Pre-Meditated Mitigation of Hearing Damage during a Defensive Gun Use

[Comyn]

How's that for a title? :laugh:

I wanted to pick everyone's brain about ways to help prevent hearing damage or loss in the unfortunate event you have to discharge your firearm (aside from "suck it up, you just survived a deadly encounter). I know that people can and do suffer from hearing damage during a DGU, but that it's not really mentioned much. Maybe it's because concussive damage is par for the course, or maybe we just accept that there's not much we can do. But I work in a media-oriented career and my ears are one of the most valuable assets I have; doing anything I can to help mitigate any potential damage is worth the time invested in such a venture. In a perfect world I would have a suppressor on my night-stand gun; but it's not a perfect world, and a suppressor can be a huge liability if it came down to a jury of my peers. One need not take much effort when imagining how a bad guy's defense attorney would paint a can....

So ruling suppressors out right off the bat, what are some other things I can do? For simplicity's-sake, we'll go with a typical bump-in-the-night scenario at home. I really want us to get creative and think outside the box here. Subsonic ammo? Shorter-case caliber (like .380)? Heavy, sound-absorbing fabrics built into the home's decor? Battle robe with over-stuffed collar covering ears?

 

[Seeya]

Google sound asborption products.

 

[wolf_fire]

I've thought long and hard about this. If I were using a caliber such as a .45 or a .22, I would get the suppressor. The speeds are such that there is no sonic-boom and the suppressor works very nicely. On a .40, the suppressor does work but you are still left with the sonic boom that the suppressor will not/can not suppress. In a home defense situation, the suppressor will not have any effect with a "jury of your peers". So don't rule it out completely.

Aside from the suppressor, have on your night stand a $50 pair of electronic muffs. Not only will you be able to hear better with them on, you now have a means to suppress the effects of the sound on your ears. You don't have to think outside the box with this one. I wear when I hunt too. I can hear better in the woods, and when that .30-06 goes off, I'm not ringing in the ears.

I would not, I repeat would not, compromise your ammo that will defend your life just to get a smaller sound. That's just sheer horse hockey. Get the firearm and the ammo that will do the job. That's #1, then worry how you will protect your ears. And that's easy... electronic muffs on the night stand. The suppressor is a better idea though, considering which caliber you use.

 

[kelcarry]

If I am dead I will not worry too much about hearing loss. I "pre-meditate" about how to stop a threat--nothing more, nothing less. Bottom line is still the fact that at 72, I have never ever ever had to think "firearm" or hearing loss, and yes--there are "what ifs", but quite frankly, they truly mean nothing to me in my daily life(where very strong SA guides my movements and actions) and less when it comes to "pre-meditating".

 

[festus]

Short term exposure to gunfire noise is preferable to eternity and harp lessons

 

[Nightmare45]

Nice set of electronic muffs mine sit on rack with vest light and gun next to bed, easy to don in an emergency.

 

[Warbirds]

I've thought long and hard about this. If I were using a caliber such as a .45 or a .22, I would get the suppressor. The speeds are such that there is no sonic-boom and the suppressor works very nicely. On a .40, the suppressor does work but you are still left with the sonic boom that the suppressor will not/can not suppress. In a home defense situation, the suppressor will not have any effect with a "jury of your peers". So don't rule it out

Ok wolf, a 40 comes out of the barrel at about 1200fps depending on what ammo you are using. At my altitude that is right at where you start to get the supersonic crack. And when shooting 300blk at the range the crack doesn't seem to occur until somewhere down range. So in a home defense situation where the distance between the end of your "guaranteed prison term suppressor..lol.." and the dirt bag is going to be very limited. And the dirt bag will obviously slow the bullet as it passes through him...... Will the supersonic crack have time to develop?

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

 

[kelcarry]

Nice set of electronic muffs mine sit on rack with vest light an gun next to bed, easy to don in an emergency.

You actually will spend that extra second or to to acquire and put on your electronic earmuffs and then set the control? Hey--to each his own.

 

[MamaLiberty]

For only $30. - give or take, depending on shipping - this sounds like a winner. I'd like a nickel for every time I've left my "muffs" on and had to replace the batteries before I could shoot. And the cost of decent batteries is not trivial. I think I'll try one of these. And they'd be good to leave on the nightstand too... just in case you actually had time to even think about it.

A new generation of hearing protection: SensGard
Link Removed
Just when we thought we’d seen it all — earplugs, ear muffs, electronic hearing protection, custom molded in-ear pieces — SensGard enters the market with a product that combines several of those plugs-of-the-past into one new product. With a catchphrase of “Hear Everything but the Loud” and a product that needs neither batteries nor complicated components, could SensGard be too good to be true or is it just what we shooters have been waiting for all along?

 

[wolf_fire]

Ok wolf, a 40 comes out of the barrel at about 1200fps depending on what ammo you are using. At my altitude that is right at where you start to get the supersonic crack. And when shooting 300blk at the range the crack doesn't seem to occur until somewhere down range. So in a home defense situation where the distance between the end of your "guaranteed prison term suppressor..lol.." and the dirt bag is going to be very limited. And the dirt bag will obviously slow the bullet as it passes through him...... Will the supersonic crack have time to develop?

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

My EDC is a .40. I had looked into suppressing it at home. Every company, manufacture and dealer turned me off to the idea of using a suppressor on a .40 for the reasoning I gave. If necessary, I would be willing to find the information that I found awhile back. Let me know.

 

[Warbirds]

My EDC is a .40. I had looked into suppressing it at home. Every company, manufacture and dealer turned me off to the idea of using a suppressor on a .40 for the reasoning I gave. If necessary, I would be willing to find the information that I found awhile back. Let me know.

You are making me wish I had a microphone capable of accurately recording bullet sounds levels. I don't have a 40 cal suppressor but I can run some 40 through the chrono to see what the fps would really be.

How would you determine how far the bullet travels after leaving the barrel before it produces a sonic crack?

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

 

[Rocketgeezer]

You actually will spend that extra second or to to acquire and put on your electronic earmuffs and then set the control? Hey--to each his own.

Yes, I was thinking the same thing, could not see it myself, I mean you hear your door getting busted open, and your going to screw around with muffs, and then grab your gun....................but as you say to each his own

 

[DLeeHarley]

Now I'm no Doctor although I've played one on TV LOL No really I can't remember the MD's name but he was saying that during extreme stress and the release of Adrenaline, that your body reacts to those stimuli's with tunnel vision, reduced motor skills and diminished hearing. Now with your body in that state will you or could you incur hearing problems? Maybe we have a Doctor among us qualified to answer this question. Just a thought. Now me I'd rather lose my hearing than lose my wife, family member or my life. Later all and Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays,

 

[Comyn]

I'll say the best things (and ultimately what I'm looking for) are preventative measures; things that I can do before an event occurs. Putting on ear muffs would take too much time. I'm looking more for passive solutions or practices and products I can put in place before I lock up for the night.

Maybe there's some yet-to-be invented product that could help. What would DARPA do with our limits? Maybe it's something like a phase device that would help cancel out the concussive wave from firing a pistol. Something that attaches to a semi-auto's rail?

Sent from my XT557 using Tapatalk 2

 

[CharlesMorrison]

I did a VAST amount of shooting with zero ear protection.
Your ears will ring for a while but I am fine.
I did so because I wanted to know how loud it will be if I am in need of defending myself with my gun.



Sent from behind Enemy Lines.

 

[Warbirds]

I did a VAST amount of shooting with zero ear protection.
Your ears will ring for a while but I am fine.
I did so because I wanted to know how loud it will be if I am in need of defending myself with my gun.



Sent from behind Enemy Lines.

Me and my ringing ears wonder what vast means.

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

 

[NavyLCDR]

Only really effective if you have a backup gun, though.

 

[wolf_fire]

You are making me wish I had a microphone capable of accurately recording bullet sounds levels. I don't have a 40 cal suppressor but I can run some 40 through the chrono to see what the fps would really be.

How would you determine how far the bullet travels after leaving the barrel before it produces a sonic crack?

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

A sonic boom is created anytime anything with a noise travels faster than the speed of sound. I would have to assume that would only be at the muzzle.

Regardless, every dealer, vendor, manufacture I talked with said exactly the same thing concerning the .40. And everyone of them said this is why suppressors for the .45 and the .22 are so much more popular since there isn't the sonic boom to deal with.

Link Removed read the paragraph titled "Crying Foul".

 

[Warbirds]

A sonic boom is created anytime anything with a noise travels faster than the speed of sound. I would have to assume that would only be at the muzzle.

Regardless, every dealer, vendor, manufacture I talked with said exactly the same thing concerning the .40. And everyone of them said this is why suppressors for the .45 and the .22 are so much more popular since there isn't the sonic boom to deal with.

Link Removed read the paragraph titled "Crying Foul".

I'm going to have to take the time to read your link.
.
My research mostly matches yours, I would add a 308 to the popular list. But it is for a different reason, I went with a 308 because it would be useable on any .308 or smaller diameter round except for the magnums and .22. At a small cost of a few decibels I can send 223 or any other round down range. The same goes for a 45 suppressor, 40 9, whatever will go down the pipe if they have enough force to work the action. And a 22 because a 22 isn't as clean as center fire rounds and who wants them eroding your blast baffle? Most people that I talked with used rifle suppressors and that is what I went with so I didn't really hear much talk about what rounds do and don't break the barrier since the majority of rifles do by a large margin.

So if anytime you break the sound barrier it creates the crack does that mean that the sound is moving away from the shooter? That would make sense, there is a noticeable delay I hear after shooting my rifle, but since the range is using a mountain as a backstop I could be hearing the crack reflecting off the mountain. Which if true and the crack is reflecting back I don't see why it wouldn't also bounce a room in a self defense situation.

 

[CharlesMorrison]

Me and my ringing ears wonder what vast means.

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I would have to say at least 75/80 percent of all my shooting, over the last twenty years or so, has been without ear protection...


Sent from behind Enemy Lines.