Made a big mistake today.

[cowboycopus]

Big mistake.
Reloading some .38 Spl. rounds today and wanted to test a few before I start cranking them out. Outside under the carport (because it's raining) I loaded the revolver with the first three. Target is only about thirty feet away. I take careful aim and on the first shot "BANG". I had forgotten to put on my ear muffs. Under that tin roof it sounded like I was in a steel drum and the gun was right next to my ear. That was about noon, 9 hours ago and my ears are still ringing. "CRS"??

 

[Aqualung]

Sorry that it happened, but it'll be a bit until you got get the ear protection again...we learn from mistakes.

I learned my lesson when hunting. I finished off a doe with my .41 Redhawk and had my head turned a certain way in which the impulse went right into my right ear. At the time, I wouldn't have been surprised if my ear was bleeding, it hurt so much...and the ringing lasted a couple days.

Now, I'm fanatical about wearing ear protection, even while hunting. I wear either electronic muffs or electronic in-ear plugs.

Hope the ringing fades for you soon.

Aqualung

 

[Cholo]

Around '76 a guy at my gun club let me shoot his Colt SAA .357 with full power factory loads. It was under a large low metal roof. At the shot I thought brain matter was going to spill out of my ears. I'd forgotten to put my ear plugs and muffs on.

 

[turd]

1981 .41 Mag before earmuffs were a real thing. My ears are still ringing.

 

[Watertender]

Remember the scene from the movie Oklahoma Crude when Faye Dunaway opens the door on an outhouse and fires a handgun next to the head of the guy sitting in there? I had a joker toss a firecracker in the firebox of a boiler that I was working inside of.... My ears rang for a long time...

 

[Jeepnik]

Don’t have to worry about hearing loss. The ringing from 1972 took care of that.

 

[Al James]

Now you've got CHS too. ;)

 

[jimbo1096]

When I first shooting it was all outdoors, but only sissys had to wear ear plugs.
What did you say dear? TV is up too loud? Hello?

 

[blume357]

been there and done that.....

I did start stuffing something in my ears about 25 years ago.... but with the first 40 nope and then there is my job... you mean that ringing I hear all the time is not normal?

 

[mirglip]

I've got CHS and tinitis from handgun hunting. The two go hand in hand. This is why I view hot handgun cartridges like .357 magnum, 40 S&W, 357 Sig etc and short barrels with disdain. .38 special is pretty tame compared to them. Most people don't realize this, but a 357 magnum is just as loud as a .44 magnum.

 

[XP100]

After reading these posts I wonder how a couple of cops firing handguns in a shoot out in a metal warehouse can whisper directions to each other after firing 8 or 10 rounds each while they are side by side.

 

[Watertender]

I have read where Delf Bryce shot so much that it made him almost deaf and he tried to get a pension for his hearing loss and was refused. I have constant ringing in my ears from years of working around loud equipment with no hearing protection. It's my own fault for the most part but who really wore hearing protection back in the day when they were shooting?

 

[Rat76]

For some reason this thread made me think of this Roger Miller song,



Blume, your ringing is probably normal. Fortunately, I have crickets & other chirping night life instead of ringing. :D

 

[Hankus]

The only time I don’t wear hearing protection is when I’m out deer/hog hunting. I need to reliably hear everything going on around me. I guess I should give electronic muffs or plugs a try…

 

[the_leper_colony]

Big mistake.
Reloading some .38 Spl. rounds today and wanted to test a few before I start cranking them out. Outside under the carport (because it's raining) I loaded the revolver with the first three. Target is only about thirty feet away. I take careful aim and on the first shot "BANG". I had forgotten to put on my ear muffs. Under that tin roof it sounded like I was in a steel drum and the gun was right next to my ear. That was about noon, 9 hours ago and my ears are still ringing. "CRS"??

I had a somewhat similar experience about 25 years ago. By way of encouragement, I will mention that it took over 3 months for the ringing to back off; I had resigned myself to it being permanent, but eventually it did get back close to what I considered normal at that time.

I think I have experienced hearing loss over time, but it's likely from multiple causes: gunfire (as mentioned), working around heavy equipment (from backhoes to 70-ton mining machines), and music that was way too loud. I have a bit of tinnitus, but it isn't unpleasant - kind of reminds me of the background rustling sound you hear when snorkeling near the surf zone!

As always IMHO, FWIW, YMMV, etc.
:)

 

[larry8]

What?? I can't hear you over the ringing in my ears.

 

[noahmercy]

Sorry that happened, partner. Hope there are no enduring hearing issues. One of the reasons the 44 Magnum had a reputation as an almost uncontrollable cartridge when it first came out had nothing to do with the recoil, and everything to do with the fact that almost no one in 1956 wore ear pro. Ferocious muzzle blast- especially under cover- is unnerving.

 

[Chief]

When I was 15, in 1970, my Dad and I went out to the local ravine and shot his three screw Blackhawk. We didn’t shoot too many rounds, around 25-30. My ears are still ringing. When I went to enlist in the Navy, I failed the AAFEES hearing exam. My recruiter got me a retest which I passed. They made me a jet engine mechanic.

 

[Aqualung]

The only time I don’t wear hearing protection is when I’m out deer/hog hunting. I need to reliably hear everything going on around me. I guess I should give electronic muffs or plugs a try…

Definitely should. I was the same way...fanatical when at the range and in other instances of loud environment, but not when hunting.

However, I figured I'd be OK in the few times I'd shot when hunting...until I wasn't.

There are a few options out there for good electronic ear protection out on the market now. Even if they're over $200, they're cheaper than hearing aids...

Aqualung

 

[Chief]

In my experience some hearing protection is superior to hearing aids. My electronic plugs from Walker are more comfortable and produce much better sound quality than my aids. I have found over the years that hearing aids just make sound louder not clearer. They don’t do squat for the tinnitus either.

 

[bykerhd]

1/2 box of .30 carbine out my new Blackhawk in 1969 had my ears ringing for a week and made me a firm believer in ear protection.
Tinnitus is no joke and in my '70s now my constant companion.

 

[Mobuck]

Hundreds and hundreds of rounds fired w/o any sort of ear protection. Several large explosions at close range. Thousands of hours on turbocharged straight exhaust equipment.
I'm not saying it was good but back then, who knew it was going to be this bad.
These days, I wear plugs or muffs on the range to maybe save a little of what's left and I use 'civilized' guns for hunting. People say they can hear the sounds coming from my hearing aids from several feet away.

 

[Randyzzz]

No wonder we all say “what” so much. My biggest oops was going into an indoor range without first putting my “ears” on. Early morning, BS’ing with the guy at the counter. Couldn’t see anyone through the windows, and never heard a shot fired. Thought I had the place to myself. So I went in, laid out my stuff on the bench. Then the guy that I didn’t see ran through all 6 rounds of what I’m guessing was his .44. CHS for about a day, ringing for about 2 weeks. Permanent hearing damage forever. Add to that years of loud car stereos- and getting too many good seats at concerts. This was all in the 70’s and 80’s…strange thing is if I’m out in the woods I can hear a squirrel fart, but if there’s any background noise, especially music I can’t hear someone talking if they’re right next to me.

 

[Hvymax]

Big mistake.
Reloading some .38 Spl. rounds today and wanted to test a few before I start cranking them out. Outside under the carport (because it's raining) I loaded the revolver with the first three. Target is only about thirty feet away. I take careful aim and on the first shot "BANG". I had forgotten to put on my ear muffs. Under that tin roof it sounded like I was in a steel drum and the gun was right next to my ear. That was about noon, 9 hours ago and my ears are still ringing. "CRS"??

I hate it when that happens.

 

[gjgalligan]

I can not remember a time in my life when my ears didn't ring. They were ring in 1971 when I flunked the draft physical due to bad hearing. I was 19 yrs old at the time.

 

[vito]

When stationed in Vietnam I was very close to an 8-inch howitzer corps artillery unit. The first time that they fired with me nearby I thought we were being bombed, until I discovered the incoming was not nearly as loud as outgoing. I think that's where my hearing loss originated. But for me, the main culprit I suppose was years of motorcycling. Its not the engine noise, but the wind noise that seems to cause the problem. Recently I found a type of ear plugs that seems to help cut down on the noise while riding but still lets me hear sounds that I need to hear to survive. They are called Earpeace. Not expensive, and best of all they stay in my ears when I am putting my helmet on or taking it off, something that most ear plugs did not do (which is why I gave up on wearing them years ago).

 

[Gopher]

Hundreds and hundreds of rounds fired w/o any sort of ear protection. Several large explosions at close range. Thousands of hours on turbocharged straight exhaust equipment.
I'm not saying it was good but back then, who knew it was going to be this bad.
These days, I wear plugs or muffs on the range to maybe save a little of what's left and I use 'civilized' guns for hunting. People say they can hear the sounds coming from my hearing aids from several feet away.

Same with me with a 4 5/8 inch Single Six with a couple of cylinders of .22 mag with no ears on. Between that and tractors and 30 years of a telephone butt set stuck in either ear, I hear that lovely EEEEEEEEEEEEEEeEeeeeeee all day.

 

[Jack Ryan]

People DON'T listen.

Then they CAN'T listen.

 

[Watertender]

I hear that lovely EEEEEEEEEEEEEEeEeeeeeee all day.

I hear that 24 hours a day. My ears whistle and click and have a static sound like an old radio warming up...

 

[southernbuck101]

1/2 box of .30 carbine out my new Blackhawk in 1969 had my ears ringing for a week and made me a firm believer in ear protection.
Tinnitus is no joke and in my '70s now my constant companion.

Only took 1 round out of my dad's 30 carbine Blackhawk to make a believer out of me.
There's a good reason they only made that gun in 7-1/2".
I was 7 years old when we traveled to Buckhead ( suburb of Atlanta) for him to buy that gun at Richs Department Store in Lenox Square.
Can't remember the serial number but it was a 4 digit number in the yellow and black box
I'm thinking that was 1968 or early 69.
Amazing how you can remember things like that at that age, but i damn sure do.
I was about 12 when I fired the round without hearing protection
At the time he had got a deal on 600 round spam cans of surplus ammo.
Don't know where,but there was enough to trade ammo for different guns he wanted when the gun shows hit town, for several years.
It would be nice to have 1 or 2 cans of that stuff now.
As far the Blackhawk, I'm guessing it disappeared to my younger brothers possession, but I doubt he has it now.