Practicing Hearing

[Tmoney33]

Mas,

You mention very often it’s wise to practice with the exact gun and ammo you plan on carrying or defending yourself so you are familiar with it and know how it functions when in time of need. What are your recommendations on hearing? I would think you’d agree that most practice shooting is done with hearing protection. Do you recommend at all shooting outdoors without hearing protection at least once so you are familiar with the sound of the gun since most, if not all self defense shootings take place without hearing protection? Or does hearing not play a factor when fight-or-flight response takes over?

Thanks

[Mas Ayoob]

There are two schools of thought on that, Tmoney. One holds that, since Dr. Alexis Artwohl's study of altered perceptual phenomena in police gunfight survivors indicates that more of them will experience auditory exclusion or muting than any of the other effects, it's not going to be a problem. The other side holds that it's good to have heard an unmuted gunshot at least once so it doesn't startle you when it happens for real if you're one of the minority who DON'T experience auditory muting.

FWIW, my own feeling is that all of us who shoot are going to forget our muffs now and then when we or someone else touch one off, that it will become something we're familiar with anyway, and I don't see any need to expose someone to potential ear damage for training purposes.

best,
Mas