Would you lose hearing shooting indoors without hearing protection?

[Carnes]

You're so right about this.

I've played the bagpipes for 35 years (135 decibels coming out of the chanter and no volume/modulation switch)...these days I practice with my foam ear-plugs so after two hours of practice, I can still carry on a normal conversation.

It's no wonder that in WWI, many of the finest pipers in the UK died leading the troops into the battle: while the folks following them couldn't hear the sound of the Maxim machine guns over the skirl of the pipes and really had nothing to fear until the rounds finally reached them, many world-class sets of bagpipes were turned into kindling in the process...

Still have one of the three Henderson's that managed to survive - a set of 1911 Henderson's in silver and ivory. A hundred and five years later, they still make great music.

And if the skirl of the pipes doesn't make the hair stand up on the back of your neck, your heart's not beating....

Just sayin....

I've heard some bagpipes that that stood my hairs on end in good times and bad. I hope I am so fortunate as to have the opportunity to hear your work sometime in the near future.

[rwilson452]

You're so right about this.

I've played the bagpipes for 35 years (135 decibels coming out of the chanter and no volume/modulation switch)...these days I practice with my foam ear-plugs so after two hours of practice, I can still carry on a normal conversation.

It's no wonder that in WWI, many of the finest pipers in the UK died leading the troops into the battle: while the folks following them couldn't hear the sound of the Maxim machine guns over the skirl of the pipes and really had nothing to fear until the rounds finally reached them, many world-class sets of bagpipes were turned into kindling in the process...

Still have one of the three Henderson's that managed to survive - a set of 1911 Henderson's in silver and ivory. A hundred and five years later, they still make great music.

And if the skirl of the pipes doesn't make the hair stand up on the back of your neck, your heart's not beating....

Just sayin....

The word is envy. I love the pipes. It must be the Scottish ancestry. Hair stands up and sometimes tears.

I was a sonarman in the navy. I'm sure I couldn't pass the hearing test now. Single protection outside double inside. Sometimes double outside if someone is shooting a big boomer.

[Qtrborecrazy]

If you like constant ringing in your ears for the rest of your life, go for it. Wear some kind of hearing protection and if at all possible, plugs and muffs.

[Manxdriver]

Shooting indoors and forgetting/neglecting ear protection has other bad effects too! I let a few rounds of 5.56 go inside. Earmuffs were on my head, but not on my ears. I came off the trigger, safer the weapon, turned to a buddy and asked if he wanted to try it. He reached for the rifle and the world started spinning. Vertigo. Four days in the hospital. Couldn't open my eyes without the world spinning out of control. Eight years later, I still can't look at the ceiling, watch a plane fly over, or ride a motorcycle.

Oh yeah, and my constant companion is the "eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" noise that drives me batty at times.
Ear pro sucks. The alternative REALLY SUCKS,

[Delkal]

A few shots every now and then from a pistol is OK. Loud but not painfull. Maybe a few shotgun shells too. Where you quickly get in trouble is with rifle cartridges especially from a short barrel.

The biggest screw up I ever did was shooting my 14 inch barreled Contender in 30-30 Ackley improved. I shot ONE round forgetting to put my ears on. Loudest thing I ever heard and actually painful. My ears rang for hours.

[IronButt]

You're so right about this.

I've played the bagpipes for 35 years (135 decibels coming out of the chanter and no volume/modulation switch)...these days I practice with my foam ear-plugs so after two hours of practice, I can still carry on a normal conversation.

It's no wonder that in WWI, many of the finest pipers in the UK died leading the troops into the battle: while the folks following them couldn't hear the sound of the Maxim machine guns over the skirl of the pipes and really had nothing to fear until the rounds finally reached them, many world-class sets of bagpipes were turned into kindling in the process...

Still have one of the three Henderson's that managed to survive - a set of 1911 Henderson's in silver and ivory. A hundred and five years later, they still make great music.

And if the skirl of the pipes doesn't make the hair stand up on the back of your neck, your heart's not beating....

Just sayin....

Waaay off topic, but did you know that the keyboard parts of AC/DC's "It's a long way to the top, if you want to rock n roll" were written for bagpipes? Really!

OK. Back to the hard of hearing thread.

[greenjohn88]

How quickly would one permanently damage one's ears shooting indoors without hearing protection? Note I have absolutely no intention of "finding out" unless the absolute worst happens, in which case of course I'd rather be alive with compromised hearing than dead.

Immediately and permanently from a single outdoor exposure.

[djeuch]

Short answer: it will cause immediate damage.

Suppressed subsonic rounds usually run in the 130 dB range. At 130 dB, your maximum exposure should be a total of less than 1 second of total time with at least 10 hours of "recovery" time. At 140 dB and above, the damage is permanent.

Hearing loss is cumulative over time. Protect your ears!

[Here4now]

I finally got bilateral hearing aids about five years ago. For a few days, the noises I heard actually made me jump or suddenly look where the noise was coming from. I was hearing sounds that people with normal hearing hear routinely, but I hadn't heard in thirty some years.

My Dad had progressively lost his hearing, until his hearing was gone. He didn’t do a lot of shooting, so I don’t know what caused the nerve damage.

Eventually he got a cochlear implant and one of the first things he said to the Dr. was, “it’s been so many years since I’ve heard myself piss in the toilet, I forgot what it sounded like”.

[Tmygun]

I used to shoot boxes of shotgun shells and listen to loud music when I was young, now I'm paying for it. I can still hear well enough to hear people and most other things (don't need a hearing aid yet), but my hearing is definitely not nearly what it was over 30 years ago. At least I don't have the loud ringing (tinnitus) that other's described here, thank God. I know hearing starts to go as a part of aging, but we can sure help it along much faster by doing stupid things when we're young. Just like I helped my lungs to not work as well from smoking cigarettes in my younger days :-(