Gunshot ear damage

[phalanx]

I’m in a skeet club. We were preparing and a kid novice fired his gun right near my ear. While we were about to put on our ear muffs. It got to another guy also but not as close to me. Instant DEAF. Right ear is ok but i hear noises that aren’t even there. But i can hear with it.
Left ear is like im hearing through water. 

Do these things heal on there own? Range officer ran him off, it was only four inches away from my head.

[gene_225]

Wish you the best, but I don't have any experience with that, just the long term damage from shooting my whole life.

[Dee]

Being a police small arms, and SWAT instructor for 20 years, I don't know how many times I've had my bell rung. Flashbang grenades were really good for the hearing also..

I have high frequency hearing loss, but I've survived. You will to.

[phalanx]

Being a police small arms, and SWAT instructor for 20 years, I don't know how many times I've had my bell rung. Flashbang grenades were really good for the hearing also..

I have high frequency hearing loss, but I've survived. You will to.

SUCKS, im afraid of the long term. My hearing was my best asset. Seeing an ear doctor tomorrow.

[ironglow]

Being a police small arms, and SWAT instructor for 20 years, I don't know how many times I've had my bell rung. Flashbang grenades were really good for the hearing also..

I have high frequency hearing loss, but I've survived. You will to.

   Had the same experience with tanks, mortars, HEs and other destructive devices.  The army didn't furnish much hearing protection back in the 1950s.
  Some were bell ringers right then..but wore off for the most part..but I have long term loss.  It started with high pitched sounds.. now more general.   Going for another evaluation Friday..

[Dee]

Being a police small arms, and SWAT instructor for 20 years, I don't know how many times I've had my bell rung. Flashbang grenades were really good for the hearing also..

I have high frequency hearing loss, but I've survived. You will to.

SUCKS, im afraid of the long term. My hearing was my best asset. Seeing an ear doctor tomorrow.

I don't worry about my hearing loss. My killer good looks, and charismatic witty personality are just 2 of my best assets, and more than make up for my hearing loss.   

[Ranger99]

I've been around gunfire, loud
unmuffled racecars, heavy trucks
and equipment with high pitched
whiney turbochargers, loud
motorcycles, loud nail guns, etc.

I have a high pitched whine that'll
probably be with me until the last,
but as long as I can slog through
the rest of my life, I'm not letting
them cut on me again. Hopefully,
I'll not have to be in the hospital
again for anything.

See your doctor, but (just me)
I'd not let them be cutting on
me hoping for a miracle cure.
I'll never let them cut on my
eyes especially. 

Good Luck

[O-mega]

Any permanent damage due to one shot will be minimal at best.  Long or frequent exposure causes more lasting damage, I, as others have said, have had many rounds, and other things, get fired close, sometimes very close, to my ears and I came away with just a minimal amount of hearing loss and a slight case of tinnitus.

[ironglow]

  From what I understand, there are little "hairs" deep  in the ear that pick up the sound wave vibrations.
  One loud shot usually won't do permanent harm, but continuous punishment, causing them to flex way beyond
the usual, can do permanent damage.
  When the noise is accompanied by elevated pressures, I don't see how damage can be avoided.  I suspect that is
 why my VA adviser said former artillerymen or tankers can plan on hearing loss.

   Just my understanding...I'm not a doctor..

[Lloyd Smale]

most of what people want to talk to me about im not interested in anyway so i learned to smile and nod.

[phalanx]

most of what people want to talk to me about im not interested in anyway so i learned to smile and nod.

It got a little bit better last night. Waits to be seen from here.

[gene_225]

most of what people want to talk to me about im not interested in anyway so i learned to smile and nod.

Yah, but one of my daughters gets irritated with me when I do that.

[Lloyd Smale]

so does my wife but oh well

[phalanx]

If i end up needing hearing aids, im going to grow out my hair again! 

[ironglow]

  I got tired of saying .."Huh!"  Either that or just ignore what people are saying, pretending they are not speaking loud enough.
  Problem being, they know they are speaking loud enough, and so does everyone else.  So the so you are either rude, or stupid. Then folks just start ignoring you.

  Current hearing aids are not too obtrusive..and eventually people all know you wear them.  I wear a very short
  haircut, and just make jokes about my aids, even though nobody else does.

     Sometimes I joke about having "left my ears at home"..which I often do..

   Sometimes hearing aids can be helpful
       My son & his wife took me to dinner on Saturday evening.  It was one of those new restaurants that boast of
   their own brewery/distillery.   none of us were about to sample their hooch, but my son likes the food.  It was a well decorated place, but with little sound cushioning.

  Now, I like a quiet home and a quiet environment..  ..But here was football on the giant TVs, and it seems the people were all loud talkers, so shortly it started telling on my nerves..
  The answer?  ..I just took my hearing aids out and put them in my pocket..  I can handle normal or slightly elevated conversation fairly well, and that move saved me some misery.

[O-mega]

  From what I understand, there are little "hairs" deep  in the ear that pick up the sound wave vibrations.
  One loud shot usually won't do permanent harm, but continuous punishment, causing them to flex way beyond
the usual, can do permanent damage.
  When the noise is accompanied by elevated pressures, I don't see how damage can be avoided.  I suspect that is
 why my VA adviser said former artillerymen or tankers can plan on hearing loss.

   Just my understanding...I'm not a doctor..

It's actually the eardrum that captures the sounds (vibrations), then some tiny bones that amplify those sounds to some fluid that has nerve endings which basically transmit the sounds to your brain.  So if you have eardrum damage, which is one of the things that can get damaged with overpressure episodes, such as an explosion, hearing aids that work like the jawbone earphones that bypass the eardrum and go directly to the cochlea (fluid and nerves) work great.

[phalanx]

My Doctor and an LVN fixed it today. The biggest problem was the built up of ear wax. Probably saved my ear drum.They used a big syringe and hard squirted water in it.  Then the doctor used a small tool and dug it all out. Now i can hear about anything.

[O-mega]

My Doctor and an LVN fixed it today. The biggest problem was the built up of ear wax. Probably saved my ear drum.They used a big syringe and hard squirted water in it.  Then the doctor used a small tool and dug it all out. Now i can hear about anything.

Heck, that may have saved you from damage during the up close and personal shot you experienced :-)

[phalanx]

My Doctor and an LVN fixed it today. The biggest problem was the built up of ear wax. Probably saved my ear drum.They used a big syringe and hard squirted water in it.  Then the doctor used a small tool and dug it all out. Now i can hear about anything.

Heck, that may have saved you from damage during the up close and personal shot you experienced :-)

I’m hearing much better now.  Thank goodness it didn't rupture my ear drums.

[Ranger99]

My Doctor and an LVN fixed it today. The biggest problem was the built up of ear wax. Probably saved my ear drum.They used a big syringe and hard squirted water in it.  Then the doctor used a small tool and dug it all out. Now i can hear about anything.

Heck, that may have saved you from damage during the up close and personal shot you experienced :-)

I’m hearing much better now.  Thank goodness it didn't rupture my ear drums.

That's good it was a relatively minor
issue and was easily fixed

[ironglow]

  I occasionally wash out my ears with a syringe, and as hot water as I can stand.   Seems to work well.

[nw_hunter]

I don't recall being issued hearing protection during my military days. Being in the infantry, we fired a lot of rifles, and threw many grenades. That and being supported by tanks often, we had our share of their Bangs! I wear hearing aids today in both ears because of it. Never worried about it at the time. I've had sudden hearing loss a few times from extra loud guns with short barrels, but none worse than firing an M44 Mosin Carbine. I forgot to put my ear plugs in and I thought it had burst my eardrum. For a week, everything sounded like it was coming from a 55 gal. drum. I think my tinnitus was increased a few  notches at that time.

[nw_hunter]

We called those Air force boys Bus drivers. I think it was because of their blue uniforms. I think Greyhound Bus drivers wore blue. Being a grunt in the infantry, we fired live ammo often, and Blanks a lot.

[ironglow]

  From what I understand, there are little "hairs" deep  in the ear that pick up the sound wave vibrations.
  One loud shot usually won't do permanent harm, but continuous punishment, causing them to flex way beyond
the usual, can do permanent damage.
  When the noise is accompanied by elevated pressures, I don't see how damage can be avoided.  I suspect that is
 why my VA adviser said former artillerymen or tankers can plan on hearing loss.

   Just my understanding...I'm not a doctor..

It's actually the eardrum that captures the sounds (vibrations), then some tiny bones that amplify those sounds to some fluid that has nerve endings which basically transmit the sounds to your brain.  So if you have eardrum damage, which is one of the things that can get damaged with overpressure episodes, such as an explosion, hearing aids that work like the jawbone earphones that bypass the eardrum and go directly to the cochlea (fluid and nerves) work great.

   Common terms for those small bones, the smallest in the human body...are commonly called the hammer, anvil and stirrup..   ..But surely, there must be a Latin name..