I was out shooting with my fellow police officers for firearms training. I ignorantly forgot to put in my earplugs before shooting. I was next to three other people with .40, myself also shooting a .40. They were all to my right so my right ear was the only one affected. It has been 2 days and I still haven’t completely regained my hearing. Most sounds are muffled and high pitched noises hurt my inner ear. Anyone know if this will be permanent or if I should just be patient and wait a little bit longer?

“earmuffs”? I am not a gun guy, but I find that highly difficult to believe. Any experts out there?

A shotgun blast and high caliber handgun measures up to 165 decibels and anything over 120 decibels can permanently damage your hearing. The best earplugs I can find have only a noise reduction rating of 33 decibels. If you wear ear plugs and ear muffs for protection at the same time it only adds 5 decibels reduction to the higher noise reducer of the two so would someones hearing diminish no matter what?

Wouldnt it start hurting after alot of shooting?

I just assembled a beautiful AR15 with a 24 inch barrel and a Magpul adjustable stock to be used for long distance recreational target shooting. However, I can’t look through the scope with my earmuffs on.

A friend likes to shoot firearms however he has post traumatic stress disorder from Iraq and cannot tolerate the ‘bang’. Where can he find earplugs that will tune out loud bangs completely–military ones are ineffective. Is there something better out there and where can I find it?

A friend is chauffering some youths to a heavy metal concert that largely uses pyrotechnics and he has post traumatic stress disorder and cannot take the ‘bang’ of the noise. Is there an earplug that will block noise out completely that fits in the ear as opposed to big gangly shooting range headsets?

I was looking at two pairs of shooting earmuffs and one had an nrr rating of 30db(Leightning L3) and one had an nrr rating of 33 db (pro ears ultra 33) but when they broke it down for specific frequencies the 30db one had higher effectiveness at almost every one. What’s up with that?

I have a VERY noisy upstairs neighbor and I have to wear earplugs nightly to even think about getting sleep. I’d like to reuse the earplugs instead of having to buy new ones so often. These are the spongy, foam kind that you can buy in the hunter’s section for ear protection while shooting ammo. I’m wondering if regular soap and water would work, or perhaps rubbing alcohol, or should I just continue to buy new ones? Any advice appreciated. Many thanks in advance!

I always wondered how cops or anyone who shoots a handgun in a situation when they hadn’t been prepared to shoot. Clearly they are not wearing earplugs or earphones. Don’t their ears immediately ring? Isn’t blowing an eardrum a real concern? How do self-defense classes teach what to do to minimize hearing damage due to quickly having to fire a gun?

I remember going to a shooting range once without wearing my earplugs, and as soon as the guns start firing, my ears were ringing. Is this what happens to soldiers in the battlefield?