Hearing protection

andy52 said:

My hearing is pretty much gone from military and civilian gunfire. There is no quiet place for me anymore, I always have a course of cicadas to listen to.
My wife has said to me many times I should get hearing aids.
I respond, then I'd have to listen to you, never fails to get the stink eye though..

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Are your cicadas the same as what is called ringing in the ears? I had the ringing in the ears and read that you can tune it out. When I found that out; I worked on it and less that a year it was gone. Maybe you can do the same.

My tinnitis is constant high pitch steam pipes letting off steam. Had it so long that it doesn't even bother me any longer. I don't even hear it unless I think about it. It's just part of my life.

mushka said:

I don't even hear it unless I think about it. It's just part of my life.

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Pretty much the same for me.

Wife and I find the word "what?" to be more and more dominant in our conversations. Some of the misunderstandings are downright comical. You may want to google "sound oasis" but be aware it seems there are both pluses and minuses.

Belleville said:

Are your cicadas the same as what is called ringing in the ears? I had the ringing in the ears and read that you can tune it out. When I found that out; I worked on it and less that a year it was gone. Maybe you can do the same.

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I’d love to know about how you did this, I’m all ears!

I graduated to 27db hearing muffs from walker after trying cheaper walkers. I take my hearing aids off when I shoot. I've been wearing hearing aids for 12 years and my tinnitus has gone way down so I am happy. The instructions said that the aids do have a noise reduction but it's so slow. Does anyone wear both aids and muffs?

The walkers are battery operated. I am wondering if I should get the bluetooth ones. Can I use them to talk on the phone once I answer the call on the smartphone?

When I first got aids 12 years ago, the tinnitus was pretty bad. My first hearing aids were put in my ears and I complained that I still had the tinnitus bad. The audiologist grinned and said that what I was hearing was the airconditioning going through the vent in the room. I was so happy that I took then out and in as I walked down the hallway so I can hear the airconditioning.

Back in the day when I was 10 ft tall and bulletproof, ear protection was for sisses. Now that I am 66, and wearing hearing aids in both ears, wish I could talk to my younger self about using them!!

BillyC said:

I use walkers game ears both at the range and in the field. I’m deaf in one ear from a .270 being fired right next to it so the electronic muffs enhance and protect my hearing.
I bought a suppressor for use my grandson when he hunts with his .243 and even with that I make him wear electronic muffs. No way I’ll let him suffer the kind of hearing damage I hav

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mushka said:

My tinnitis is constant high pitch steam pipes letting off steam. Had it so long that it doesn't even bother me any longer. I don't even hear it unless I think about it. It's just part of my life.

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I think many of us can unfortunately relate

Walkers Game Ears or similar
I developed constant severe tinnitus in both ears with tests showing an loss of 83% in mid & upper range hearing about 50 years ago from shooting heavy armament & flying vintage open cockpit aircraft.
When walker came out with their in-the-ear Game Ears about 20 years ago the pair I bought was a blessing. As as others also state they block damaging level sounds & also enhances your range of hearing.
The game ears shut off damaging noise & restored my ability to hear upper range sounds again to the level I could hear a mosquito fart in the woods while big game hunting.
According to docs the constant ringing will last until my bar code expires,, or they can mask it with another kind of noise.
Relic shooter

mushka said:

My tinnitis is constant high pitch steam pipes letting off steam. Had it so long that it doesn't even bother me any longer. I don't even hear it unless I think about it. It's just part of my life.

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Yup.

growing up shooting never even thought about hearing damage running open headers in all kinds of motor sports same thing , now I have hearing aids that help but sure wish I would have protected my hearing 65 years ago

Gtrubicon said:

I’d love to know about how you did this, I’m all ears!

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Once I discovered that you could tune out ringing in the ears, I concentrated on it and it stopped in less than a year. My wife claims that I also tune her out. It is not true but may be a side effect of the process. Good luck.

If all those gunslingers or pistoleros were half as good as Hollywood westerns have you believe , they'd all be deaf from the many hours of practice it would have taken. Broke too.Can you picture Lucas McCain constantly saying "Huh" or "What's that you say"?

TDM said:

I use foam plugs. Last bag I bought was from Academy Sporting Goods. They had a wide selection so I took the time to read the DB rating of each brand. Was surprised by the wide range of protection. Always thought they were pretty much the same. Don’t remember the rating on the ones I bought, but they were superior to the others, even the rubber ones in the fancy cases.

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The higher the number the higher the protection.

I used plugs shooting the M14 in the army. I use them on any range. One of the guests watching a demonstration Flintlock shoot shouted out when I put in plugs HEY I bet Daniel Boone didn't use those. I turned and reminded him that Daniel was deaf when he died. I proceeded to split the playing card.

It drives me nuts when I see these hunting shows and they're whispering to the camera man beside them, Inside and elevated box/ blind, & they're not wearing hearing protection.

I’ve never worn ear plugs while hunting. Kinda like to hear what’s going on around me. Never really hear the shot when I make it, and no ear ringing either. Always thought that was something. If I shot at my range without plugs (by forgetting to put them in) my ears would be ringing for sure. It’s a paradox.

I read that the Navy is having a hard time finding "youngsters" with good enough hearing to operate Sonar equipment.Listing to loud music already caused hearing loss at an early age.

I just now modified one of my gun mufflers with a cleaner, thicker foam rubber lining. The inside had gotten "yukky" from wearing them on the lawn mower as well.

Belleville said:

Once I discovered that you could tune out ringing in the ears, I concentrated on it and it stopped in less than a year. My wife claims that I also tune her out. It is not true but may be a side effect of the process. Good luck.

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men are starting to utilze the same thing that women have used for centuries: 'selective hearing'