Protect that hearing

[moog5050]

I generally try to wear muffs when shooting and even generally wear then when hunting predators.  Deer I haven’t because for me it’s a one shot type hunt.  But 3 years I forgot to put them on and shot 4 times at a running fox with a 223 with a muzzle brake that was loud as heck.  That mistake really cost me.  My hearing was like a staticky radio for several weeks and the ringing never fully stopped.  My hearing was never the same especially my left ear.   I have been managing without aids since then and with tinnitus.   Finally decided to correct it and got some hearing aids.  
 

The good news is that I feel like have great hearing with them on and the doc is hopeful it will calm the tinnitus.  They are also pretty discrete as my son didn’t notice them until I pointed them out.  BUT I could have avoided this if I wasn’t so careless.   You all know this already but I will reinforce it if it helps one person. Wear hearing protect at all times when shooting.  No animal is worth damage to your hearing.  
 

I can stream music now without anyone knowing.  Lol.  Trying to find the bright side.   

[Nytracker]

Yup protect it or lose it . I have been wearing muffs and plugs  during target practice .  At work its ear plugs and muffs. Hearing has shifted enough its now an osha recordable  . 40 years of working in garages and factory. I wear muffs on the tractor and weed wacking. Plugs while running chain saw.  Tinnitus since my 30s.

[moog5050]

2 minutes ago, Nytracker said:

Yup protect it or lose it . I have been wearing muffs and plugs  during target practice .  At work its ear plugs and muffs. Hearing has shifted enough its now an osha recordable  . 40 years of working in garages and factory. I wear muffs on the tractor and weed wacking. Plugs while running chain saw.  Tinnitus since my 30s.

It only takes one incident to screw it up.  And you are right about loud working conditions.  Not my situation unless angry lawyers or judges count. But one series of shots did it.  No more muzzle brakes for me either.    

[wolc123]

No doubt hearing is extremely important for hunting.  I hear about (3) deer first, for every one that I see first.  I always wear hearing protection when target practicing with real firearms and I do more than 95 % of my target practice with BB guns and crossbows.

 I also always use hearing protection in the shop at work, and when operating my tractors, chainsaws, and lawnmowers.  I avoid concerts and loud nightclubs and keep the stereo down low at home and in the car.  Once you loose any of your hearing, there is no getting it back.

 

[grampy]

My hearing isn't very good now from years of working around machines. Probably time to start looking at getting hearing aids myself. Gets embarrassing saying "what" all the time. Though Mrs grampy says I have "selective" hearing???

[Nytracker]

4 minutes ago, grampy said:

My hearing isn't very good now from years of working around machines. Probably time to start looking at getting hearing aids myself. Gets embarrassing saying "what" all the time. Though Mrs grampy says I have "selective" hearing???

I just tell the wife its estrogen induced hearing loss. Her chair sits on my left and thats my bad ear.

[mowin]

I've worn hearing protection when I'm mowing lawns or operating machinery for 30yrs. Unfortunately before that I didn't and the ringing in my left ear is annoying as hell. 

[Doc]

Yes, most of my first sensing that there is a deer coming in is the sounds. My hunting has suffered because of carelessness in protecting my hearing. There are so many items in life that can attack your hearing. The radio is one, and then there is the chainsaw, and lawn mower and of course shooting, and so many other things that can gradually kill your hearing. My hard of hearing condition didn't happen with any one thing. It ha been an accumulation of things that gradually eroded my hearing to the point where I am considering a hearing aid. But the one thing that I have noticed is that old guys like me tend to not wear them most of the time. I kind of wonder if there is something irritating about them. I have heard complaints about background noise that they pick up. I don't know. I have yet to experience any of that for myself, but there sure seems to be some reason why so many people spend gobs of money on the things and then leave them in a drawer at home.

[doebuck1234]

My ears deff prob not what they should be.am only 30 years old n they always feel plugged etc.years of shooting(while hunting)/10 years of machining.noticed on Monday after running chainsaw for a bit without hearing protection they felt muffled.deff need to protect the hearing that's still there!!!!

[BizCT]

My Dad’s hearing is terrible even with hearing aids. It’s all from shooting as a kid inside indoor gun ranges in NYC and also outside without ear protection. It’s really sad.

I wear ear protection even to mow the lawn


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[GreeneHunter]

I wear hearing protection now during lawn mowing , unfortunately " Back in the Day " with head phones and Mick Jagger , Pink Floyd , Alice Cooper and so on I have hearing aids and hate them ! My son while we're in the woods hears them long before I do !

[fasteddie]

Back when I was in the Marine Corps , we shot rifles and the .45 with no hearing protection at the range . If you were lucky enough to have some cotton from an aspirin bottle , you were extremely lucky . Then , during my 1st 10 - 15 years at Xerox , I worked in or near the boom , boom room ( punch press area ) . Those 800 ton presses made a lot of noise and vibrated the floor . None of that did any good to my hearing .

[bugsNbows]

My hearing also sucks. Also have had Tinnitus for years. I got hearing aids last year. They help a little but not anything to write home about. However, they are Bluetooth enabled so that talking on the phone is greatly aided by having it go direct to the hearing aids.

[crappyice]

I teach with a colleague who is legally deaf and has been since a young age. He has some crazy advanced hearing aid- can even play the radio through his phone right to his aids.
He also has triplets who, according to him, always slept through at night (when he wasn't wearing his aids!
He calls it his superpower! Good attitude for a tough situation


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[screamon demon]

Check out meateater podcast episode 344. He has a Dr. On the show who specializes in hearing and hearing loss. It was a very i formative episode 

[ATbuckhunter]

I almost never shoot with out hearing protection. I bought the tetras and use those to hunt with so my ears are always protected. Slight inconvenience and cost, but well worth it


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