^^^^
I've had ringing in my ears for as long as I can remember; and like so many others also grew up around tractors, snowsleds, chainsaws, lawn mores et.al. before we ever heard of hearing protection. I also had the typical young guy stereo in my truck which makes others cringe.
When I was young and (even) dumb(er) I bought my first revolver, and also a 20 gauge single to replace one which got run over by a tractor.
I had never fired a handgun before, but everybody knows that a .22 doesn't make much noise, right?
I blasted a couple of boxes of ammo through the H&R, then touched off the shotgun. It wasn't until I packed up and headed home that I realized I couldn't hear a thing. My hearing didn't fully recover until the next day. Since then I've gotten religious about hearing muffs for target shooting; but not so good when hunting. It wasn't that uncommon to take 2, 3, or even 4 grouse out of a tree with a .22 handgun; yet I paid for it afterwards. I finally gave up the revolvers and carry my MarkII; the semi is a little quieter than a revolver, although probably not enough to make a difference.