got a question for hearing

Reba said:
Yes. That's why many war veterans have hearing damage. Exposure to repeated loud noises from weapons firing, explosions, loud machinery, etc., without protection destroyed the hearing of many military people. Now, some of our veterans who have experienced IED explosions in Iraq have permanently damaged hearing.

I never go shooting without hearing protection. All ranges require it.

A lot of hearing damage also occurs at rock music concerts, or when listening to loud music in cars or with earphones.
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Maybe I need to rephrase my question ..what I meant was if a gun goes off too close to someone's hear, it can damage their hearing right there on the spot or does that have to happen over a long period of time before the person notices their hearing got damaged by loud noise from the gunshot?
 
shel90 said:
Maybe I need to rephrase my question ..what I meant was if a gun goes off too close to someone's hear, it can damage their hearing right there on the spot or does that have to happen over a long period of time before the person notices their hearing got damaged by loud noise from the gunshot?
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It depends on the size and kind of gun, how close is "close", etc. Is the person himself shooting the gun or having someone fire it towards him near by. The age of the person is a factor. Also, some damage is temporary, some permanent. Does it effect one or both ears? Many variables.

Just shooting a gun once without protection probably wouldn't cause permanent damage.
 
Reba said:
It depends on the size and kind of gun, how close is "close", etc. Is the person himself shooting the gun or having someone fire it towards him near by. The age of the person is a factor. Also, some damage is temporary, some permanent. Does it effect one or both ears? Many variables.

Just shooting a gun once without protection probably wouldn't cause permanent damage.
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Thanks for answering...My dad used to take my brother and I out to shoot in the desert..dont ask me why. Anyways, everyone wore ear protectors but my dad told his friends that my brother and I dont need it cuz we didnt have any hearing left. However, I do remember each time the gun went off, my ears would ring and it got to the point that it made me dizzy and sick. so, just wondered if whatever hearing I had at the time was damaged that day or just temporarily. I was still able to use my HAs the same way after that day but it made me wonder when I first started reading this thread.
 
shel90 said:
Hahahaha..maybe that's why I keep questioning everything in the CI and deaf Education threads..:whistle:
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Ha ha! Maybe! See, we need that, and we need it everywhere! It used to be common in hearing society too -- a person who "spoke their mind" was respected. Today, for some reason hearing society has shifted to a "go along to get along" mentality, so you're always struggling for a way to say something softer to not offend people -- even if you don't know if they'll be offended. Hearing culture desperately needs a counter-cultural influence for that, because eventually it leads to "group think", which can be very very bad in the long run.

:mrgreen:
 
shel90 said:
Thanks for answering...My dad used to take my brother and I out to shoot in the desert..dont ask me why. Anyways, everyone wore ear protectors but my dad told his friends that my brother and I dont need it cuz we didnt have any hearing left. However, I do remember each time the gun went off, my ears would ring and it got to the point that it made me dizzy and sick. so, just wondered if whatever hearing I had at the time was damaged that day or just temporarily. I was still able to use my HAs the same way after that day but it made me wonder when I first started reading this thread.
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Hmmm... if I had been your dad, I would have made you wear the ear protectors. Dads do unwise things sometimes... I know... I'm a dad too, and I do unwise things all the time. He was just wanting to spend time with his kids, so his heart was in the right place. Maybe he didn't understand how much residual hearing you have.
 
shel90 said:
Maybe I need to rephrase my question ..what I meant was if a gun goes off too close to someone's hear, it can damage their hearing right there on the spot or does that have to happen over a long period of time before the person notices their hearing got damaged by loud noise from the gunshot?
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Shel to answer your question, no you wont permently damage your hearing after 4-5 rounds of a 12 ga. without any protection.

But daily use of the gun and multiple firings, your'e going to start to lose your hearing to the point that you will need HAs.

Heres an example-

Pro handler J. Paul Jackson has an awesome male black lab - SRS Champion, GHRCH, UH, MH, UKC 500 pt club member. Awesome dog without a doubt. Works like a GPS guided missle in the field. The dogs name is Achilles.

Now Achilles has been competitively competing since he was 2 he is now 8 and pushing 9 years - its time for Achilles to look at his 401(k) plan, but heres the deal - Achilles not only regularly trains, but also regularly hunts and has thousands upon thousands of shots fired over his head. At the last SRS that I watched Achilles run, Achilles was popping, or turning back to look at J. Paul for direction. This is not a lack of proper training, this is because Achilles hearing is poor and he thinks J. Paul has blown the whistle when he has not. Just like when you lose your hearing you feel like someone is calling your name but no one is, but if someone does call your name you dont hear it? Its because your brain is making up these sounds on its own.

It is normal for those who regularly train gundogs to lose some degree of hearing over time due to the constant use of a firearm, without protection.

So yes prolonged use of a firearm w/o protection will cause you to lose hearing.

I hope that helps. :)
 
the quieter it gets the louder my tinnitus gets. when I switch my aids off, the tinnitus is louder. so there's never complete silence :dunno2:
 
Tousi said:
Best I can do is hear the difference between a shotgun and a rifle report at 50 yards. And I just wear a hearing aid.

I know a CIer who can hear the swishing of her golden retriever's tail when the animal's within a few feet of her.
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I would think that would be annoying!:giggle: Maybe just my hearing perspective, though.
 
Reba said:
What about people who never had normal hearing before "losing" it? They have no sounds to "remember" or compare to. How do their brains decipher the sounds?
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They have to be taught.
 
Reba said:
People can become used to even loud noises, if they are the same kind of noises every night.

When Hubby was in the Navy, his berthing area (bunk) on one ship was near the after-steering screws (large propellors), that churned (turning in the water and out, with the waves) all night. But he was tired, and became used to the noises and the motion of the ship bouncing up and down.

On another ship, he slept every night on the deck (floor) of his office because it didn't rock as much as the berthing area. (That was to reduce his sea-sickness.) But his office was very noisey from the constant loud diesel generators. But he got used to it, and could sleep.

It is really the brain adjusting to make it possible for sleep.
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Yes, the brain of a hearing person has an innate ability to filter out the noises which are unimportant. It is part of the survival instinct that remains. Research has shown that deaf do it with visual input in the same way. They filter out the distractions that are not important to what they are paying attention to. Its an automatic response.
 
Reba said:
That's what he said.
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Yeah, it is because he is comparing the quality of the sound with CI to the quality of the sound in his auditory memory, and hasn't learned to reinterpret the stimuli yet. But I'd venture a guess that the longer he uses the CI, the more he will begin to override his auditory memory.
 
shel90 said:
Maybe I need to rephrase my question ..what I meant was if a gun goes off too close to someone's hear, it can damage their hearing right there on the spot or does that have to happen over a long period of time before the person notices their hearing got damaged by loud noise from the gunshot?
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It is possible for it to happen right on the spot. If the reaction is that immediate, though, it usually results in tinnitus rather than just loss of sound perception.
 
Calphool said:
Ha ha! Maybe! See, we need that, and we need it everywhere! It used to be common in hearing society too -- a person who "spoke their mind" was respected. Today, for some reason hearing society has shifted to a "go along to get along" mentality, so you're always struggling for a way to say something softer to not offend people -- even if you don't know if they'll be offended. Hearing culture desperately needs a counter-cultural influence for that, because eventually it leads to "group think", which can be very very bad in the long run.

:mrgreen:
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LOL! Maybe that's my problem in the same threads that shel mentioned. I have been involved in Deaf Culture for so long that I am too direct and out spoken!:giggle:
 
shel90 said:
Thanks for answering...My dad used to take my brother and I out to shoot in the desert..dont ask me why. Anyways, everyone wore ear protectors but my dad told his friends that my brother and I dont need it cuz we didnt have any hearing left. However, I do remember each time the gun went off, my ears would ring and it got to the point that it made me dizzy and sick. so, just wondered if whatever hearing I had at the time was damaged that day or just temporarily. I was still able to use my HAs the same way after that day but it made me wonder when I first started reading this thread.
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The dizziness and nausea was probably from a temporary displacement of the fluid in the ears that caused a bit of vertigo. Happens from the force of a loud and abrupt sound wave hitting the ear.

Since we're taling about the effect of repeated sound on the hearing, did you know that dentists suffer disproportionately from tinnitus from the repeated exposure of the high pitched whine of the handpiece they use?
 
Calphool said:
Hmmm... if I had been your dad, I would have made you wear the ear protectors. Dads do unwise things sometimes... I know... I'm a dad too, and I do unwise things all the time. He was just wanting to spend time with his kids, so his heart was in the right place. Maybe he didn't understand how much residual hearing you have.
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Well..if u know my dad u would understand. My dad did things that were very reckless and not so smart when my brother and I were growing up. Like I rode on the back of his motorcycle without a helmet and he had the wise idea of go over hills at a high speed (off road) and I got knocked off and fell off. I was wearing my suit so my back was exposed and I ended up with severe scratches on my back. My dad felt bad. He has always been the kind of person who didnt think before doing things. Threw firecrackers at a crowd of people during 4th of July...it was funny but definitely stupid to do!
 
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