you are aware of it's behavior and limitations so no surprises when you do use it in a fight.

Now in a real world situation where you might have to use your weapon to actually protect your home and family you will most likely not wear hearing protection.

Now how does that come into play in the real world? Would that throw your *game* off and screw up your composure/mind set -- let alone your accuracy when your gun goes bang bang?

So a question to Stan and those that have actual experience in combat - should we train at some point with *no* hearing protection to acclimate us to the noise level and reduce any possible *shock* factor that can throw our mid-set off?

Hhmmm..... ?!

[nick]

Keep in mind that hearing loss is irreversible. Tinnitus sucks! Big times!

I don't know how the US military deals with this in the 21st century. Maybe Stan will chime in. I would say that the conflicts of the 20th century were fought without protection (at infantry level). My ears were exposed to heavy fire without protection and I didn't have any permanent damage. I also know that everybody's hearing reacts totally differently to the same level of noise. If I'm fine it doesn't mean you'll necessarily be fine.

Most likely you won't get tinnitus from handgun or rifle shots, which is all that we could be exposed to as civilians. We live in a lawsuit world though and I wouldn't recommend it.

[Stan]

I have a little bit of tittinatus (sp?) and I hear the "eeeeee" every now and then.

I once saw a picture of FBI candidates shoot without ear pro for the same reason.

I will say this, in Iraq 2003 my first shots in anger were fired from my M-16 on burst and milked probably 10 rounds. Under stress you will focus on your threat and I don't remember hearing anything but definately saw where my rounds were impacting.

So I would save your precious hearing to listen to Motzart and let the unprotected hearing/shooting occur when it does, it may never happen to you and if it does at 3:00 am you probably won't hear your 15 round hammer pair in .5 seconds anyways.

[serpenthammer]

You mean 5 hammer pairs right? That's because we are living in the Communist State of Kalifornia ....

[Deleted]

Never train without hearing protection! You need your hearing for the rest of your life. Keep as much of it as possible.

If suppressors were legal in CA, I would do a lot more shooting without having to worry about my ears as much.


There's even a possible link between hearing loss and dementia. well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/11/straining-to-hear-and-fend-off-dementia/?src=me&ref=general