# Ringing ears!



## Mattu

I made a dumb decision yesterday to shoot my 357 *without *hearing protection :withstupid: . After the 1st round my ears started ringing, but being the gun nut I am I shot 17 more rounds. It has now been about 28 hours since then and my left ear will not quit ringing (and the ring is surprisingly still loud). I know I probably did some type of permanent, but hopefully mediocre damage to my ears. My questions are A.) Should I be more concerned B.) When could I expect the ringing to stop C.) Are there any remedies I can use to help my ear. I should also note that my ears aren't in any type of pain which I assume is a good sign.


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## Bore.224

I did the same thing at the rifle range when I was in the Army. My ears rang for two days but then were fine.


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## Sin man

you still caused some damage to your ears. id suggest never doing it again. i shot my 7mm mag with the muzzel break open once and that hurt so bad it was like i got a stick shoved in my ear.


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## Mattu

:roll:


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## People

yeah it is too bad you had to learn that leson the hard way. When I learned it I bought a case of ear plugs and I have them every where now. I probably have about 50 pair in my car. I give a hand full to every one I go shooting with.

Humans are probed by aliens. Aliens are probed by Chuck Norris.


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## Sixgunner

WHAT!?

All kidding aside, you maybe did some minor damage to your ears but you should be find in a few days. I went to an Ozzy concert a few years ago and my ears rang for a week.


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## clampdaddy

Sixgunner said:


> WHAT!?
> 
> .......I went to an Ozzy concert a few years ago and my ears rang for a week.


HAHA!!! I think I lost some hearing (and a few brain cells) at a PANTERA concert. :beer:


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## sharpshooter_boss

I did that at my uncle's range with an L1A1, 90 degree backdrop. tlak about pain, but i couldn't hear ANYTHIING after the 3rd round. I spent 2 weeks in mexico not knowing what anyone was saying, but it's ok, I failed Spanish class anyway. Haha it mostly went away, but I still have a partial hearing loss in one ear. Kind of sucks...please use ear plugs..


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## Ac_EsS

haha i had an m2 .50 call machine gun go off many times next to my head i am not going to waer hearing pro while fighting in battle. i fear my hearing will be shot iwhen i am older but for now i occasionally hear ringing in my ears.


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## sharpshooter_boss

Been there my friend. Not fun, but we deal with it.


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## Ac_EsS

yea aint that the truth
semperfi


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## Stonegoblet

Well, that was smart of you. Just don't do it again.


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## loknlod

Let me start by saying I hope you don't have any serious permanent noticable damage. Over 10 years ago, there were about 6 of us shooting anything from 9mm, .45,.44mag, and different shotguns one afternoon. Some of us (myself included) didn't have hearing protection along, but that never stopped us before. We shot for a few hours, a couple hundred rounds and of course my ears were ringing. I am still waiting for the ringing to stop. Every minute of every hour of every day it is noticable. I have some permanent damage obviously, and am not ever going to hear the same again. I am only typing this so that maybe someone out there might read this and decide to carry hearing protection all of the time. I have been shooting for 27 of my 30 some years of life and I can honestly say that 1 day can make a big difference. Please have hearing protection along at all times, my 1 time mistake will linger until I am dead. A pretty big price to pay for being stupid one afternoon.


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## hagfan72

My friend Kevin has ringing in his ears to this day due to a warm spring day back in 1994. He doesn't notice it anymore; that is until i ask him, "Do you still have that ringing in your ear?"

I know, I am an a$$.


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## gentleman4561

my ears rang for about 20 hours after my friend chucked a co2 cylinder in the fire one of those ones you use in bb pistol was really loud found the cylinder stuck in a tree but my ears seem fine. also i was at a indoor gun range and was wearing ears when some dumb a$$ fired a 50 bmg his ears were bleeding (he was wearing ears) and fine hurt real bad for a while. hopefully you will be fine i always were ears even when shooting the 22.


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## Sasha and Abby

I did the same thing People did... I have the ear plugs everywhere now - truck, backpack, shaving kit (for snoring friends) and in all my duffel bags. :sniper: :sniper:

I won't shoot a .22 without ear plugs anymore.


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## 10 gauge

Ditto, loknlod. I have permanent ringing and damage because of being lazy and stupid. The hearing loss is mostly high tones, the bass is ok. That means when I listen to music I have to turn the treble up to make up for the loss. So everyone wear your hearing and eye protection so you don't end up like me.


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## hunt4P&amp;Y

Was that .357 a SIG?

I have HEARD they are pretty loud little buggers!


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## saltydawg

When I was in Panama and the flares went up we didn't worry about plugs in the middle of the night.....and after that I spent a little time in the desert the first time...more hearing loss...so now I am a cop and I try to remember the plugs.....the other day another officer friend got his .357 sig glock newley ported and wanted to go to our "night time" range and check the recoil on this little beast. we didn't have any plugs so I stayed in the patrol unit while he benched on the hood. one shot is all it took it looked like the windshield bukled in a little he had tears in his eyes and was in some serious pain... I was inside with the windows up and it was uncomfortable loud.... and I can barely hear as it is


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## GUNSHIP

After listening to jet engines for 27 years I can tell you a few things about hearing and ears.

The ringing is called Tinitus. The ears self "repair" so to speak. They shut out loud abrasive noise. How do they do this you might ask? Easy, they go to hell in a handbasket and you can't pick up the "noise" as easily. A more or better explanation is you go deaf.

I always wore hearing protection when working around running aircraft. I can no longer hear bells, whistles or sirens. My hearing is destroyed for anything in the high decibel range. I haven't heard a bird sing since about 1966.

Also when attending large functions where there are lots of people in a large area it sounds to me like everyone is speaking into an empty glass. Mumble.

Take it from a grumpy old man and do everything you can to protect your hearing. For all essential purposes hearing aids vacuum with a great propensity.

Most of the medical problems you will have can be repaired by medicines, therapy and whatnot. But when your hearing is gone it is forever, and it ain't coming back. Two tools that an outdoorsman needs are eyes and ears.

Best wishes, Bill


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## dakotashooter2

When I was young and stupid I never wore plugs nor did my shooting partners. Now my ears ring all the time and I no longer hear high pitch like smoke detectors and some alarm clocks unless I am right next to them. If I forget to put plugs in I get a SHARP reminder. Kind of like getting a hot poker in your ear. Suprisingly if I am in a quiet area my hearing seems to be quite sharp but if there is any degree of background noise that seems to be ALL I can hear.


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## specialpatrolgroup

I have tenitus in my right hear, I hear a constant ringing, no doubt it is from shooting without hearing protection. It keeps me awake at night, since it makes me partially def in one ear I have a hard time picking up where noise is comming from, which makes hunting for my ringing cell phone a lot of fun. I also do not enjoy the bennifits of surround sound. I wish I coudl go back in time and slap my younger self upside the head. I now wear hearing protection at all times around firearms, even when walking grouse trails.


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## Flight Medic

First off I can relate after five years in a BlackHawk and I am hear to tell you that partial hearing loss is a pain in the [email protected]%. The bad news is that hearing aids amplify all sounds not just the high pitch ones lost from lost from twin turbines, so they are a no go.
Second, who the hell let someone shoot a 50bmg in a indoor range? Nevermind the noise, that thing will shoot through any indoor range I have ever come across. I can tell you from experiance with a 50cal machine gun that they will shoot through tank armor.


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