Hearing damage in combat?
- Thread starter Blankku
- Start date
Im pretty sure tankers have always worn hearing protection.
Anyways, my father has been in combat numerous times, outdoor close quarters kind of stuff, he says he wore ear plugs (the small ones that fit into your ear). He said, once everyone starts firing, its so loud that it doesnt matter if your wearing them or not, so he would leave them in. I believe talking and giving orders is usually accompanied by hand movements of some sort.
Truthfully, its not that hard to talk with earplugs on, and I would think in a combat zone, you would be yelling most of the time.
Anyways, my father has been in combat numerous times, outdoor close quarters kind of stuff, he says he wore ear plugs (the small ones that fit into your ear). He said, once everyone starts firing, its so loud that it doesnt matter if your wearing them or not, so he would leave them in. I believe talking and giving orders is usually accompanied by hand movements of some sort.
Truthfully, its not that hard to talk with earplugs on, and I would think in a combat zone, you would be yelling most of the time.
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Been to the range? Well, multiply that by 10 and add artillery, tanks, and aircraft, and you can understand why they issue earplugs.
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They should incorporate some kind of muffle device inside our helmets so that you wouldnt have to fiddle with ear plugs while in combat.
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You know they make special earplugs for musicians where you can still hear all the music but it just attenuates excessive decibals thus saving your hearing. I though they had those for shooters too where anything above a certain db is automatically blocked but all lower sounds are perfectly hearable. Yeah gunfire (not to mention bigger explosions) will leave you deaf in a hurry. They should issue those quality type of plugs to the military. I guess mandatory permanent hearing damage is part of the job.
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they should, but you know how damn expensive that would be? Mainly because the quantity you go through per soldier would be rather huge, since I'm pretty sure they get lost and thrown out and destroyed pretty quickly and easily.
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Hearing is priceless. I'm sure the military could get bulk deals on them. Probably for the cost of one (insert combat vehicle/aircraft here) they could outfit 100,000+ troops. They could also use something to tether them to the helmet, uniform whatever.Capt.Marion said:
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Yeah, those things get lost pretty fast.
What really makes your ear ring is unexpected fire from your buddy leftside of you while manning a foxhole, but it doesn't last long.
Using a Carl Gustav makes you deaf for a hole week, plus the blast is so heavy that you loose orientation. (same effect like hitting someone with the inner sides of your hands on both ears).
And those really good plugs cost quite a lot, to equip 10.000 men you need about 50.000 on Stock, just for one combat week.
On a range, one can use plugs plus the hardshells over it, the stops any sound less than a nuke
I once lost nearly all my earplugs in a company-level, live fire training excercise, with mortars and Close Air Support (7.62 Miniguns on Bell 206) 4 MG74 and 2 Carl Gustav Providing cover, just whith my firing side protected. After that I had a ringin tone (=tinitus) for about a month, having to run around with earplugs all the time to relax my ears.
I do not want to know how deafening some hours of arty preparation can be... BUT beeing deaf is a hole lot better than beeing dead!
What really makes your ear ring is unexpected fire from your buddy leftside of you while manning a foxhole, but it doesn't last long.
Using a Carl Gustav makes you deaf for a hole week, plus the blast is so heavy that you loose orientation. (same effect like hitting someone with the inner sides of your hands on both ears).
And those really good plugs cost quite a lot, to equip 10.000 men you need about 50.000 on Stock, just for one combat week.
On a range, one can use plugs plus the hardshells over it, the stops any sound less than a nuke
I once lost nearly all my earplugs in a company-level, live fire training excercise, with mortars and Close Air Support (7.62 Miniguns on Bell 206) 4 MG74 and 2 Carl Gustav Providing cover, just whith my firing side protected. After that I had a ringin tone (=tinitus) for about a month, having to run around with earplugs all the time to relax my ears.
I do not want to know how deafening some hours of arty preparation can be... BUT beeing deaf is a hole lot better than beeing dead!
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They have earplugs with vents that block excessive sound, and electronic oriented ones. Hearing loss in veterans costs the VA millions of dollars each year, and upgrades are being developed for flight crews and hopefully ground soldiers as well.
It is documented that a small percentage of people can become permanently deaf after hearing 1 gunshot with no hearing protection.
It is documented that a small percentage of people can become permanently deaf after hearing 1 gunshot with no hearing protection.
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