Talking to Gun Owners with Tinnitus

I have been in a lot of gun forums lately even though I gave up that activity of target and clay shooting permanently...all of my guns were sold so I wasn't tempted.

I don't know why but a lot of them with tinnitus just don't care and have had it for years. A lot are from the earlier time frame when ears and eyes wasn't even thought of.

It amazes me that they continue to shoot and don't give T a second thought. I'm preserving what I have thank you, but they don't seem to mind. I guess they drank from the front yard hose.

Anyway I ran across some posters and I didn't want to copy it completely but if you want to see it it's on Calguns.net.

I am just taking bits from his post but he said:

"One day I was riding with my friends in a desert canyon and we were resting when my buddy ask if I wanted to shoot his 44 mag. I wasn't thinking and shot one round without ear protection and I went deaf for awhile and shortly after the ringing started."

...there is a lot more about seeing a ENT in the post, but he finished with this:

"It was a constant loud tone with an intermentant tone on top of it. I didn't think it would ever go away but the intermentant tone ceased and the second one faded over time to nothing ."

He said it took 2 1/2 years. Sounds impossible but I guess it can happen with hearing loss from a loud burst.

I just wonder how many people this happens to from the millions and no one write about it.

He was on a gun forum still shooting for God sake! I don't know where this post belongs but it was interesting.

 

These guys sounds like young kids with still strong ears - yes they will heal

Age and the accumulated damage over decades - plays a very big role in the final outcome

 

No there are a lot with tinnitus, old and young...there are a few though that had it for quite a while and it just left. I wish researchers could understand how that happens for some.

 

All of the mature shooters I know wear hearing protection, especially since noise cancelling muffs were invented. I don't shoot near as much as I used to. However when I do I usually wear both plugs and muffs.

I just wish the young ones would take care of themselves. It drives me nuts to continuously tell my son and his friends about this horrible condition, and they still continue to shoot with unprotected ears.

 

I would not recommend shooting in doors and would probably avoid shooting pistols period if you suffer from tinnitus. The inverse square law makes a big difference here because the end of the barrel (the business end) is so much closer to your head. Keep in mind a high powered pistol can easily break 170db. When I shoot I wear -33db heavy duty plugs firmly and properly inserted into the canal. I wear a quality pair of ear muffs over that. That combination only brings you to anywhere from -34 to -50db depending on frequency. This is around the physical limit of stopping sound entering the canal directly. The rest of the spl is transmitted through your bones and tissue and cannot be attenuated any further.

Here is an article:
https://www.audiologyonline.com/articles/extra-protection-wearing-earmuffs-and-1218

If I'm shooting skeet or clays I use a long barrel under over or side by side. The combination of the long barrel length and shooting outdoors makes it very tolerable with just ear plugs (just don't stand ahead of anyone's barrel) . The difference in perceived sound level between shooting a long gun outdoors and shooting pistols indoors is not subtle.

 

Recoil may not be good for T. People have gotten T from car accidents.