Gunfire from hunting can hurt hearing forever

from Hunting Guide 2023

by Mitchell Republic

As you head out hunting, remember that some

Hearing protection, suppressors and subsonic shot all can reduce damage caused by blasts

By John Myers Forum News Service

HERBSTER, Wis. —

The first thing you notice about Mike Amman’s new grouse hunting gun is that it doesn’t look anything like a grouse hunting gun.

Far from a fancy Italian double-barrel with fine wood and an ornately carved receiver (he has something like that), his new pump gun is black and plastic and made in the U.S. And it has this thing on the end of the barrel that looks very strange.

That thing is a suppressor, a device that quiets the blast noise, just part of the concerted effort Amman is making after suffering hearing loss due to shotgun blasts while hunting.

Amman, 45, of Ashland, Wis., a county forester by trade, has significant hearing loss and profound tinnitus — ringing — in his left ear, a malady often called “shooter’s ear.”

“It’s not so much that I can’t hear the high frequencies anymore that’s so bad — it’s that ringing that drives me crazy,’’ Amman said. “It’s getting worse every year.”

Since being diagnosed with gunfire-induced hearing problems, Amman has gone to great strides to reduce his exposure to those blasts. He didn’t want to quit hunting, so he ordered custom-made electronic ear buds from ESP America (more than

$1,000) that not only block part of the noise by about 25 decibels out of a 160-decibel blast, but also amplify ambient sounds and allow him to hear people talk.

“They are a hassle sometimes. Sometimes they come loose. When I’m out on the prairie I still use the electronic ear muffs. (Muffs) do a better job of staying in place out in the open, but not so much when you are moving around in the brush here,’’ Amman said.

Amman decided he needed still more protection and so started looking for a suppressor — sometimes called a silencer even though they only suppress part of the noise — that could be used on a

John Myers / Forum News Service shotgun, a pretty rare thing. He couldn’t find anything on the market that would work on his double-barrel gun, so he purchased an inexpensive Winchester 20-gauge pump and custom ordered a suppressor.

Mike Amman, of Ashland, Wis., has experienced hearing loss and profound ringing in his left ear after years of hunting with shotguns. He uses an electronic ear bud that cuts off shotgun blasts but allows him to still hear ambient sounds, such as people talking.