Hearing protection - in the military...?

[AJMD429]

Yes, actual armor is a lot better than a flak jacket lol. I was just talking with another NCO about you guys who went to war without armor, I can't imagine.

I didn't want to go totally off-track on that thread, so I decided to ask on a new thread. . .

Who wears hearing protection in the military these days, and what kind. . . ???

On the rare occasions I fire centerfire rifles without hearing protection, it really is painful, and even shorter barreled rimfires start my ears ringing after too many rounds. Even with a suppressor, a .223 using normal ammunition is what I'd call 'loud'.

How on earth do guys with shorty M-4's go into firefights and come back with any semblance of normal hearing...???

[awp101]

We were issued rubber earplugs. The kind with a cord that keeps them together.

Probably the worst thing I ever did for my hearing was when I was tasked to work an M2 range and forgot them in my other jacket.

After the third shooter it wasn't painful anymore, just a dull throb with each shot fired...

[Marvin S]

They issue us the Peltor twin cup ear defenders, but im in aircraft maint. Mainly jet engine noise and rivit guns.

[sore shoulder]

Peltor earmuffs are getting very popular.

[Bruce Scott]

US Army Combat Arms Earplug

"The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan are the first in which soldiers have gone to war with hearing protection.

Hearing protection is mandatory in Iraq and Afghanistan, but soldiers don’t always follow that instruction......... because they’re concerned about losing situational awareness on the battlefield."

Full article:
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/09/a ... n_090509w/

[M. M. Wright]

We had nothing when I took basic in '61/62 and of course back then we shot Garands. Mostly issued carbines after that except for a brief period when we got M-14s and qualified with those, bare eared of course. I was in and engineer construction unit and got to shoot a lot of powder on occasion. Never had any protection for that either. HUH!

[MrMurphy]

The Army (and others) issue the loud-sound-stopping combat earplugs.

Surefire's Sonic Defenders are a more permanent version of the same (reusable) and what I used personally. They stop loud stuff like jet engines and gunfire, but don't stop people talking. Still slightly muffled but much better than nothing.

Guys with a clue or entire units with the funding will issue electronic hearing protection, either Peltor or Sordins. The good ones plug directly into your radios so you hear the radio and not the tank engine idling next to you except at a low frequency, etc. They also amplify sounds, handy indoors or in caves etc.

I didn't have them while I was in, just the Surefires, but I know guys on their 2nd or 3rd Iraq/Afghan tour who've used Peltor Tac 6s or MSA Sordins extensively in combat and won't use anything less if they're available. The current MICH/ACH helmets are cut specifically to work with them.

[Old Ironsights]

They gave me/us basic 24 (+/-) db rubber baffle types in a stupid pee-yellow box that had to be chained to your BDU shirt pocket.

Good enough for small arms, but utterly inadequate for 8" arty.

Got the tinnitus (+ VA 10% rating) to "prove" it...

[Griff]

Hearing protection - military? Huh? On board ship our quarters was right behind the 5"54. Sleep thru many an engagement. Next time I'm home, I'm headed to the VA. I had a choice in which ear to go deaf... Seems I like sleeping on my right side... pillow acted as half a muff!

[piller]

They gave me/us basic 24 (+/-) db rubber baffle types in a stupid pee-yellow box that had to be chained to your BDU shirt pocket.

Good enough for small arms, but utterly inadequate for 8" arty.

Got the tinnitus (+ VA 10% rating) to "prove" it...

We had the same type, and they came in 3 colors to match 3 sizes for your ear canal. Mine were the orange ones. I lost a lot of hearing in my right ear from the M60 and those ear plugs.

[sore shoulder]

Yep, I have a Army hearing profile, just had physical last weekend. I had a set of those auto closing ear plugs but lost em on a range, I'd like to get another set.

[Mich Hunter]

As still being active duty and working the range daily, we get issued the peltors and are also required to we're the standard foam plugs as well.

[7.62 Precision]

We were issued the two-sided plugs - yellow out for training and green out for combat.

I was send a whole bag of the prototype Surefire plugs to test for Surefire. One night I got hit across the side of my face and head with a buttstock. Snapped the chin-strap of my Kevlar and knocked the earplug out of my ear on the other side.

So I started using the Surefire plugs (they were called W.I.F.E. plugs at that point, for some reason) and found they worked really well. I still have a bag of them and prefer them to the current version, since they were adjustable, and the whole shape of the inside of my right ear changed after getting hit, so I have trouble with earplug fit in that ear now.

I always wore earplugs in combat, except certain times in sniper positions when I needed to provide accurate locations on distant sounds (and especially ID the location of sniper shots by sound). I tried to get muffs for use with the XM107, so we could quickly get hearing protection on if there was time. Once a guy was in the wrong location when the rifle was fired and did not really hear for a couple hours.

I also wear earplugs when hunting. I figure if I can do it in combat, I can do it hunting just as well.