Protecting your hearing as you train is as important as the training itself

Is there anything more foolish than hurting yourself while training to protect yourself? Whether we get hurt in the weight room or while going for a run or while otherwise protecting our health and wellbeing, it feels (and arguably, in preventable cases, is) absurd to sustain an injury in the pursuit of health and safety. We work and we study and we strive to be healthy and to protect ourselves and our loved ones, and to think that we could risk all of that while in said pursuit should give all of us pause. No matter how we train to keep ourselves safe and protected, we need to make sure that our training does not place us needlessly in harm's way.

When training with firearms, there are many ways that we can do ourselves (and others) great and permanent (potentially even lethal) harm. We have all heard and maybe even experienced the type of accidents that can strike when we train with firearms ‑ that is why we work so hard to create and follow rules of safety at all times. Beyond the small piece of fast-moving lead, there are still many aspects of shooting that can us grievous injury. Fortunately, one of the most vulnerable parts of our body to the rigors of regular shooting is also one of the easiest to protect: our ears. DNA Tactical knows how important it is to protect your hearing and offers many ways to do so. Their selection of ear plugs have been chosen for their comfort, protection and versatility.

Shooting at outdoor ranges where sounds dissipate over the open spaces and the soft ground doesn't reflect sounds back up to us is one thing.  Shooting indoors where sounds reverberate off of hard walls and floors is quite another. Audiologists have reported instances of  hearing loss due to a single shot. Anytime we subject our ears to noises greater than 140 dB we risk incurring permanent hearing damage. A.22-caliber rifle can produce noise around 140 dB, and larger diameter rifles and pistols can produce sound over 175 dB. Simply by protecting our ears before we take each shot on the range, we have the ability to preserve our full range of hearing ‑ a powerful message.

It is worth noting that hearing loss is not always immediately evident, as hearing loss caused by noise is often marked by a decrease in high-frequency recognition. In many instances, this results in an  individual's being able to hear what is being said but struggling to discern the words. Because they think that their hearing is fine, those with this condition often go undiagnosed, potentially leading to further damage and degeneration. The weak-side ear that will tend to suffer more damage because it is closer to the weapon and the strong-side ear is partially protected from the sound by the head itself.

DNA Tactical knows that the most effective way to protect our hearing (other than avoiding firearms training ‑ which is not an option for many of us) is with the use of top quality and field tested ear plugs. They know that we train and study and practice self-preservation to protect our health and that sustaining injury while training is unacceptable. On offer are ear plugs ranging from the simplest foam inserts that can be carried in a shirt pocket to sophisticated electronic devices that quiet loud noises while enhancing quieter ones. These latter ones are valuable on the range for many reasons, including that they allow us to continue to protect ourselves from training mistakes - such as taking out our ear plugs so that we may talk with our training partners, thereby exposing our ears to the damaging sounds of others shooters on the range.  

Whether you decide that the high-tech models or the simplest foam plugs are for you, rely on DNA Tactical to find the advice, gear and knowledge that will protect you as you train to protect your loved ones.