I know 2 charter pilots that have hearing lose that they put it down to flying, they both have shot in the past but not a lot. The one that does most of the flying can't hear a watch alarm, the other one can only hear it in one ear when held close.
this is flying cessna's for 30+ yrs for a living without hearing protection- not even headsets.

How many of you were aware that truckers generally suffer a hearing loss in one ear. Usually the one by the open window and the exhaust stack! derf

I have worked machinery all my life , and used firearms for the last 30 years but - I have always worn hearing protection , even for using the lawn mower so my hearing is still pretty good . Also always try to wear eye protection , although have had an interesting experience with a ruptured .25 rimfire case that spat crap into my eye on the day I wasnt wearing glasses . That wasnt fun .

But ultimately we are the masters of our own destiny here . There are a multiple of safety measures we can use , or not , and they have been around for a long time .

I guess it is the same way some boxers retire after a long career without so much as a cut eyebrow, and others end up with detached retinas/scars/slurred speech etc.
Are you certain you can attribute your shoulder pain to shooting 'high-power' rifles?
I am certain that hearing protection is vital for all forms of shooting, but all sorts of other activities also damage hearing and aren't blamed...
Can you tell us roughly how much you shoot and which calibers?

Being 59 yrs old. from the land down under,and have shot high powered rifles for over 40 yrs .
23 yrs ago i was told i had lost some of my hearing .
2yrs later tinnitus set in [ringing in the ears constantly]
NO IT DOESNT STOP
It will drive you insane if you let it .
The last 3yrs I have suffered a lot of pain in the right shoulder . I have had so many tests and xrays down with no results I guess Iam stuck with it .
2 weeks ago I had cataract surgary on my right eye [lens repacement].The surgan told me the sacks surrounding the lens was torn before the opperation maybe it was caused by recoil dont know ?
I have heard of big game hunters having retina detatchment of the eye.
I DONT KNOW HOW 70yr old gun writers can claim to have worn out 8 barrels in one calibre and shot thousands of rounds of .458 and other enormus calibres and never have any side efects or AT LEAST DONT WRITE ABOUT THEM /
All that I have stated about my self is true and I would be glad to answer any sensible questions .
I hope this starts shooters thinking ?????????

chris

Many of the ailments you have mentioned can and do get caused by shooting. They also get caused by many other things , and whos to know you wouldn't have got these ailments from another source . To blame shooting wholly and soley isn't right. It's one of lifes experiences and part of our makeup. Humans in general dont usually learn much from others mistakes ( individuals vary) which is why the race is condemmed to allow history to repeat itself , this may be one of them.

A mate of mine(45)has Tinnitus.He's a carpenter,the powersaws didn't help.Lots of shooting as a kid on the family farm to.



BTW,Welcome to the forum Chris!! Where're you from?

You can go to your home(at top of page) and edit your details if you like. < !--color-->

I am 53, Marine Engineer, spent years in ships engine rooms. I sure ain't blaming shooting for the buzzing in my head!!

I should be deaf - after shooting for more than 34 years, flying more than 5,000 hours in Military aircraft and riding motorbikes for years and years - but I'm not!

There are obviously health risks in shooting heavy recoiling and high powered (I hate that term as it is so misused by the media) firearms but there is also the 'luck of the draw' involved and everybody's experiences (or side-effects) are going to be different.

I don't smoke, do drugs and am only a modest drinker, so I'll take my chances with the heavy recoiling firearms - I have no choice as I am addicted to them!!!!

for information about a new treatment for tinnitus developed here in west australia see www.neuromonics.com

Tinitus
What did you say I can't hear you.
39 and constant rining in the ears, hard to hear people were there is a lot of back ground noise.
My father 73 who hasn't shot centre fire in over 10yrs and hasn't shot more than 20rnds in the last 19yrs can't hear the words in songs the ringing is that bad, he used to shoot 200-300 rounds a day of 303 on weekends back in the 60's, he has always been a shinny ass(office worker) so it's not industrial.
As for your eye, have you ever been punched in the eye? Would think a punch would do more damage to the front of the eye than recoil of anything upto 375, not that I have any kind of training just that I've experienced both
A guy who works for us who would be lucky to have shot 300rnds of centrefire in his life has had the shoulder ache for 3 months, all the tests mri, xray, ultra sound can't find anthing wrong they put it down to 27yrs of driving trucks for a living

Well I do get pain in my shoulder after a long day over the bench,its not so bad these days as I usually only use a 7mm-08 & 243 however a while ago I fired about 80 rounds from a mates 30-06 over a bench using 150's 165's & 180's,my shoulder was tender for a couple of days but it seemed alright after that for a couple more days then on the 4th or 5 night my shoulder just throbbed all night even after taking a tonne of panidol,I thought bugger this so next morning off to the doctor for some better pain medication.

Well the doc was thorough & to cut a long story short,he said that this problem is reasonably common in shooters,that I had some swelling that an anti inflamitry drug will take care of,then he told me to slow down & not shoot so much with these rifles or I could end up with serious nerve damage.

He also said that eye damage could result from repeated firing of even moderate recoiling rifles & that all shooters should have their eyes checked regularly to detect possible damage before it becomes serious,I had my eyes checked & a small problem was found but not from shooting,so I would suggest that everyone who shoots moderate + recoiling rifles regularly, should have a chat about possible problems next time they see their G.P.

From what I was told it can cause very serious problems with your eyes so get em checked boys.

I have sympathy for you and you're condition(s), thanks for sharing.

Will I stop using my "high Powered Rifles"?

No not likely, there's risk associated with everything we do. If you knew how many people had heart attacks and died while taking a dump, you'd never shit again.

Point is as long as I take suitable measures to manage the risks associated with my sport / hobby I shouldn't have any problems.

The sport / hobby has changed a lot, people are more aware now then ever.

I too have Tinnitus and right now it is fairly quiet here except for the ringing in my ears. 3 different tones tonight. Mostly I just ignore it although there are times when I wish it would play "Tubular Bells" or something.
Have any of you ever had a dream where you can't tell if you are awake or asleep. I get them from time to time but I have figured out a way to tell if I am sleeping. You see, when I am asleep, my ears don't ring! No shit guys! So when I am in one of those types of dreams where you are totally turned around and can't tell if you are dreaming or not, I have learned to stop and listen, as a defence mechanism. No ringing, hey happy dreaming! Try it, who says having Tinnitus is a total downer! derf

Gentlemen
my name is Chris I started this show.
It was not my intention to stop anyone from shooting I shoot quite a lot myself. Been hooked for 40yrs or more,and if you think you can shoot large high velocity rifles for that length of time and not receive a medical problem well ok.
Men of experance will know the problems associated with constanly shooting large high velocity rifles .
Not allways the young and new shootes .
I would like to see more gun writers explaining the medical problems that can and do happen to the unsuspecting shooter.
It does not allways take a lot of shooting for these problems to surface I hope this gets someone thinking
thank you CHRIS

DIGITALDAN
AND OTHER GENTLEMEN
At the range I allways wear eye and ear protection ,but its not allways practicial to wear ear protection all day long ,in the hotter climates you dont allways have time to stop and put ear protection on .you will loose a lot of game if you do .
Alot of damage occurs in the younger yrs of shooters ,A big percent retena detatchments occur more with older men who shoot larger calibre ,I think the eye weakens with age .
DIGITALDAN
ITS good to talk to senseble men thank you for taking an interest in my shoulder I have had a lot of xrays done and a ultersound I dont think I have had a ct scan I have had this problem for to long ,
Not being a medical person I guess I might have nerve damage I will speak with my dr about a ct scan .
thank you CHRIS