/k/ - Weapons

>damaging your own hearing on purpose to see what it's like

Anon, that's a pretty bad idea. The difference between shooting in self-defense and just shooting at paper is the body's natural defense with a corticotrophin-releasing factor/CRF that will protect your sensitive bits during fight or flight when the body anticipates loud noises.

I sleep with leather-cuffed headphones next to me on the bed. Even if I can't reach my earpro in the bureau, by the time I've woken up and grabbed my pistol from on the nightstand or behind the pillow, I probably have a spare second to cram those down on my head. Honestly, even without those being noise cancelling or anything, they probably reduce 10-15 decibels just from the leather. You could also wrap your pillow around the back of your head in an emergency, and that'd probably do just fine if you got it nice and tight. People have proven through testing that shooting with a pillow over the muzzle suppresses a lot of the noise, so if it's good enough for mafia assassinations, it's good enough for home defense.

Really, though, just having earpro nearby and practicing, practicing, practicing getting them on quickly is a good idea. Self defense is 100% practice, so make sure not to cut any corners. And if nothing else, if you end up ventilating a guy in your bedroom at the cost of some of your hearing… you're alive, he isn't. Fucker got what he deserved and your life can move on. Not much worth worrying about at that point, when what's done is done and the threat is gone.

>>652664

>My hearing got muffled and I heard a loud beeping noise. My hearing came back within minutes but the beeping noise is still there after around 6 hours. It gradually got quieter and it's barely audible now. The beeping noise is only in my right ear, probably because I shot right handed. It didn't seem loud when I shot it. Maybe that's "auditory exclusion"

It's called tinnitus, it's the result of hearing loss, which is permanent. Your brain expects a certain range of sounds, and when your hearing is damaged by loud noise, you lose some of that range. So your brain 'replaces' it with a ringing sound. The only 'cure' is a hearing aid that will play something like vid related, you won't hear the ringing while you listen to it.

use that ear protection that has a microphone and plays low-volume sounds like headphones. a higher-end one that protects your ears without harming situational awareness. should be fine for home defense, for carry you have to tough it out

>>652667

although adding a pair of earplugs you can shove in quick to EDC isn't a half bad idea. no guarantee you'd have the time, but you might, and there's no reason not to bring 'em

One time I found a raccoon in a wooden grain bin on the property and lucikly someone unloaded my shotgun that I took with. So I went into the grain bin with my 357 Magnum Brazilian cheapo revolver and gave it the what for, the first round was perfect and smashed through its spine, but another two rounds for good measure. In an enclosed wooden building. I was almost deaf for three days, not sure if it hurt me for life.

As for the theory of taking hearing protection its nicer theory than practice. >>652685 already made note of this, you just don't have time in a self defense situation to fill your ears, you have to defend yourself from the attack. Maybe for house defense situations you may have a theoretical time to do so, but perhaps not if its a home invasion and the attackers are moving rapidly. If you barely have time to pull a gun, you don't have much time to pull out ear buds or plugs. You almost have to wear them all the time.

Chance of defending yourself with a gun is low, and if it happens the greatest threat IS FROM THE FUCKING GUY YOU NEED TO USE LETHAL FORCE AGAINST not damaging your ears once in a situation. Don't plan your entire self defense around sound and ear saving, set it around your potential threat. Choose the gun that will stop the guy with a gun or a knife, not what's easy on your ears for one situation. Carry the handgun that will stop the lethal threat, or threat of severe bodily harm, not one that is good on your hearing.

>>652690

And this is why internal suppressed guns are the future.

For your ears and your sons's ears.

>>652693

The fact that suppressed guns are illegal instead of being mandatory is the biggest load of shit the regressives ever got through legislatively.

>>652694

That's the whole thing, I had severe tinnitus after that particular event, but after a week it was gone and I don't suffer from it ever. I've been around older shooters who shoot 9mm and 38 Special without protection before and they didn't think much of it. Seems like its a problem for people who hurt their ears than go ahead and do it again, or constant abuse. If you shoot without ear protection once and hurt your ears, then don't shoot without protection several years after that, doesnt' seem like it causes noticable permanent damage. Maybe on some minor level, but occasional doens't seem to be a hearing ending problem.

>>652700

Tinnitus, like with everything else, has heavily to do with genetics. Some people are affected for life from just one event while others require repeated exposure.

>>652696

>You want school shooters to be able to kill people without being heard, anon?

They get all their info about guns from movies or video games. Their are people out there that still think we can just go buy an automatic like it's fucking milk or eggs.

>>652732

>Honey I'm going for groceries, do you need anything? I've got the usual bread eggs milk?

>Can you get me a micro-uzi?

>Honey we talked about this you ventilated the roof the last time a nigger broke in

>>652694

What I mean is that it would be better to have them than not. Obviously, if some crackhead jumps you and you gotta fuck his shit up mid-fight, then there was never really time to put them on anyways. Now, if you're around an armed robbery or, god forbid, a mass shooting, you'll save your ears from interior gunfire

>inb4 mass shootings are a government false flag and never happen

>>652700

Nice dubs anon

OP here. I slept and now my hearing is back. When I put on earmuffs in the quietest part of my house, I don't hear any beeping. Feels good. I'm definitely never doing that again and making ear pro part of my EDC. It feels like my hearing is the way it was but I don't have a scientific way to prove that. I'd have to take an ear exam which I might do anyway. I'm going to go easy on my ears for the near future. No loud noises.

I'm skeptical about being able to use it in CC. If you have time to put it on, it would be hard to argue self defense. In the eyes of the law, it could show malicious intent. It's probably more practical if you're not the first target(like a mass shooting or robbery) or in home defense.

I looked online for ear pro options. I'll probably get some reusable earplugs that come with a cord so that I can have them around my neck. That'll give me the best chance of putting them on quickly. If that doesn't conceal well enough then I'll get a case and put it on my keychain.

>>652802

How can the law punish you for wearing ear protection? How can they prove you wore it?

Also, in a real situation your body has mechanisms to protect you. It was kinda dumb to simply try that out. At least it wasn't a .44 magnum

>>652806

It could be recorded. There could be witnesses. It doesn't sound right when you take the time to put on ear pro and then shoot. Someone could argue that you could have spent that time running away. It could be interpreted as you being unwilling to negotiate. Obviously, it depends on the situation. You could get a jury full of gun grabbers that are swayed by cheap arguments.

>>652806

The same way using a 10mm or .45 instead of a 9mm makes it easier to convict you of murder in a self defense case.

What are you supposed to do for ear protection if you're a blind fuck with corrective eyeglasses?

>just wear contacts

Too blind for that.

>wear earmuffs over glasses

You lose 1-10dB of attenuation that way.

Are ear plugs the only option?

>>652826

Just get an eye surgery and cut on your vidya playing/reading time.

Guns are loud.. wear ear protection whenever you can when firing it. Or get a muzzle/silencer.

>>652829

>eye surgery

Don't do this, it'll make you blind faster.

>>654659

How so? I want to get a PRK before enlisting.

>>654660

Cutting off part of the cornea or lens leaves those surfaces thinner and more sensitive to light, exposing the cells in the back of your eye to radiation far more intense than they were ever designed for. As a result, your eyes degrade faster, because they don't have the thickness of that tissue there to protect them from the harmful effects of light. Think of it like having a glass window that dims sunlight, but the window gets foggy on the outside, so as a solution you scrape off the surface of the glass from the outside… except now there's less glass in the way to dim said light, and whatever tinting may have been on the surface has been removed. It's going to get a lot brighter in that room, probably uncomfortably so.

>>654664

It still seems like an ok bargain. After I enlist, I'll probably not have the time to fuck up my eyes with midnight vidya and things like that.

>>652727

I've shot with these and still had tinnitus. As evidenced by >>652684 activating all kinds of shit in my ear

Why not have some Bluetooth hear protection? Works as headphones that connect to your fone or ear protection when you shoot.

>>652664

I am not the smartest EDC. I wear earbuds all day long. They are shures that have yellow foam inserts that go into the ear. It has it's cons not being able to hear my surroundings at all but, I could shoot with these in my ears and be protected.

I would not recommend training with out ear protection. Now would I recommend walking around deafened to the outside world like I do. One day I am going have someone ambush me if I am not looking over my shoulder.

That being said, when it's time to pull the trigger your hearing is the price you pay for trying to stay alive.

You won't have time to put foam in your ears when shit goes down in most bad situations.

I am kind of surprised it bothered you that much. I had to discharge my subcompact 9 in my house before and I just remember thinking thank God I did not pull my 357. This incident occurred using Hornady 158gr xtp custom rounds. Ringing was gone in 5 minutes and I was not even dazed by the report one bit.

I have a few thoughts on this issue:

A. Heavier and quieter ammo could make a difference if it's between subsonic and ultrasonic. I.e. a light round at 1200 fps vs. a heavier round at 1000 fps. However, it will still be loud enough to easily damage your hearing.

B. With that in mind, you do not want to sacrifice effectiveness just to save your ears. It's your life vs. your hearing. If you can find a subsonic round that you're positive will be effective, go for it, but know that it probably won't save your hearing.

C. There are two proven ways to prevent/reduce damage to your hearing: 1. never fire a round in self-defense (which sort of contraindicates

>>654711

because you'll be lacking the situational awareness to avoid a gunfight in the first place); b. protect your hearing 100% of the time within reason (i.e. avoiding listening to loud music or going to concerts, wearing the best earpro available while practicing, etc.), which will help ensure you make a full recovery should you ever have to fire a round in self-defense.

D. I tend to think that in many situations, being able to hear is absolutely crucial in the moments leading up to the shooting. If someone breaks into your home, being able to hear exactly where he is could make the difference between you living and dying.

E. On a similar note, putting on ear protection can cost you valuable seconds and decision-making brain power. Even if you train frequently and get to the point where putting on your earpro becomes muscle memory, it's still one more thing you have to do, and if you fuck it up it'll throw you off. Then what happens if you don't wake up until the bad guy is right outside your door? Your muscle memory tells you to grab the earpro, but your brain tells you there's no time, so your OODA loop is fucked.

tl;dr just choose the most effective ammo you can, use earpro when you practice, but don't worry about saving your hearing when your life is on the line.

I went shooting once and forgot ear pro, we shot my sks, mosin and Mauser. It wasn’t that bad, I honk you’re overreacting OP.

Those cci low report .22 lr cartridges are the only thing I would repeatedly fire with ear protection.

They have lots of ejection failures though unless you swap out a spring or two.

Truly fun to shoot these though.

>>654985

Without***

>>652669

I'm having some trouble visualizing how you would wrap a pillow around your head and operate a shotgun simultaneously. Could you make a diagram?

>>654993

You know how you scrunch your shoulder up to use a phone with no hands? Try that I guess.

OP here. Thought this thread was dead. Ended up going to the ear doc. They found no problems with my ear drum and said my hearing was perfect. The doc mentioned steroids but didn't prescribe them because I didn't hear the tinnitus when I was there. It comes back when I'm exposed to loud noises. I still can't listen to headphones. Going to take it easy and let it heal.

My left ear has been fine this entire time. I don't know if it's because the ejection port is on the right side of the gun, that I shot right handed, or the sound was reflected more on my right side. It makes me wonder if with better preparation, this could have gone better. What if I had been using a gun with a longer barrel, one that didn't eject the round automatically, held it at a different angle, or gone somewhere less reflective. I'd like to see that tested.

>>655510

>I didn't hear the tinnitus when I was there

It's cumulative.

Hearing and sight are degenerative conditions.

>>652664

Some people are calling you out for trying this but I did the same myself and my takeaway is that everyone should do it at least once so they know what to expect in a real situation. I didn't think brown box (slow) .45 ACP out of a standard 1911 length barrel would be deafening when shot in an open field until I tried it. The ringing stopped after a few minutes but I learned several important lessons, including the fact that the sheer intensity of the sound would have significantly hampered my abilities in a home defense situation if I hadn't learned what to expect.

Obviously avoid doing this more than once, but if you carry a fireball generator such as a snubnose .357 revolver, you might want to prepare yourself in a less harsh setting before you break all your senses shooting at some nignog/spic down in your kitchen at 2am. Both you and your attacker will be blind and deaf after that first shot, being the one person in the room expecting that is a fairly huge advantage.

>>655514

Vision can be improved with laser surgery. I don't know of any cure for hearing loss or tinnitus. Having blurry vision isn't as bothersome as having a mosquito flying around inside your head.

>>655516

It made me wiser but I could have learned what to expect with more research. I wouldn't recommend it.