Hearing protection while hunting

[caddisguy]

I started using plugs (used to use them off and on before that) for grouse when I switched from 28" barrel to 14" barrel (12 ga)

Big game I haven't used plugs but should try to make an effort. There have been a couple of occasions I would have had plenty of time, but those occasions are the exception and not the norm.

Pretty sure 1 or to 2 shots a year with the 30-06 my ears will still out last the rest of me.

[Redthies]

12 gauge with a 14” barrel for grouse? Must look like a tenderized steak when you pick it up!

[Woodchuck Dan]

So there is quite an interesting peer-reviewed study they did on Swedish Hunters that is worth checking out if you the capacity to dig through scientific articles: Here

Keeping all caveats in mind, we still dare to state that our results are consistent with the following tentative conclusions:

1. There is a wide variation in individual susceptibility to high-energy impulse noise;
2. ...
3. Susceptible individuals may sustain long-lasting or possibly irreversible damage to the inner ear from just 1 or a few shots (and then stop using these weapons without protection);
4. ...

It seems that there are variations between the structures of people's inner ears, where some hunters can get away with firing a shot or two a season unprotected others will be severely damaged from the same experience.

Often folks I talk to who have severe damage from hunting tell stories about double tapping wounded animals at point blank range and staggering themselves in the process.


Personally I just hunt with a pair of ear-muffs on my head that do not cover my ears. I slip them on before taking a shot. I would hate to lose all the subtle noises of the forest or my life in general. Also tinnitus seems like it robs you of all the quiet moments of your existence.

[caddisguy]

12 gauge with a 14” barrel for grouse? Must look like a tenderized steak when you pick it up!

Not at all. I use 1 1/8oz #5 loads, IC choke. In the rare occasion a pellet his the breast, it usually passes right through.

[aamenta]

Band style earplugs, wear them around your neck. If you have the opportunity to put them on, do it. If you don't, shoot anyway!
Also, if you're using a muzzle break, use a cap instead. That will help with the no ear pro shots.

[mod7rem]

The last time I had my hearing tested at work, I was told I have the hearing of a 17 yr old in my right ear and the hearing of an 80 yr old in the left.
I remember the shot that did it too. I was standing over an antelope in Wyoming and finished it off with a shot. It was lying in a slight depression and the ground was hard packed. The shock from the shot almost knocked me down and my left ear hasn’t stopped ringing since then. The next hearing test after that day showed my left ear dropped off a cliff and has stayed that way for 10 years.