I wear hearing protection, plugs, when hunting doves and snipe, but not when hunting turkeys and woodcock. Audiologists state that there is potential for irreversible hearing loss with continuous exposure to 80-90 decibels (dB) of noise. A 12 gauge shotgun blast is between 130-155 dBs. Some ears suffer permanent damage from one exposure to shotgun blast noise. The best hearing protectors advertise no more than 32 dB of noise reduction, but actual reduction to the ear canal may not be that high. Double protection, plugs and muffs are not purely additive because of the flesh-bone conduction. Bone and tissue conduct some of the noise to the ear canal despite protection. After protection, we are still left with about 100 dB or more noise. Have any of you with years of shooting competitively while wearing the best hearing protection you could buy, experienced hearing loss in your ear that faces the muzzle end of your shotgun?
