Thread: Earpro in Advertising

Does it bother anyone else that so much of the advertising we see for rifles, scopes, etc, depict hunters in a hunting situation, in position and clearly just about to fire a centrefire rifle, usually unsuppressed, with no hearing protection at all? It really bugs me and I think it's especially dangerous for newcomers to the sport who are likely to get the impression that people actually hunt like this and that it is safe to use a firearm in this manner. By the time they have found out it isn't, it will be too late and damage already done.

For some reason I can't fathom, suppressor ownership is heavily regulated or outright banned in other jurisdictions and since so much of our media/advertising is regurgitated from overseas...

I guess there are a lot of deaf hunters in other countries.

I have a great pair of old man hearing aids to assist repair the left ear shotgun damage, NOT covered by ACC

I'll probably get roasted for this but fair enough your hearing may be damaged by excessive noise exposure but I sometimes think a lot of todays firearms users and public in general are either made of candy-floss or need to harden the f-ck up. The ocassional unsuppressed rifle shot while out hunting may be loud but ffs you're only firing one, maybe two shots to get your animal.
Before you jump on your keyboard and toast me: I have been shooting centrefire rifles ( .222, .223, .303, .308, 300 Win , 338win ) and shotguns for going on 45 years, operated machinery and worked in mechanical worksops my entire working life. Hearing protection was hardly mentioned or used in the early days.
I most times use hearing protection at work when required and competition shooting for the last 35 yrs. I use suppressed .223 while goat culling these days, but oterwise not.
My last hearing check two? years ago was fine. I have some hearing loss at certain frequencies but was told I have good hearing for a person of my age, whatever thats meant to mean.
So, I might be lucky, but I don't get anal about hearing protection. There's probably a few older guys on this forum that are in the same boat. Just an alternative opinion.

I agree with you Woods.

I read somewhere that the body has its own defence to sudden loud noises. Granted this won't stop you from going deaf if you're exposed to loud noise continuously and I believe it doesn't help much if the noise is unexpected... however many years ago I read that in the case of you firing your own rifle the body anticipates the loud bang (because in most people there's a connection between your trigger finger, the brain and your ears... although I admit many people seem to lack anything between their ears these days except the sound of melting snowflakes), tightens the eardrum and (I quote now from Mr. Google) through the tendon between the hammer and anvil, shifts the stirrup backward from the oval window of the inner*ear. This shifting of the ossicles reduces the transmitted force to the inner*ear,*protecting*it.

Bang. Job done. No pun intended. Ok, pun intended.

This is why after years of shooting loud noisy guns we can still hear the wife say "Yes". Or in my case, mainly "No".

So.... to answer the question posed in the original post - No.... it doesn't bother me one iota that advertising material shows hunters about to fire a rifle without ear protection.

I think shooting next to other people and specially in a lineup on the range is the most damaging.
Short barrels are also a lot worse than longer ones.
Custom fit earplugs can be quite unobtrusive too.

There's a mega thread on here about hearing safety, which should be your first stop.

Early teens I was firing off 1 or 2 packets of 12g a week , my old man never really mentioned ear plugs either though now & again he,d stuff some toilet paper in there , suppressors are relatively new to me say out of 30 years of hunting with no ear protection iv had a suppressor for 3 years which I now wouldn't be without , around 10 years ago I got a free hearing test did not give the lady any background info at all took the test & the first thing she said to me after the test was "you must be a keen hunter " I don't notice it but seemly the left ear isn't so great , however one thing I do notice if there is background noise going on when im trying to listen im hopeless , definitely more conscious of my hearing now , last 2 opening weekends I use some electronic earmuffs , pervious to that 0 .

I cant help but wonder in our current climate perhaps our wonderful pm could subsidise suppressors for us in the name of health & safety .

Originally Posted by planenutz

I agree with you Woods.

I read somewhere that the body has its own defence to sudden loud noises. ..

You're possibly alluding to the stapedial reflex which is in fact totally useless for intense impact sounds like rifle shots.

As for the harden-up approach of Woodsy, he may be one of the lucky ones in that there are big individual variations in susceptibility to noise-induced hearing loss but the fact remains, once you've got it, it's too late. As for the comment, "My hearing's pretty good for someone my age", impulse noise does additional damage that's not fully apparent on a pure tone audiogram. I'll bet serious money the vast majority of older shooters who didn't use hearing protection will be pretty hopeless in a noisy social situation like a pub or restaurant. I fitted untold heaps of hearing aids to old hunters/target shooters during my career.

Quote;..... So.... to answer the question posed in the original post - No.... it doesn't bother me one iota that advertising material shows hunters about to fire a rifle without ear protection.

Actually surprised to “hear’”you say that mate....being around aircraft etc.....if you need some earplugs(good quality jobs)let me know ,Ill fire them off to you....save your hearing,it’s worth it....

Originally Posted by Boaraxa

Early teens I was firing off 1 or 2 packets of 12g a week , my old man never really mentioned ear plugs either though now & again he,d stuff some toilet paper in there , suppressors are relatively new to me say out of 30 years of hunting with no ear protection iv had a suppressor for 3 years which I now wouldn't be without , around 10 years ago I got a free hearing test did not give the lady any background info at all took the test & the first thing she said to me after the test was "you must be a keen hunter " I don't notice it but seemly the left ear isn't so great , however one thing I do notice if there is background noise going on when im trying to listen im hopeless , definitely more conscious of my hearing now , last 2 opening weekends I use some electronic earmuffs , pervious to that 0 .

I cant help but wonder in our current climate perhaps our wonderful pm could subsidise suppressors for us in the name of health & safety .

Was it really the firearm bang that made you deaf in your left ear or was it from years of being married

Quote: I cant help but wonder in our current climate perhaps our wonderful pm could subsidise suppressors for us in the name of health & safety .

This, I believe is the main premise for the NRA trying to get suppressors easily and readily available in the US,....Its a good excuse if nothing else...

I can come home to kiwi and get a suppressor without any hassle,..to get one here in Oregon,....its joke...6 months,and more hassle than a bull can shit...

Originally Posted by A330driver

Quote: I cant help but wonder in our current climate perhaps our wonderful pm could subsidise suppressors for us in the name of health & safety .

This, I believe is the main premise for the NRA trying to get suppressors easily and readily available in the US,....Its a good excuse if nothing else...

I can come home to kiwi and get a suppressor without any hassle,..to get one here in Oregon,....its joke...6 months,and more hassle than a bull can shit...

I hear you!

Apparently they have to be registered with the FBI and you have to pay an annual fee to have one.
And undergo a background check.

A bit ott in my books.

In my case, I think the smacks around the ears I got from the old lady as I grew up from a wee snot til I left home did more damage than any rifle shot has.

I was born 50% loss both ears. Made do with out hearing aids once I left school. Pretty conscious of wearing ear pro whilst using chainsaws and open cab tractors. Recently being fitted with hearing aids again after 20 odd years of making do. I miss out on so much to do with hearing. I’ll wear hearing aids after work (.when I remember). Whenever I take them out I notice the loss. It sucks.

Look after your hearing. You only get one set of ears.


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Originally Posted by A330driver

Quote: I cant help but wonder in our current climate perhaps our wonderful pm could subsidise suppressors for us in the name of health & safety .

This, I believe is the main premise for the NRA trying to get suppressors easily and readily available in the US,....Its a good excuse if nothing else...


I can come home to kiwi and get a suppressor without any hassle,..to get one here in Oregon,....its joke...6 months,and more hassle than a bull can shit...

I’m sure the yanks used to think the same about our free standing pistol grips !!! , but yea what’s not to like about saving your ears , loosing some recoil and not spooking game so much .
Really it should be highlighted a bit more with people starting out or as mentioned in advertising it would certainly validate the use of suppressors with the bureaucrats a bit more .