patrick_g
Elite Member
Interesting thread...
I was USAF 1963-1967, Strategic Air Command where Gen Curtis "Nuke'em" LeMAY had us soldiering a lot harder than the rest of the "boy scouts in bus driver clothes." I got significant firing range time and never saw a set of muffs in use the whole time I was in from basic till discharge.
One day after shooting my hearing was "funny", everything sounded like I had soup cans up near my ears giving everything a tinny fuzzy echo kind of nature. Over the week it got better and later my hearing was tested and found pretty good up to 21,500 Hz in one ear and about 20,000 in the other. I kid you not, I could here the bat's SONAR as they echo located prey. I could hear the ultrasound (SONAR) controlled traffic signals. Ultrasonic alarms in stores sounded like steam whistles going off in my ear.
My hearing rapidly deteriorated. According to the medicos it was only a matter of time due to previous excessive noise exposure. I have tinitus AND hearing loss, mostly in the high freqs. I got hearing aids a couple years ago and don't wear them much. They do help with the high freqs as they are selectively boosting the highs. Unfortunately you can't wear muffs with them on as they go into howling oscillation so I can't wear them in the shop because I wear protectors when running noisy machines. I can't wear them to shoot for same reason. I keep promising myself I will try to wear them more but I am not very dependable regarding that intention.
Pat Sorry? PAT... huh? PAT!!! Oh, OK
I was USAF 1963-1967, Strategic Air Command where Gen Curtis "Nuke'em" LeMAY had us soldiering a lot harder than the rest of the "boy scouts in bus driver clothes." I got significant firing range time and never saw a set of muffs in use the whole time I was in from basic till discharge.
One day after shooting my hearing was "funny", everything sounded like I had soup cans up near my ears giving everything a tinny fuzzy echo kind of nature. Over the week it got better and later my hearing was tested and found pretty good up to 21,500 Hz in one ear and about 20,000 in the other. I kid you not, I could here the bat's SONAR as they echo located prey. I could hear the ultrasound (SONAR) controlled traffic signals. Ultrasonic alarms in stores sounded like steam whistles going off in my ear.
My hearing rapidly deteriorated. According to the medicos it was only a matter of time due to previous excessive noise exposure. I have tinitus AND hearing loss, mostly in the high freqs. I got hearing aids a couple years ago and don't wear them much. They do help with the high freqs as they are selectively boosting the highs. Unfortunately you can't wear muffs with them on as they go into howling oscillation so I can't wear them in the shop because I wear protectors when running noisy machines. I can't wear them to shoot for same reason. I keep promising myself I will try to wear them more but I am not very dependable regarding that intention.
Pat Sorry? PAT... huh? PAT!!! Oh, OK