You may be familiar with the phase “Use it, or lose it” used by Walkers, the maker of Walker Game ears, to encourage the use of ear protection while shooting. This is important because even a single shot from a firearms has the capability of inducing permanent hearing loss. There are may long time shooters who can testify to their loss of hearing because for years they did not consistently wear high quality hearing protection.
Given the fact that disposable foam ear plugs can provide a NRR 33 level of hearing protections for less than the cost of a single round of ammunition, there is no excuse for not using ear protection every time you shoot. For those who are not comfortable having their hearing reduced, electronic hearing protection can even provide amplified hearing for normal level sounds and suppressed sounds when high level noise occurs.
Is your hearing protection sufficient? Is your hearing being damaged? The problem with hearing loss os that it is incremental and very gradual. By the time you realize that you have hearing loss, it can be very significant and unrecoverable. Wouldn’t it be great to know if your hearing is being affected? You can.
One possibility is to visit an audiologist and have a baseline hearing test done. Then you can schedule periodic visits to test your hearing and document changes. This is the platinum level solution. The problem is that I can see you all nodding your head and then I know that probably 1-2% of you readers will actually follow through on this plan, because it involves a significant investment in planning, time and money. That leaves 98% of you with no idea if your hearing is being damaged by your shooting. What if you could test your baseline hearing in 6 minutes, wherever you are for $0? I still worry that many of you will not follow through, but I am willing to bet it will be many more that the 1-2% who visit an audiologist.
You have probably already guessed, there is an app for that (hearing test). Since 2014, I have used Mimi Hearing Test app to track my hearing ability. Mimi is available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play and it is free. Mimi has been the top rated hearing testing app for many years. The results will give you an estimate of your potential hearing loss, and a comparison of your left and right ear hearing ability. It will also give you a comparison to people of your own age as some hearing loss is inevitable as we age.
Hopefully, I have eliminated all your excuses and you will test your hearing and establish a baseline. At this point, I should mention that an app cannot replace the advice of a doctor or audiologist nor replace the sophisticated testing equipment and protocols they use. If you suspect hearing loss, then I would strongly recommend you consult with a medical professional.