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Posted: 6/12/2005 7:27:12 PM EDT
| I just wonder, since rifles are so load and those soldiers don't wear any hearing protection, don't they suffer any hearing damage? |
It used to be worse when soliders weren't wearing hearing protection during training. If you are curious as to my earlier remark regaring auditory exclusion, do a search and you will find some interesting stats of things that tend to happen in real world shootings. Try this link from the Col, and while it isn't meant to be all encompassing, it talks a bit about it. http://www.killology.com/art_psych_combat.htm I teach some of this in classes, and it is very interesting as you start to look at it and study the various effects. Even more interesting is if you are in a job where you are in situations where you can examine these various effects as they relate to you after combat events. Knowing the things to expect and look for has been a blessing for me several times over. |
[liberal] NO! If we do that then criminals will be able to shoot civilians and we will have no idea where its coming from... flash hiders are bad enough! [/liberal] |
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I heard of a medication that MArines were trying out, You take it before you shoot and you do not sustain hearing damage. Ahh Hear is the Article www.detnews.com/2003/health/0310/15/a10-295158.htm |
| I have a 40% hearing loss in my left ear that's been there since I was 23. There's only been a few times that I've fired without hearing protection. Its those @$#%#$# loud aircraft that gets me. Unit has and is issuing us electronic peltors for training and combat use. |
My hearing has changed since i came to the Corps. I always try to wear hearing protection. But I work on Jets, so theres always so much noise... I better get some type of disability for this... I'm trying to stay my 20, so a retirement check and a little disability would be nice...
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| (Raises hand) Corps related hearing loss here too. 2nd generation. My WW2 Marine Daddy has it much worse than I do, but I haven't heard a cricket in 20 years. That and soft spoken women are my biggest noticible problem areas. I have one friend's wife who is so soft spoken, I some times have to ask her three times to repeat what she said. |
Interesting, but who can gaurantee that the antioxidants actually go to the ear where they are needed? There is a reflex where a set of muscles pull apart the tiny bones which connect the ear drum to the inner ear. This is what leaves you temporarily hard of hearing after a rock concert (a good one, anyway). If we could trigger that on purpose, hearing damage could be nearly eliminated. The down side is, hearing is reduced too. The real solution is energy weapons. Quit clowning around with explosives and projectiles. |
military doesnt issue these to servicemen do they? seems it would be more cost effective than paying disability to everyone 
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I'm old enough to have been in the Army before they even had hearing protection for training, and yes, had tinnitus for years. The ringing does lessen somewhat as the years go by---------but the inability to hear certain sounds gets worse. My loss is mainly at the higher frequencies. I do pretty well w/normal speech, but have to max out the treble of the stereo to hear any of the higher notes. Drives my wife nuts. 
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It is fairly new technology, and it is making its way into additional areas. Some military are using it, and many departments are using them as they are more driven by safety and liability (IMHO). |
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I remember during summer training at the academy, we were learning about Field artillery, and the gun bunnies were rocking with charge 3 or 5, I can't remember, with no ear plugs. I asked one of them about it and he replied "this is nothing, unless we are using charge 7, I don't worry about it" It was my understanding that the army stopped giving disability for hearing loss, which is now why everyone has to have their ear plug case on them. Maybe not for old soldiers, but I thought it was for new guys. |
| I got some shooter's ear plugs from a hearing aid store. they are custom molded to my ear with a "sonic valve" insert instead of an electronic amplifying device. the valve is a diaphram which is purely mechanical (no bateries) and works by shutting off the loud sound impulse of gun fire. It cost me less than $100 and I can hear a person talking to me in a normoal voice on the range, and when a gun shot goes off, it just shuts off for that brief milisecond. neat stuff. I recently saw the same "sonic valve" type of product at the gun store with a generic ear bold rather than a custom one for only 8-bucks. |
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.25 cent foam earplugs are worth every bit of your hearing for the rest of your life. My grandfather was mostly deaf for the last few years of his life. Being deaf has a profound impact on your life....more so than being blind some say. NEVER shoot without hearing protection. |
I have it too. But as bad as it can be when it is all quiet, when I go about my day I really don't notice it. I guess it is a natural defense to hearing loss or something. If you don't pay attention, it just seems to go away (sort of). |
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Coupla comments. There are multiple causes of hearing loss. What concerns us is nerve deafness due to exposure to excessively loud noise. As this type of hearing loss progresses the subject becomes less able to sense that he is being exposed to damaging noise levels. Sort of a vicious cycle. Example: as you become more deaf you tend to turn radios up, find jet engine noise less offensive, etc. But you continue to lose frequencies b/c of these exposures. Bottom line: if you have some nerve deafness you must be doubly wary of the potential for further damage. Second, some types of noise are less offensive, though equally damaging. Jet engine noise is the obvious example......more damaging than gunfire in most instances. I remember the first time I saw a minigun in action. My first thought was "gee, that's not so loud". Because the ROF is so high, the staccato (translate as "annoying") quality is lost. So be careful even with such things as car windows rolled down, etc. Sam |
| I already have hearing loss. But I am thinking about joining the marines or army. I just can't shake the feeling that I should be over their fighting along side my peers. My loss isn't to bad right now. I figure if I ended up in Iraq it would get worse. At least I would have an excuse then. |
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shit, my ears usually ring after a good day or two after a long dove/quail hunt. I try to wear hearing protection when I can. I wish our servicemen could have something redibly available that would allow them to communicate, be aware of their environment and still provide hearing protection. |
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+1 on use of hearing protection. I have "classic shooters hearing loss" from 12 years of small arms, 60mm & 81mm mortars, to M2A2 Bradleys firing. The thing I did not realize was that my right ear was protected while my "down range" ear suffered the most damage. This is while using either the issue yellow foam ear plugs or the Silencio sound baffler ones (WHICH I DON'T RECOMMEND). I don't double up yet but I do use ear muffs while on the range these days. I am looking at getting the noise-cancelling ears that allow you to hear normal speech on the firing line. Attached a link from an article in Field & Stream on hearing loss for your info: http://www.fieldandstream.com/fieldstream/outdoorskills/article/0,13199,1040284,00.html |
good points. i HIGHLY recomend plugs with muffs. plugs provide about 6dbs more noise reduction than muffs. iirc, every 3dbs doubles the volume. going with just plugs allows damage through vibration of the mastoid bone(?) i bought the biggest occilating fan i could find. it sounds like a b17. helps immensely with drowning out the ring at night. i do ok most of the time, but talking to girls in loud nightclubs is pretty difficult. i gotta learn to read lips. sure would be nice if the .gov came up with a practical system to keep our guys hearing intact. |
I thought I was the only one who felt comforted by fan noise at night. I've been a crew chief on AF aircraft since I was 19 years old. I'm 48 and still doing the same thing (contractor work after my retirement) on the flightline and I'm here to tell you wear earplugs or ear defenders when you shoot or you'll regret it later. And that's a fact. 
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