Muzzle Blast - Ear Ringing

Took out one of my ear plugs today for a readjustment - Just as I did this my buddy muzzle blasts the SH** out of my ear (direction of the shot was safe, but was standing behind me and i got the full blast). Ears are ringing pretty bad. Did some looking on the internet and its got me scared that it wont go away. This ever happened to any of you guys? Did the ringing go away? Thanks fellas - and make sure to keep those plugs in.

By the way - Managed to scratch out a few. Always good to be in the outdoors with friends.

My cousin had something similar happen last year during a duck hunt. His ear stopped ringing after about 10 hours. Hopefully yours will stop ringing, I bet that is beyond annoying.

It'll ring for the day. When you go to bed it'll keep you awake for a bit. Tomorrow should be g2g.

I've had it happen a couple of times, yes it does go away, just might make you a little hard of hearing in your senior years.

Huh? I say that a lot. My ears don't even ring anymore. Too many dove hunts, explosions, and firefights LOL. Def gonna try and get some hearing aids before I get out the Army.

Try the metrogun.
Will knock off half the decibel.
You will never go back

Happens all the time. You'll be fine.

It could go either way.

I've got tinnitus (ringing in the ears) from shooting half a box thru a 22LR revolver 20 years ago. Ears have not stopped ringing since. I was young and stupid and didn't have plugs in. You hear guys say "I've shot a bunch without earplugs and I'm fine", but sometimes all it takes is once. I've read a good analogy about a beer bottle falling onto a concrete floor, sometimes it breaks but sometimes it just bounces around. The ear anatomy is fragile and it doesn't repair itself. You don't get do-overs.

I did a lot of research on noise levels before I started back up with shooting sports. Here are some of the informational links I've found.

http://keepandbeararms.com/information/XcIBViewItem.asp?ID=2052
http://www.freehearingtest.com/hia_gunfirenoise.shtml
http://earplugstore.typepad.com/got_ears...ht-for-you.html

The other thing to think about is it's cumulative. It's not just your gun at the range, it's all of the shots going off around you. I try and go at off hours to avoid that effect.

And yes, be sure and wear your hearing protection. Going deaf isn't worth it. Try archery instead! Sorry to be a downer but wanted to get the info out there. Hopefully it's helpful.

Hope it turns out OK for you Oilag.

I've had that happen to me more times than I can count and it has gone away every time.

I've always been a faithful user of ear protection when shooting off the bench or practicing. But when actually hunting, I've never bothered with ear plugs.

Looking back, I think this is unwise. Little foam ear plugs are a dime a dozen and take just a couple seconds to pop into your ears prior to the shot. And under most hunting scenarios--not all--you have a couple seconds before taking the shot. This is especially true these days with fugly muzzle brakes on many hunting rifles. And suppressors are too expensive and too infused with bureaucracy to make them universally appealing.

I think we should insist that our kids and grandkids use ear protection in the field, just as we require them to buckle up in the car. Of course, the lesson would go a lot further if we did so ourselves.....

Good points dawaba.

I wear my walkers game earmuffs hunting, deer and birds. I pick up more sounds from the mics that I can normally hear. I can't take the chance and the money spent on them is well worth it.

When I take the kids out dove hunting this weekend, they know they wear the muffs or they go sit in the truck. You wear protection shooting skeet, why not the same for doves?

Thanks for the replies - Feels a bit better this morning but the ringing is definitely not gone. Hope it subsides like it did for most of you.

Hearing damage from such things are permanent. Only question is how much. Best of luck!

Even with ear pro sometimes when I shoot a gun I will get an intense headache on the top left part of my head. Anyone know what that means?

Give ZEM Enhanced Hearing Protection a try. They are cheap, fit around your neck so they are always handy, they are very slim and weigh nothing and you can hear what is going on around you. I use them all the time and have never had ringing in my ears. You can get them on the internet at the NRA Store site and other sites as well. http://www.nrastore.com/nrastore/ProductDetail.aspx?p=SA%20302

No telling with you and your "work" experience. Maybe worth checking with a doc?

I messed mine up shooting unprotected when young and subsequently being around rock crushers and ball mills even for a short time unprotected.

I have what's call tinnitus. Constant ringing in the ears. I guess its from not having ears protected and many muzzle blasts over the 50 years I've been hunting. Hope yours gets better.

Get it checked out bro, TBI is the signature injury of the current/recent conflicts. It can initially manifest in several ways and will only get worse without treatment. The brain injury itself won't cause physical pain, but the accompanying vascular damage will. Take the tests and don't BS yourself or the docs. If you can perform a maneuver and make it look normal, though with difficulty, 'fess up. The more honest the results the better help you'll get, if there's even a problem. Better to find out or rule it out now.

Edited to add: And Thank you for your service!!

Yeaah I have thought about that. The army medical system is just such a pain in the butt.