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 !
High-Frequency Hearing Loss In Hunters
As an avid hunter, I realize the importance of protecting my ears while I’m in the woods. Of course, this wasn’t always the case. As a child I remember going out with my father and my friends and their fathers. We always made sure we had our trips all planned out. Where we were going, what time we would leave, what gear we would pack; guns, camouflage, binoculars, but we often times never looked into what hearing protection we were going to bring.
I grew up in a time when it was commonplace for our parents and grandparents to frequently say “what” when I was talking to them. My mother would always say that older men have “selective hearing,” not hearing loss. She attributed the “what” to the men listened to what they wanted to. It wasn’t until I had children of my own that I realized what “selective hearing” was really about.
The fact of the matter was that many of the adult men in my life didn’t have selective hearing; they were truly suffering from hearing loss. Of course, almost all of them would deny this. My father, who was one of these men, eventually admitted that something might be wrong. He finally agreed to get his hearing checked a few years back. The doctors determined that he had severe hearing loss and that although not the only cause, was partially because of hunting. He still likes to get out to the range, or occasionally we will head out on one of our hunting adventures, but he always makes sure he has packed his hearings aids and that we have the proper hearing protection for everyone.
Why Do Guns Cause Hearing Loss?
According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, exposure to noises that are greater than 140 dB can cause permanent hearing loss. This is important to know because almost every firearm in existence is louder than 140 dB when shot . In fact, large-bore firearms can create noises that are upwards of 175 dB.
What Type Of Hearing Loss Comes From Firearms?
It just so happens that firearms often result in hearing loss of the higher frequencies. These higher pitched frequencies could be compared to pitch levels that women and children speak in. This is interesting because it proves that the adult males in my life when I was a child weren’t ignoring anyone, they really couldn’t hear when people were talking, because of the frequencies of their voices.
High-frequency hearing loss can also result in difficulty hearing certain letters or letter combinations, such as “s,” “th,” and “v.” In addition, hunters will often experience hearing loss that’s greater in one ear. This is likely because the gun is on one side of the head. Right-handed hunters often have greater hearing loss on the right side of the head and vice versa.
How to protect your hearing
Fortunately, there are several ways to protect your hearing while you’re out in the woods. You can choose from simple disposable earplugs to expensive earmuffs that are specially fitted to you. Of course, maintaining the ability to hear what is going on in your surroundings is a must when you’re hunting, so finding the right hearing protection is a matter of personal taste. Take the right precautionary steps now in order to protect your hearing in the future!
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