ear plugged + muffed indoors.. think tinnitus got worse

[Barms 98]

shot indoors first time in years..   i was plugged and muffed and range wasnt even that loud.. no rifles..    and yet i SWEAR right now my already bad tinnitus is like 2x worse and its been 5 days later.    Has anybody read/heard about that once you have tinnitus it makes you massively more at risk for more damage.

honestly i can swear right now i never want to shoot again i cant take it getting anymore worse than this right now..

i mean is it possible that just the vibration of gunfire can rattle your skull and make your tinnitus worse?

 

 

[raz-0 1,259]

Well, yes, you can do more damage, but you already had to be pretty dmaged or using bad hearing protection. 

Like cheap electronic muffs and the dogshit surefire plugs that peak at like 24bd NRR if they are closed and seal properly and are more like 12 if they don't, aren't going to be great protection despite being better than either alone. If you ahve fitment issues with either or both, you are exposed to total gabage. I typically wear NRR30-33 foam plugs. They work well. They don't work well enough when ROing loud ass open guns indoors. I put some cheap electroni howard leights over them, and that does the trick. But I start with the strongest base and improve them. Worst case if I make the muffs gap is I have 30db NRR for the plugs intermittently rather than continuously. 

But also, it can just be that your brain does a lot of filtering out of your tinnitus, and hearing protection can make it more noticeable and it takes time for your brain to get back to filtering 100%. That should not be 5 days later though. 

Another possibility is that you have ear issues, and ear plugs cause you problems. Infection or inflammation can push on things and aggravate tinnitus. Mine is always more annoying when I have a bad cold and stuffy ears. Even if it is just that I can't hear actual things as well. The tinnitus isn't an actual sound, so it isn't attenuated by that kind of thing when everything else is. 

Yes, shooting rifles can somewhat bypass hearing protection via bone conduction with the stock. Shooting pistols should not. 

Shooting outdoors is so much nicer than indoors. By a lot. 

[Krdshrk 3,877]

Also - with the in-ear plugs - are you sure they were in correctly?  I've seen so many people just kinda put them on the outside of their ears and it doesn't do squat.

[124gr9mm 859]

1 hour ago, Krdshrk said:

Also - with the in-ear plugs - are you sure they were in correctly?  I've seen so many people just kinda put them on the outside of their ears and it doesn't do squat.

I definitely think proper fitment is important.

I see LOTS of people at the range (particularly newer shooters) just kind of letting plugs dangle from their ears and calling it good.

I use these little Safariland plugs under my muffs.  It helps with rifles if my right muff lifts a little when shouldering, and indoors it helps keep things comfortable.  Takes a little wiggling to make sure they're in properly

[Barms 98]

soooo..  i had custom molded ear plugs made years ago.. i wore those.. and i wear howard leight muffs..

thank you for posting about how the plugs might have aggravated something..  i'll make an appointment at the ear doctor..

thanks!!