Hi
my name is John O'Connor, I am a father, outdoorsman
and passionate about living a healthy lifestyle. Over
the past few years I have become more and more interested in hearing
loss. My father and grandfathers, who are and were all hunters,
are affected by hearing loss. I feel that there is a general
lack of understanding around the issue and it is our job to spread
awareness where we can. Check out my new blog at
bloggingwjohno.blogspot.com!
Hearing
Health Education for Hunters and Their Families
People enjoy hunting for a variety of reasons. Some people simply enjoy getting outdoors and walking through the woods or scheduling a hunting trip in the mountains so they can experience nature at its finest. Other people are lifelong target shooters and people who have advanced hunting skills who enjoy the challenge of a hunt. No matter what drives you to hunt, there are numerous benefits that can surface from engaging in hunting. Hunting allows friends to bond and parents to teach quality skills and firearm safety techniques to their teenagers. When you go hunting, remember to take safety precautions to protect your hearing as well.
How Is It Possible for Hunting to Damage a Person’s Hearing?
Many people are familiar with the fact that being around consistently loud noises bring on damage to hearing. However, not everyone is aware that just one single shot from a gun can cause permanent damage to a person’s ears. My father who has been a hunter for many years, often when out in the woods or at the range did not pay much attention to his hearing protection. Now much older, he is affected severely by hearing loss. His doctor said that hunting was not the only cause of his hearing loss but that it was a major component. He still enjoys going to the range but always has his hearing aids in and remembers to bring the proper hearing protection with him.
The decibels of a firearm can reach more than 100 decibels of a person’s voice. At an average of 160 decibels per shot, it only takes one shot to cause harm to a person’s ability to hear. If a person goes hunting on a regular basis and is consistently around firearms that are being fired without any type of protective hearing, the chances are great that the person will suffer significant hearing loss. This can happen to children, teens and adults.
Hunter Safety Options to Protect Your Ears
It is not a big investment to protect your ears when you go hunting. Purchasing foam or rubber earplugs can be a great help to providing quality protection when you are hunting. If you want premium protection and also want muted sounds amplified when you hunt, you may consider investing in a pair of electronic earmuffs. [TOR here: they really aren't that expensive these days. I think mine were a bit over $20.] Standard earmuffs provide excellent protection to a person’s hearing and are typically considered comfortable to wear by a majority of hunters. Electronic earmuffs provide the same protection but also have circuits built into them that pick up on low sounds such as voices.
It is a good idea to keep both earmuffs and earplugs on hand so you have them ready whenever you go hunting. If you often go hunting with your children, you can use this opportunity to teach your them about great safety habits to get into so they can learn how to protect their hearing.
People enjoy hunting for a variety of reasons. Some people simply enjoy getting outdoors and walking through the woods or scheduling a hunting trip in the mountains so they can experience nature at its finest. Other people are lifelong target shooters and people who have advanced hunting skills who enjoy the challenge of a hunt. No matter what drives you to hunt, there are numerous benefits that can surface from engaging in hunting. Hunting allows friends to bond and parents to teach quality skills and firearm safety techniques to their teenagers. When you go hunting, remember to take safety precautions to protect your hearing as well.
How Is It Possible for Hunting to Damage a Person’s Hearing?
Many people are familiar with the fact that being around consistently loud noises bring on damage to hearing. However, not everyone is aware that just one single shot from a gun can cause permanent damage to a person’s ears. My father who has been a hunter for many years, often when out in the woods or at the range did not pay much attention to his hearing protection. Now much older, he is affected severely by hearing loss. His doctor said that hunting was not the only cause of his hearing loss but that it was a major component. He still enjoys going to the range but always has his hearing aids in and remembers to bring the proper hearing protection with him.
The decibels of a firearm can reach more than 100 decibels of a person’s voice. At an average of 160 decibels per shot, it only takes one shot to cause harm to a person’s ability to hear. If a person goes hunting on a regular basis and is consistently around firearms that are being fired without any type of protective hearing, the chances are great that the person will suffer significant hearing loss. This can happen to children, teens and adults.
Hunter Safety Options to Protect Your Ears
It is not a big investment to protect your ears when you go hunting. Purchasing foam or rubber earplugs can be a great help to providing quality protection when you are hunting. If you want premium protection and also want muted sounds amplified when you hunt, you may consider investing in a pair of electronic earmuffs. [TOR here: they really aren't that expensive these days. I think mine were a bit over $20.] Standard earmuffs provide excellent protection to a person’s hearing and are typically considered comfortable to wear by a majority of hunters. Electronic earmuffs provide the same protection but also have circuits built into them that pick up on low sounds such as voices.
It is a good idea to keep both earmuffs and earplugs on hand so you have them ready whenever you go hunting. If you often go hunting with your children, you can use this opportunity to teach your them about great safety habits to get into so they can learn how to protect their hearing.
TOR Here: First I would like to thank John for writing this post. Second I strongly recommend using quality hearing protection whenever you shoot. Modern electronic hearing protection will only block (dull really) the bad noises but still be able to hear other noises. Lot's of folks keep a pair by their home defense weapon's which is a pretty good idea. If you have ever heard a firearm discharged in an enclosed space the reason for this is pretty evident.
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4 comments:
The medical technical term for young shooters who don't wear hearing protection is "stupid".
The medical technical term for older shooters who didn't wear hearing protection is "deaf".
And by direct observation, the new military MOS of hardass combat arms SNCOs who didn't wear hearing protection, and can't hear basic commands or communicate on radios and field telephones is "Mess Sgt."
-Aesop
I think about Rick in that tank (or armored personnel carrier ?) during the first episode of Walking Dead where he shot that walker while inside.
I remember watching that scene and thinking, probably the most realistic thing I'll see on the show all season. Hah.
Falling bubbles give plenty of bonus points and goodies. Today's methods of mountaintop removal have been likened to strip mining on steroids. in the Men's 400m FreestyleChina SHI Qinglan achieved Silver medal You can talk to users there and try trade for one. Perhaps a better analogy is of two objects being dropped from a skyscraper.
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