Yesterday, I asked my father a bit more about the old Winchester he'd given me, and about what he shot while he was in the Army. He looked at me and said with pride and a face filled with memories, the thirty-aught-six. I asked him about where'd he'd been stationed when he was on the rifle team, and a few other things. I asked him if he'd enjoyed it. He said he hadn't because it had ruined the hearing in his right ear. My father loves classical music. In some other, parallel life, he'd be a great violinist or a conductor. They didn't wear any ear or eye protection back then and that lack took a large toll.

How different those memories were from shooting .22 shorts from his grandfather's Winchester 02A when he was a boy. That's the rifle my father's given me.

Here's to fathers, grandfathers, and their fathers! :)

Yup, I can identify with him. My hearing is not gone, but I'm used to the 24 hour ringing in my ears. Started competitive shooting in the Army in the mid 60's. Now I tell my grandkids when I go I want to go just like my grandpa, quietly in my sleep, not kicking and screaming like the rest of the folks riding in the car with him.

:)I can relate. My first 'hi-powered' rifle was a sporterized 03A3 which my dad gave me when I was 16. He had the bbl cut to 18" and he gave me about 1000 rounds of surplus ammo (black tip armor peircing). I shot it all but about 50 rounds I still have (somewhere).:rolleyes: This was the begining of the 'ringing'. But two tours in RVN, fire fights, C-4, and helos, made it a reality. It is just something you learn to live with. My high frequency hearing is gone.;)

You can get rid of the ringing with good quality hearing aids, but the quality of sound is still not there for listening to clasical music. Like LBR's father I enjoyed classical music. Once I started to loose my hearing in the high frequencies, it sort of took the pleasure out listening. The first hearing aids I received were not adjustable, and I received a lot of background noise. Ended up with digital-adjustable hearing aids with most of the background noise adjusted out. Not too bad, but I wish I had protected my hearing better when I was young. Even the crack of a .22 can be dangerous to your hearing, and some type of hearing protection should be worn at all times while shooting.

My first 'thirty-aught-six' was used to train millions of soldiers and defend the freedom of millions more. It is one of the most copied firearms, ever.

I managed to go 17 years in the Army with reasonable hearing by using hearing protection (including two sets while running a 'dozer) Then some idiot fired an M-16 next to my left ear. Even with earplugs in at the time, it damaged my hearing enough that I always have crickets keeping me company and a hearing aid is in my future.
Andy

At 44, the ringing is constant and the high frequencies are lost also. Again, to much shooting, and being a mechanic, too many air powered tools without protection too.

The ringing can be deafening sometimes. Dr. says it's irreversable....knew that already.

When it comes time for the hearing aid, I'll get it, as it'll be even more irreversable them.

My father was [is] a Vet of Korea. trained in basic with the mighty Garand, but as part of the signal Corp, and a Sgt. they issued him an M1 carbine.

I'm from the same generation.Nobody wore hearing aids around me,in my younger days.The indoor pistol range,that insulated the outside from the noise and did nothing to deaden the noise inside,was the worst offender.
It's too late for hearing aids,for me.
Frank

God bless you all. I'll be praying for your hearing to be restored.

Huh, did somebody say something and would someone please answer that phone.

No one wore hearing protection when I was young and I now have a severe hearing loss from lots of shooting, sirens and other noises associated with my younger days.

I shoot competively with pistols, an AR and the above said Garand, and I always wear earplugs and ear muffs and I still have occasional ringing and loss of hearing.

:)What did you say???;)

I suffer from 24 hour ringing also. In my case it was an ear infection that pushed my hearing over edge and the ringing appeared. (After years of damage from shooting and loud music.) It is so strange that it seems to be so loud. My audiologist says that even in the worse cases the ringing is only a few decibels, The mind perceives it as much louder however.

I have been using a device that looks like a hearing aid but actually is a masking device. It generates noise that covers up the ringing. Over time it is supposed to habituate you to the ringing and it generally decreases in volume. In many cases the ringing appears to go away because the mind just doesn't pay attention to it any more. Like a background environmental noise that you just don't notice anymore. Drug therapy with anti-anxiety agents also can be very helpful in the habituation process.

There is an association called the American Tinnitus Association that may be helpful for those who are suffering from this affliction. They have a website WWW.ata.org.

Generally, Eye, Ear and Nose doctors are not very helpful treating tinnitus. They usually just shrug and say "You just have to live with it." They don't have the training to deal with tinnitus. I would recommend trying to find a good audiologist that specializes in this field.

Another interesting fact about tinnitus that the audiologist told me is that anyone with hearing loss has some degree of tinnitus, they just don't notice it. It appears to be a problem with people who tend to be more anxious generally.

I was wondering how effective hearing aids have been for those that have been using them for tinnitus.

God bless you all. I'll be praying for your hearing to be restored.

I was thinking something similar.