Hearing protection/tinnitus/misery...need advice

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Hello:

Common story among shooters and hunters- despite being cautious at concerts, running power tools, and recreational shooting, a lifetime of upland bird hunting caught up with me a few years ago. My vizsla and I got into grouse and woodcock in incredible numbers one evening and my ears have not quit ringing since.

My wife and I are pretty hard core music fans, and spend many evenings listening to records while having a drink, that kind of thing. Not exactly a hobby that is compatible with the above.

I'm ready to quit recreational shooting. This is painful for me to admit, as going to range brings me a great deal of joy, especially shooting revolvers and sporting clays.

My club has added overhead reverberant structures over all of the ranges to help mitigate complaints from the new housing that has sadly gone in north of the range. This has made it seemingly impossible to protect my hearing when shooting revolvers and my short barreled bolt action 5.56 mm rifle (a Ruger GSR with the flash hider removed).

To be blunt the ear ringing at times causes me to get out of bed and walk around until I calm myself down. I have to live with my stupidity, but I also need to find out if it is possible to continue recreational shooting without fear of additional tinnitus. Is there a plug/muff combo that has worked for you? Did you walk away from the sport to save what you have left? Please share.

I'd love to hear stories from any of you that have confronted this. My heart goes out to veterans who had no choice. I expect no sympathy from them.

Thanks-
Last edited by Uplander on Fri Jun 22, 2018 11:14 am, edited 1 time in total.
And all you touch and all you see is all your life will ever be- Roger Waters

Re: Hearing protection/tinnitus/misery...need advice

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I've never been into loud music or worked where there is loud industrial noise, but I do have mild tinnitus. A number of years ago I had an ear infection and as part of the treatment the ENT sent me to an audiologist for testing. The audiologist was an interesting guy, he did his doctoral dissertation on an native tribe where all members of the tribe had hearing loss which got worse as they aged, it was genetic. Like a lot of physical problems we can blame it on our genes. Good news is there is research going on.
https://www.theguardian.com/science/201 ... ss-in-mice

Personally I wear plugs and muffs with a high NRR rating when I go shooting.
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Re: Hearing protection/tinnitus/misery...need advice

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I have tinnitus, and hearing loss (which makes the former sound worse, as it is not affected) and have recently been fitted with a set of hearing aids at my wife's suggestion (!)

I love just turning off the aids and leaving them "installed" on the range, with -30 muffs on top. If I'm shooting something loud, I may occasionally take them out and use foam plugs under the muffs instead.

Fortunately, my ear doc says my hearing loss is NOT connected with shooting - it's in the wrong range. :)
"We have met the enemy and he is us." Pogo.
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Re: Hearing protection/tinnitus/misery...need advice

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Marlene wrote: Fri Jun 22, 2018 11:52 am I don’t really have much useful for suggestions. Maybe sell the Ruger for a longer barreled rifle. Definitely find the best plugs and best muffs you can. The best thing I know for tinnitus is to learn to not center othe squeal in your attention.

I feel your pain.
Yes. My ear guy's friend, another ear guy, specialises in tinnitus, and says the latest research is no longer focusing on how to stop it, but on protocols for not hearing it so much.....

I tend to ignore mine most of the time - but it doesn't always work....
"We have met the enemy and he is us." Pogo.
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Re: Hearing protection/tinnitus/misery...need advice

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Hey everyone, thank you for the comments, links, and so on. Very cool.

Marlene, having seen your post about ARs I had a feeling I'd hear from you.

I'm sorry for all that are dealing with the same.

It all comes with a healthy dose of self-loathing for having allowed this to happen in the first place.

Is it possible for any hearing protection combo to reduce sound below the 85 db where loss begins to occur?
And all you touch and all you see is all your life will ever be- Roger Waters

Re: Hearing protection/tinnitus/misery...need advice

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Custom fitted plugs make a huge difference for me, I use them in conjunction with muffs when possible, but when shooting rifles, it's not always going to happen- they've done better than foam or the surefires, while also being dramatically more comfortable. Expensive, but worth it.
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
- Maya Angelou

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Hearing protection/tinnitus/misery...need advice

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I recently picked up a pair of the Decibullz moldable earplugs. Once properly molded, they have been the best hearing protection I have used yet. At about $25, it is a worthwhile investment and will easily fit under a pair of over the ear protectors if needed.

Edit to add: Use the foam ear tips for the best seal/protection. The silicon flanges don’t work as well. For me, at least.

Re: Hearing protection/tinnitus/misery...need advice

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Yeah, double up on hearing protection and get the biggest damn muffs you can find.

I like to shoot out in the open desert and feel bad for all you city slickers who have to shoot indoors or under those horrible metal structures that reflects each boom and reverberates like a drum. Sheer madness.

As for the ringing that keeps you up at night, I understand. I too started hearing the ringing at night and also feel bad because I enjoy classical music and sitting in silence. But meditation on acceptance of those things in life we cannot change is good practice for later; when lossea in life or low grade chronic pains becomes issues we must live with.
"It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of non-violence to cover impotence. There is hope for a violent man to become non-violent. There is no such hope for the impotent." -Gandhi

Re: Hearing protection/tinnitus/misery...need advice

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Like Mason, the tinnitus sounding off in both ears (and the associated high-frequency hearing loss) was a gift from Uncle Sam. I don't shoot inside, and use a suppressor some of the time. I always wear earplugs or muffs when shooting. Shooting 2-4 times per month hasn't apparently affected the ringing. So...give up shooting if you want to, but if Tinnitus is already around, it's not likely to move on if you sell your guns. FWIW.

Re: Hearing protection/tinnitus/misery...need advice

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I recently had to get hearing aids due to years around sirens and other loud noises without hearing protection. They have also helped the tinnitus. When I shoot I don’t wear them but do have a set of electronic muffs that deaden sounds above 85 dB. That way I can still hear RO and other sounds around me when shooting. I prefer to shoot on outdoor ranges rather than indoor for the reduced sound and reduced air pollution.
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.-Huxley
"We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." ~ Louis Brandeis,

Re: Hearing protection/tinnitus/misery...need advice

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I've had mild tinnitus since I was a kid. I once sat in front of a concert loudspeaker headbanging to Metallica that was so loud it just sounded like static. There's always been a little ringing ever since.

Tinnitus is a complicated phenomenon not related to your ears but to how your brain processes sound, so what works may be counterintuitive and you'll just need to try different things to see what works for you.

The way I deal with it is always having some kind of white noise going, usually a fan, even when I sleep. When it gets too quiet, I start to hear the ringing and then it starts to sound louder, and when I can hear something again, it goes away.

As for hearing protection, I still hear pretty good and don't want that to change, so I double up when I shoot -- disposable foam ear plugs plus those electronic ear muffs with the sound turned all the way up. I use these and they are fine and not expensive:

https://www.amazon.com/Howard-Leight-Am ... 001T7QJ9O/

Most important -- for everyone! -- is to understand how foam ear plugs work. 90% of the time (really) I see people using them wrong. They jam them into their ears like they're trying to stuff a marshmallow into a parking meter. The proper way is to roll the foam into a tiny tube, pull your ear up so your canal is straightened, and then push the squished foam tube in. It should not bend or squish, just hold it in place until it re-expands. The directions are on the package but no one reads them, surprise. You'll know it works when everything gets really quiet -- except, in your case, for the ringing. Put on those electronic muffs and crank it up so you can hear things and hopefully the ringing will diminish but you can still function and protect your hearing from further damage.

Hope this helps.

Re: Hearing protection/tinnitus/misery...need advice

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Hey thanks a lot everyone once again.

I'm retiring the 5.56 until I can afford a suppressor and a stamp. I just bought a pair of Pro Ears Predator Gold for wing shooting, a type I've used in the past and found pretty good in terms of hearing a flushing bird and so on.

Revolvers at my club are on hold too. The metal roofs seem to almost amplify the blast from the forcing cone to the point of absurdity.

I really appreciate all of these comments. I like this forum a great deal.

I do notice that when the house gets quiet the ringing seems to turn itself up, which as noted is largely a perception issue. When I start feeling crazy over it I get some music going or get outside where birds and wind help me forget about it.
And all you touch and all you see is all your life will ever be- Roger Waters

Re: Hearing protection/tinnitus/misery...need advice

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TrueTexan wrote: Fri Jun 29, 2018 5:35 pm I recently had to get hearing aids due to years around sirens and other loud noises without hearing protection. They have also helped the tinnitus. When I shoot I don’t wear them but do have a set of electronic muffs that deaden sounds above 85 dB. That way I can still hear RO and other sounds around me when shooting. I prefer to shoot on outdoor ranges rather than indoor for the reduced sound and reduced air pollution.
Bill Clinton got hearing aids when he was in the WH, IIRC he was having problems differentiating voices in large groups. Electronic muffs are interesting I'll have to look into them, noise canceling seems to be the way to go. My brain blocks out my tinnitus most of the time, just like it blocks the floater I have in one eye.
Last edited by highdesert on Mon Jul 02, 2018 10:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Re: Hearing protection/tinnitus/misery...need advice

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I was shooting a pistol class at Front Sight in Nevada, and there was a vendor selling electronic earplugs, Sport Ear, one type for about $500, another for about $3K. I had played various sets of electronic muffs, but they conflicted with rifle and shotgun butts, and they had noise reduction levels usually around 20-25. The Sport Ear Ghost Stryke ear plugs are a solid 30 NRR.

I've taken 2 pistol classes, shot dozens of high-power rifle matches, shot lots of rounds of Skeet since I got them, and I can not say enough good about them. They amplify up to about 85 decibels, and above that they give you just a little bit, instead of cutting off everything above 85 DB. The cushions that actually go in your ear canal do wear out after about 10 uses, but they are cheap.

At the Safari Club Convention, Sport Ear had a new version where the two plugs were connected by a cord, and they were rechargeable, and they only cost $120, and seem to work as well.

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