How long will your ears ring?

[JayMcB]

So let's say hypothetically that you decided to go to the range today and shoot a large caliber rifle....like a Barrett, for instance.

Let's say you were careful, assembled your rifle, walked down the 100 yards and posted targets, dialed your irons for 100 meters, and carefully and deliberately fired off a few rounds.

It's stressful shooting .50, so you're sweating like crazy. After 4 rounds, you've safed your rifle, and want to walk down to see if the ones that aren't in the black are on paper, so you take off your earpro to cool off a little on the 200 yard round trip. Despite the fact that you are literally alone on the entire range (you unlocked the gate to enter it), you still follow range rules and turn on the cold range lights.

Disappointed that you've only put 2/4 on paper at 100 yards with your irons, you go back to shoot a couple more. At ~$4/round, this is not mag dump territory here.

You get back to the bench, take your rifle off safe, line up another shot, and in the millisecond before the trigger breaks, you realize your earpro is there next to you on the bench. The scene where Ralphie in Christmas story when he loses the lug nut plays in your mind, saying fuuuuuuuuuuu** in slow motion.......

So 6 hours later, ears are still ringing and still generally less hearing acuity. So how long are they going to ring? Hypothetically....

 

[rivet_42]

Tinnitus and hearing damage could possibly be permanent.

https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2011/4/5/50-bmg-the-ultimate-big-bore/ "Shooting a .50 without ear protection is sure to result in immediate and permanent hearing damage."

 

[KodiakFan24]

Tinnitus and hearing damage could possibly be permanent.

https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2011/4/5/50-bmg-the-ultimate-big-bore/ "Shooting a .50 without ear protection is sure to result in immediate and permanent hearing damage."

Welp, that's that.

 

[Queen Bee]

shit man , i am so sorry you had to learn the hard way , on a 50 caliber no less.. shit

from reading it, it looks like the 50 along with most calibers carries with it a 180db rating which causes death of hearing tissue at some level regardless.

i have tinnitus from concerts back in my youth and it sucks , i have a rule after loosing some hearing, to just never take off your hearing protection.. not even when the range is cold , until i am either in my car, or if its an indoor range, i will wait till i am far outside the door of the fire line.

 

[mibro]

I'm more optimistic.

My hearing in my right ear is a little less acute than my left due to all the shooting I did in the military, all with ear plugs.

I remember going to one particular rock concert without ear plugs many years ago where my ears rang for days and I was quite concerned. In the end, no noticeable hearing loss though a proper test would probably find something.

I do have tinnitus now but I can manage it fairly well by what I eat, believe it or not. Sugar and carbs, tinnitus is a lot worse; veggies, fruits, salads and veggie juice and it fades almost to nothing.

My prediction - a couple of days, no more than a week, and you will be back to 98% normal.

 

[Queen Bee]

from what i am reading concerts are at about 120 decibels, which granted you are spending a prolonged amount of time which offsets the lower decibel compared to the 50 cal but honestly it is going to be hard to judge the damage without a hearing test.

 

[rivet_42]

Hearing loss is nothing to f around with, I have some from too many loud concerts and too many loud dance clubs back in my youth. I used to have "golden ears", people would take me with them when shopping for stereo gear. I don't, any more. I still go to concerts and I'm *very* careful about wearing ear plugs and bringing several extra pair for friends, and I'm absolutely scrupulous about wearing ear pro when shooting. I double up on plugs and muffs.

 

[crazymjb]

I spent plenty of time around .50 cal machineguns and definitely jad earpro snafus. While I have minor tinnitus now, it wasnt from one incident in particular. Longest I have had constant ringing/partial deafness from a single event was probably 2-3 days after an all day .50 cal range we ran where earpro could have been better and the ways the guns were setup I wasn't well behind the muzzles the whole time (IE I was in line with a muzzle to my left or right 10-20m away).

I shot .308 with a break under a roof once with no earpro by accident too. That was brutal.

Mike

Sent from my cell phone with a tiny keyboard and large thumbs...

 

[smokey-seven]

Don't worry about it too much, mine started to ring when I was around 16. They still ring and I'm 70.

 

[greencobra]

1 round? i'd say in a couple of days you'll be fine. now if it was prolonged exposure, not so much.

 

[Scott7980]

Did the same with a .308 the next day it was better

 

[Spanz]

I would not screw around with your ears! I was a little cavalier in my youth with shooting and rock bands (always cranked it up to 11), and now my ears do some pretty funky things I wish they did not.

 

[Mountain]

What???
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As others have said, give it a few days to see how it goes. That 50 makes quite an impulse- it's not just the noise but the shock wave that will open clogged sinuses. I recently was exposed without earpro to someone shooting a magnum rifle at the range. My bad for that & ears rang for a couple days. I'd be surprised if you are not OK in a few days.

While the 50 may do more than your average blast, I think its the long term cumulative exposure that causes the permanent damage. I know I have damage from years of shooting, loud music, MX racing, and later exposure to loud industrial environments like steel mills and ship yards. Certain frequencies are bad, like my wife's voice LOL- no kidding. Maybe that's a blessing. Other frequencies are quite sharp. I can hear a bearing going bad from across a plant but can't hear what the person next to me is saying.

 

[Fixxah]

Your hypothetical situation should have said 1,000 yards. Nobody shoots a .50 at 100 yards.

 

[Sparky123]

So let's say hypothetically that you decided to go to the range today and shoot a large caliber rifle....like a Barrett, for instance.

Let's say you were careful, assembled your rifle, walked down the 100 yards and posted targets, dialed your irons for 100 meters, and carefully and deliberately fired off a few rounds.

It's stressful shooting .50, so you're sweating like crazy. After 4 rounds, you've safed your rifle, and want to walk down to see if the ones that aren't in the black are on paper, so you take off your earpro to cool off a little on the 200 yard round trip. Despite the fact that you are literally alone on the entire range (you unlocked the gate to enter it), you still follow range rules and turn on the cold range lights.

Disappointed that you've only put 2/4 on paper at 100 yards with your irons, you go back to shoot a couple more. At ~$4/round, this is not mag dump territory here.

You get back to the bench, take your rifle off safe, line up another shot, and in the millisecond before the trigger breaks, you realize your earpro is there next to you on the bench. The scene where Ralphie in Christmas story when he loses the lug nut plays in your mind, saying fuuuuuuuuuuu** in slow motion.......

So 6 hours later, ears are still ringing and still generally less hearing acuity. So how long are they going to ring? Hypothetically....

Something similar happened to me. I was at an indoor range in the summer and it was hot, so I took off my hearing protection because I was sweating so much. I was doing something so I never noticed the guy who came in. And just like me he wasn't paying attention. So he went into the next shooting port and quickly fired six rounds from his .357 magnum revolver. It was so loud that I thought my head was going to explode. That happened five years ago and my right ear still rings, especially if I am exposed to loud sounds. My doctor said tinnitus is accumulative, meaning it would have happened anyway. But what happen to me just sped up the process. So, my advice is to see your doctor and be careful for now on to avoid loud sounds.

 

[ackar]

After hearing the Who perform Tommy at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia - three days of ear static. Then follow with a lifetime in the trades leads to "WHAT I CAN'T HEAR YOU". I wear hearing protection a lot now.

 

[bill o]

 

[92G]

1 round? i'd say in a couple of days you'll be fine. now if it was prolonged exposure, not so much.

THIS

a single severe exposure not nearly as bad as repeated moderate exposure.

 

[1776]

The wife said....what

 

[lowbuckbob]

I think you'll be fine in a couple of days. In my misspent youth, my buddy and I decided to shoot .357 without ear protection just to see what it would be like. 12 rounds later, our ears were ringing pretty good but it was gone in a couple of days.

 

[GlockJock]

a single severe exposure not nearly as bad as repeated moderate exposure.

Sicilian mother-in-law...31 years...I'm somewhat jealous of those of you in this thread who went to the range without ear protection, or went to too many concerts, or (etc etc)....

 

[rep308]

Plugs and muffs, be redundant. Plugs go in when I get to the club, muffs go on when I get to the range. I always have plugs in, in case someone fires with out warning or I forget the muffs.

 

[FreeWillie]

Having spent almost 20 years in and around Turbojet engines that have db levels approaching 190 in full afterburner, I say "What?" a lot. Yes, I wore hearing protection anytime I was on or near the flight line.

 

[TomMontana]

Hope you feel better soon. Not sure how some can go with just plugs. I double up and sometimes still feel like it's not enough. I'd rather struggle to get a good cheek weld than have less ear pro.

 

[Finalygotabeltfed]

Your ear drum ..................Your ear drum on Barret .50bmg


Give it a week and if not significant improvement get checked.

 

[knfmn]

You'll probably be fine. It tends to be cumulative. (Ask me how I know. ) I'm 40 and have been shooting and listening to loud music my entire life. My ears ring constantly and I have a hard time hearing some things. I would tend to think you'll be ok with a one time blast.

 

[Finalygotabeltfed]

............................fortyfive years later .

Not laughing at you.......laughing with you. I've done the same thing on a couple of occasions with a State Arms .50........ITS LOUUUUUUUUUD!!!!!!!! Especially under a covered firing point.

 

[scatter]

I was at an indoor class at Sig Academy, think it was low-light shooting. We were way up close with the targets barely illuminated. Probably 12 of us on the firing line, firing several quick shots each.

I realized I didn't have my ears on when go command came and the noise nearly knocked me over. It was physically painful. I assumed I had left my muffs at the back of the range on the table and instinctively turned to go get them, which of course is a big no-no being behind the firing line with a loaded gun. So the instructor stopped me, asked me what was wrong, and I told him I needed to go get my ears. He said "they're on your head."

But as loud as that was, and lasting for maybe 15 seconds or so, I didn't have any lingering effects, not even shortly afterwards. I was very surprised.

 

[Coyote33]

All I can think of are all those WWII (and other) vets, who fought for long periods even entire wars without protection. I have a friend deaf in both ears. He said he had a Cat diesel in one ear, and a .50 cal in the other, when he was on an "amtrack" in Viet Nam.

Hope you feel better tomorrow.

 

[whacko]

Tinnitus and hearing damage could possibly be permanent.

https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2011/4/5/50-bmg-the-ultimate-big-bore/ "Shooting a .50 without ear protection is sure to result in immediate and permanent hearing damage."

Really? Based solely on one internet article? I always laugh at this stuff when it comes up. Of course ear pro is a must on the range....but....do think military personnel that get caught in a fight have time to put plugs in!?!?! One shot with a 50 is sure to result in damage!?!? Lets not freek the op out just yet ok.

Op.....after about a 30 second stint of suppressive fire behind ma duece the ringing in my ears lasted about 48 hours. VERY minor loss detected in my left year (high frequency sounds) according to my med records. So permenent damage is possible......but not a guarantee. Give it a couple of days and see how u feel.