Just curious...  We all have that firearm stashed where we can grab it in case there is

some bad guy doing his midnight shopping at your house.    As an old fart whose

hearing not very good, I know that one big blast would do irreparable damage and

could make me totally deaf..  Several,,,fergeddaboutit...

A silencer would be great...but.. if the other guy shoots back, the problem remains.

Plus even if you could get one, you would get hung out to dry in the PRNJ.

If I kept a pair of hearing protectors by the bed, then I  wouldn't  hear the bad

guy.

Curious as to what you guys have come up with in your scenarios.

Hate to ruin a perfectly good pillow. ( 

 

I bought a few Howard Leight electronic hearing protectors and keep them around the house. One in my and my wife's night tables. My next investment is some soft body armor again spread around the house. You can never be too prepared.

 

I use 45 for home defense (sub-sonic) but agree I can't control what the bg uses.

Deal with being deaf and be glad you live through it?

Deal with being deaf and be glad you live through it?

This!

I have a pair of electronic muffs at bedside next to the loaded 1911 if I have time for them

If you're in a situation where you think the use of deadly force is necessary, then your hearing is going to be the least of your problems.

I have a pair of electronic muffs at bedside next to the loaded 1911 if I have time for them

Time is the problem in most scenarios like this.

Banded ear plugs

Deal with being deaf and be glad you live through it?

I have been in more than a few situations where a firearm was discharged indoors or extended shooting outside without hearing protection. I am not deaf but have hearing loss in both ears. It is what it is and I'm alive.

 

I don't know what to say about those who state they would be putting on their hearing protection while someone is kicking in their front door. They must be extremely composed in stressful situations.

 

I have never heard of anyone going permanently deaf from a few shots fired indoors.

I have often thought that being exposed to the sound of your home defense gun being fired indoors would be a beneficial thing. I am not saying I want to shoot a full range session with no hearing protection, but a round or 2 out of my Sig at indoor range would give me an idea of what to expect if it ever came to me using the gun in my house.

 

Or is this a stupid idea?

I have often thought that being exposed to the sound of your home defense gun being fired indoors would be a beneficial thing. I am not saying I want to shoot a full range session with no hearing protection, but a round or 2 out of my Sig at indoor range would give me an idea of what to expect if it ever came to that. Or is this overthinking it?

You're not over thinking it. A round or two indoors will give you the experience and some hearing loss. That hearing loss may not he measurable. Repeated exposure would create problems. I know.

If I am upstairs in our bedroom and hear an intruder rummaging around downstairs in the middle of the night, my plan is as follows:

- Wake up my wife and have her call 911, give them our address and request LEO help and keep the line open so they will record what I am saying.

- Turn on my bedside lamp, look at the clock, swear....

- Open my gun safe and retrieve my loaded pistol and flash light.

- Go to the bedroom door and cautiously look around and then loudly yell the following down to the intruder:

"I have a gun and know how to use it and will do so unless you leave our house immediately"

"The police have been called and they are on their way here now"

"Give me a minute to put on my 'eyes and ears protection"

"For that matter, give me a minute to put on some clothes..."

"Take the TV in the living room since it is the oldest one we have and once you have stolen it I can get a brand new one paid for by my insurance company"

"If you touch my good Scotch I will be really mad and come down there and shoot you...."

 

For the benefit of the OP, I had not really thought about the hearing issue until you brought it up in this thread.
In all seriousness, while it would be nice to apply some form of hearing protection, with one's adrenaline pumping furiously and your mind racing through all sorts of defensive scenarios, I seriously doubt you would have the frame of mind to put them on or in your ears before you react to the threat..

If you and/or the assailant actually got to the point of firing your weapons, I agree with chris327 that your temporary or possibly permanent hearing loss would be most unfortunate, but probably the least of your problems....

 

AVB-AMG

Train infrequently without earplugs. Do not shoot 300rds without, but a couple mags to realize what it sounds like and how loud it is is good for preparation. It's all about preparation.

If I am going to search for and confront an unknown number of intruders in the dark, I would want all my senses at max sensitivity.  Maybe active noise cancelling hearing protection, but I would not want to use passive protection that would affect my ability to hear the intruders.

 

I like the subsonic round, and suppressor, oh wait those are too dangerous for us in PRNJ

The noise is quite painful if you are not use to it.

I've fired my .45 outdoors without hearing protection -- It hurts 

 

I can't imagine what it would be like if I had to fire in the house, small room, hallway --  

 

My muffs are there where they are needed -- If I have time and enough composure I surely will try for them

 

 

I'm hoping I never have to find out...

OP, read "On Killing" and "On Combat" by Lt Col. Grossman. Learn what your body does under stress and how it protects itself.

 

There is something called auditory exclusion.

 

Every person I know who has been involved in shootings or gunfights have experienced it. They never even heard their gunshots - (some had time dilation and most had extreme tunnel vision as well). The sound of the shots (coming and going) did still damage their hearing, although they had no persistent ringing of the ears after the fight was won.

 

Shooting without earpro on purpose on the range in order to "get used to it" is dumb. Please don't do it. It offers zero real world experience for anyone and can seriously damage your hearing.

 

If the balloon ever goes up and you have to shoot in defense of your life - it is what it is. So you damage your hearing? Its for cause - personal safety.

 

Don't damage your hearing in a foolish attempt at "training like you fight", "familiarization", "preparation", or other such nonsense.

 

For what it's worth, I keep a set of Sordins (electronic amplified hearing pro) on the armor carrier I keep in my bedroom. If I had time, it's the last piece of gear I would don, after arming myself, and throwing on my plate carrier.

 

Also, whether you are shooting sub or supersonic ammo doesn't matter. The sound of the explosion of the round touching off in the gun is the part that damages your ears the most. You won't hear the supersonic crack of the bullet - or lack thereof - over the bang of the shot.

 

 

The noise is quite painful if you are not use to it.

Getting used to it is called hearing damage. It isn't as painful because you are going deaf. Don't do that.

You guys have never fired firearms without hearing protection?

 

It's like an AC/DC concert, you get your ears rung and it might last for a day in extreme cases. Does it damage your hearing? Probably. I've been through it a hundred times at least and I can still hear after 25 years. And, yes, I have some slight hearing loss. But not enough to be a day to day problem.

 

It's a real concern, but I think unless you are shooting an SBR, or have a comp/brake, or serious magnum loads indoors you will probably get over it.

 

 

+1 for the Howard Leight electronic ear muffs. Not only for preventing hearing loss, but, for me, they seem to make my hearing more acute. I have slight hearing loss and these muffs help me hear better. The way the microphones are positioned gives me a good sense of directionality. Additionally, in the (unlikely) event that I am forced to squeeze one off in the house, I want to be able to clearly hear the instructions of the police when they finally get here so no one gets hit by friendly fire.

 

The muffs were cheap enough to keep a pair near every gun vault in the house. The key is to harden your house well enough so that you have early notice that someone is trying to get in.

Keep a set of electronic earmuffs next to your bed. If you have time use them. Most importantly, practice with an unloaded gun, getting the gun, and putting the ear protection on. 

Just curious...  We all have that firearm stashed where we can grab it in case there is

some bad guy doing his midnight shopping at your house.    As an old fart whose

hearing not very good, I know that one big blast would do irreparable damage and

could make me totally deaf..  Several,,,fergeddaboutit...

A silencer would be great...but.. if the other guy shoots back, the problem remains.

Plus even if you could get one, you would get hung out to dry in the PRNJ.

If I kept a pair of hearing protectors by the bed, then I  wouldn't  hear the bad

guy.

Curious as to what you guys have come up with in your scenarios.

Hate to ruin a perfectly good pillow. (

 

Sorry OP but in a home invasion scenario, you probably will not have time to put on hearing protection. Plus you have to factor that you may be sleeping, woken up, and still groggy. Just deal with it...your life is worth it. Hopefully you will never be in that situation.

 

 

 

"Take the TV in the living room since it is the oldest one we have and once you have stolen it I can get a brand new one paid for by my insurance company"

"If you touch my good Scotch I will be really mad and come down there and shoot you...."

 

Haha...I like this

Shooting without earpro on purpose on the range in order to "get used to it" is dumb. Please don't do it. It offers zero real world experience for anyone and can seriously damage your hearing.

 

 

In my response before yours to the OP, I was not suggesting "getting used to it" or each range trip shoot without hearing protection. Just saying shoot a mag to realize what it's like. On an outdoor range it's loud but not flash bang confusing. I walked into a range once when I first started shooting and was bringing in all my range bags and a guy had shot a revolver a few feet away. I didn't have plugs in on accident. It was a semi-closed handgun range where the ports are covered behind, above, sides except for the front. It was loud and for a second I was a slightly dazed.

Even if you shoot a mag to see what its like is not worth it. In a real situation, your mind will not process the thought of what it may sound like. If you do try to think of what its like, you are for sure not readying yourself for whats about to happen. I can almost bet you wont even think of it.

 

I've lost some of my hearing over the years from loud environments, gun fire, etc. I have tinnitus in my right ear. If I don't think about it, I do not hear the ringing. If I am thinking about it, I notice it and it's loud!

Same thing in a situation, your adrenaline and hopefully your training will over take anything trivial. Imho

I'd be more pist I'd ruin my new carpet with brain matter.

 

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I have had 4 shot guns going off inside a duck blind 12 shots in succession, multiple times a day every weekend for weeks strait, over the course of a couple years.... I still have my hearing and its pretty damn good. I've noticed worse damage to my ears after going to a concert.

what you say 

Huh?

When I was a kid, and a stupid one at that! I had a brand new 12 gauge 870 pump. I wanted to try it out so I found some old reloads, removed the shot and just shot the paper wads in my basement.

One got stuck in the barrel, so in my genius mind, I figured shooting a normal shell with the shot will sure as hell get that wad out.

 

The gun shook in my hands and no recoil was felt but the barrel had exploded and looked like Elmer Fudd's barrel when Bugs Bunny put his finger in it! I lost my hearing completely and instantly which lasted for about 

an hour before slowly coming back over the next couple hours. I was lucky not to have been hurt or killed that day.

 

My point is that that explosion was much louder that any inside gunfire and that my hearing came back and is for the most part fine today, 40 years later. The last thing I would think of is putting my ears on

in a home invasion! I sure wish I had them on 40 years ago though!

I'm not putting night vision, hearing protection, or anything else on my face or head if some people just got in my house. Bad things only happen when they happen fast.

Ok, I have had some training and I have practiced retrieving my gun and flashlight and moving to the bedroom door, then if clear, to the top of the stairs and have said what I think I would want to say, (see first part of my earlier post…). 
Am I confident that this would all occur as smoothly as practiced?  No.  
Would I put on hearing protection in the event of an actual break-in by an intruder?    No.
 
In all seriousness, thankfully, I have never had a break-in to our home so I really do not know exactly how I would react and think putting on any hearing protection, while being a good idea to protect my short and long term hearing ability, is not very realistic. 
 
I agree with PD2K, Lalo, and mipafox….
Honestly, with the adrenaline really flowing and the nervousness, concern, and yes, fear, I seriously doubt most people would have the clear presence of mind to remember to put on any form of hearing protection before they proceed to do everything else that they need to do, gun in hand as rapidly and coherently as they possibly can.
 
Also, as GrumpyOldRetiree stated earlier, I think I would want to be able to clearly hear any verbal response to my statements or questions by whomever has entered our home.  If the intruder turns out to be somebody I know and has some bizarre, yet valid reason for coming into our house, I certainly want to hear their voice, explanation and not shoot them.  Most self-defense trainers recommend that in this situation that you be very quiet and listen, try to determine how many intruders there are, if they are ransacking the house and most importantly, are they making their way towards you.  You need to be able to hear them....
 
As important, is to be able to clearly hear whatever the responding LEO’s are saying and instructing, since we would have already called them to report an intruder break-in.

I'm very surprised anyone here is suggesting doing any amount of training without hearing protection, let alone multiple people.

 

Hearing loss is cumulative and permanent. You will NOT heal from it. Shooting skill is perishable. How long will you retain whatever skill you gained from those one or two rounds without protection?

 

I guess I must value my hearing more than most...

 

I say no hearing protection for HD. It will already take you longer than you expect to orient yourself to the situation, arm yourself, and react. Expect a concussive blast. Deal with ringing ears later, because you were forced to. Don't volunteer yourself for it.

 

Sheesh.