…or at least eyes. Or ears.
When I began shooting (at age 6, with my Dad) the concept of sight and hearing protection were foreign. Point down range and touch ‘er off! I was told I’d get used to the ringing. Even a Colt Vest Pocket .25 is loud with no protection.
Years later, when I renewed shooting as a young ‘adult’, I was wearing protective lenses (well, eyeglasses, anyway), but no hearing protection could be had. Dave (the genius mechanic) and I soon determined that placing something in our ears besides elbows was probably a good idea.
Of course, in the interim, there was much play with fireworks, including the black cat firecracker lit waist high, arm cocked to throw, and subsequent premature explosion next to my left ear. The hand didn’t function for a few moments, but the finger count did show a quorum, so all was okay. So was the tinnitus.
Now, when shooting, I religiously wear eyes and ears. I still sometimes have ringing, mostly due to the overdosing of NSAIDS. And I do have some high-frequency hearing loss in my left ear. A ticking watch goes tick-tick-tick at my right ear, and pong, pong, pong at my left.
I blame the firecracker.
Wear your protection, people!
Absolutely! I’ve been 60% nerve deaf since I was 3 years old, so I am insanely jealous of my remaining hearing. I wear electronic “muffs” outdoors, and reinforce that with foam plugs if I’m shooting indoors.
One horror of a possible defensive shooting, especially in my home, would be the additional hearing damage done by the gunfire. I hope to have time to pop in the plugs I keep by the bed… and in my pouch for times away from the house, and I hope I would remember the danger to my hearing before I emptied the magazine… or, heaven forbid, a reload… but I know those will be far down the list of priorities, most likely.
Posted by MamaLiberty | July 16, 2012, 8:17 amI think it was one of the Marshall/Sanow books on Stopping Power which told us tales of persons using firearms to successfully stop assailants wherein a woman used her 44 magnum to stop a burglar. On the second burglary, she put in ear plugs first.
Nice she had the time!
Posted by guffaw1952 | July 16, 2012, 5:16 pmBoy, this post fits me perfectly. Unfortunately, the ringing never left my ears. Ditto what MammaLiberty wrote as well. I think about what it would do to my diminished hearing, from time to time, if I had to fire in self defense at home.
Posted by kx59 | July 16, 2012, 4:44 pmYep, same here, for WAY too many years… sigh Concur WEAR your ear and eye protection!!!
Posted by Old NFO | July 16, 2012, 4:44 pm