old coots and directional hearing impairment

[the Ferret]

Any you old guys getting directional hearing impairment? Was out hunting this morning before work. I could hear deer and squirrels but danged if I could tell if they were to my left or to my right until I looked both directions and caught movement. I've noticed it all this season. Used to be I'd hear one step in the leaves and immediately hone in on the spot like a laser.

I noticed this last spring too when a distant turkey would gobble and Dianne and I would point in opposite directions as to which way it came from.

Of course I haven't been able to hear the TV or conversations with people for a couple years now, and sometimes the words I DO hear ain't the words they are speakin and then the sentence doesn't make any sense        

Getting old is not for the faint of heart.

[TSHOOTER]

YES  AND I'M REAL OLD (35).  HAVE HAD THIS PROBLEM FOR SOME TIME NOW WITH MODERATE HEARING LOSS IN MY LEFT EAR.  CAN'T TELL DIRECTION WORTH A DARN.  MINE'S PROBABLY FROM TO MUCH GUNFIRE WITHOUT HEARING PROTECTION AS A KID.

[rbbhunt]

If you cup your ears and turn your head, you can pinpoint the direction the sound is coming from.  I also have some of the same problem.

[the Ferret]

Tshooter, yea that's probably where mine and my brothers comes from too. When we were kids my dad built us a shooting range in the basement complete with moving targets. We had 22 rifles and they would buy us bricks of 22 ammo for Christmas and birthdays every year (a brick was 10 boxs of 100 rounds). We shot hundreds of thousands of rounds in the basement wthout any ear protection (hey it was the 50's and early 60's..nobody knew any better back then). Heck after practising for hours we'd come upstairs and our ears would ring for a couple more hours.

Paying the price now.

rb..only got 1 hand to cup with the other is holding my bow ha ha

[bamboo]

micky
  i depend on my boonie cap as a hearing-aid---i tilt my head back and turn my head until locate the direction of the sound---pretty low tech-- but i've found that a ballcap won't cut it and if it's cold i just pull a stocking cap over the boonie---and you're right getting old is tough!!

[Gil]

Also have the same problem and I'm only 37.My affair with firearms came at a later time than you guys.But I had an early love affair with firecracker starting at 7 years of age.Paying the price now like you guys,its a pain trying to have a conversation in a noisy place like a crowded restaurant.Ringing  sometimes out of nowhere.
Gil

[Aeronut]

Originally posted by the Ferret:
Of course I haven't been able to hear the TV or conversations with people for a couple years now, and sometimes the words I DO hear ain't the words they are speakin and then the sentence doesn't make any sense.

Yep, been there for a while and my wife and kids really get ticked off at me sometimes.  Of course all three talking at once doesn't help either.  Any background noise makes it worse.

I have used the boonie hat method for a while too.  Works pretty good.

I guess I should have stuck with archery and left all the guns alone.  I now wear ear plugs when I do anything even a little noisy to try and save what hearing I have left.

Dennis

[Moengo]

I opened this thread thinking you were addressing an hearing problem that JC has???

[tomh]

not trying to be funny, but have you had a doc check your ears? it could be a build up of wax. I had some removed awhile back and it was amazing how much better I heard.

[Tom Leemans]

I'm still good in the directional hearing, but I have suffered from ringing in my ears for as long as I can remember. I don't notice it unless it's really quiet, but it's a pain. I understand there's an over the counter supplement you can take to help with that. My dad was a carpeter/cabinet maker, so years of running a skilsaw took away his upper range hearing. He'll be one of the first to tell a youngster to wear hearing protection. If I ever got bad enough to need a hearing aid, I'd still be out in the woods!

[LeeNY]

Mickey, I now have hearing aids for both ears. If anything is behind me i can't hear it at all without the aids. I was a weapons training officer for over 20 years the hearing protection back years ago was pretty poor. The constant exposure over that time it's a wonder I can hear at all.  

[ONE SHOT]

Micky at age 69 I too have the same problem I was a Tool&Die Maker for 45 years working around all them noisy machines and high frequincey rectifiers in the shop, (Plateing dept. next door).

Course 28 years of Duck Hunting with My Hunting partner next to Me in a duck blind didn't help any either.

My Dopler radar is so bad that I have had the same directional problem for many years.

I also have Tennius of both ears,(High frequency ringing in the ears). But other than that Heck Iam still kicking and able to draw and Archery Hunt with My 60# Recurves and Long Bows.

Still making Custom Bows and having a blast. Got Me two Deer in the Freezer already, life is Good....ONE SHOT...  :D    :D    :D    :D    :D

[George D. Stout]

What was the question again?     :confused:

[Doc Nock]

MIck,

I found out by accident my high frequency is GONE in the left ear...same with guns... being near 60 is a guarantee that earplugs were somebody's cigarette filters if they had a REALLY lound gun... we used to shoot in old quarries, too! Imagine that!!   :eek:      

Tried one of those game ear things... but then you REALLY can't tell what direction stuff is coming from... like binocular vision to tell distance...need 2 good ears to do location...

Beats a dirt nap!

[George D. Stout]

I have trouble with high-pitched sounds and can't judge direction especially with my left ear.  I've got tinnitis so I think I'm going to try the vitamin approach.

[Huntschool]

Oh yea.... what did you say....

I have the low end loss.. Too much background noise in the class room and I have to tell the students to hush....

Same deal as several have said:  Too much gunfire (most likely the automatic weapons type, etc) and surley too much time in front of thousands of watts of amplified guitars...

Answer to question:  YES, I also now have trouble pin pointing the sound!

[Mike Hames]

"U Talkn' bout ME? Thought Mickey had been talking with John and Terry about my hearing, or lack of. I'm the same way. If it wasn't for my eye sight still being as good as it is, I would up the creek. The guys make fun of me when I hunt. They say I look like an old owl, on caffine, with my head turning from one side to the other all of the time. John said he keeps waiting for my head to make a full turn some day.
30 years running and around Heavy equip. Shooting for 48 years and 25 years of Muzzleloading competition. Say What? Go figure, can imagine why I can't hear.

Mike

[LP Kelley]

I've had the hearing problem all my life. Something about the hammer and the anvil in my ears didn't develope. Congenital. My grandma had it and so did an uncle. Fortunately my eyesight developed very very good. I'm almost 65 and I have 20/10 vision in both eyes. It used to be better than that though, I could read the copyright #s on the bottom of the chart.

When I started bowhunting we couldn't use elevated stands in WI so it was all ground hunting. So anything could walk up behind me and I would never know it was there. So I started  carrying a small hand mirror, not too big, something that would almost fit in my hand and with that I could carefully check behind me without the movement of twisting my head around. I does work good. Especially when I was predator hunting and I didn't know what direction they were coming in.

 With my loss of hearing I've just I've just learned to compensate. LP

[Bill Turner]

I also have a 30% high pitch hearing loss in my left ear as a result of being up close and personal with a 44 magnum when it was discharged inside a truck. The barrel was outside the window but the cylinder was inside the cab. Not something I would advise doing. I've tried hearing aids but decided they were not worth the $6,000 price tag.    

[John Scifres]

I'll be talking to my 63 year old Dad and he'll start going over health issues and then stop himself saying "..but that's just old person talk."  Then he'll move onto something more fun to talk about.

I recommend professional help.  For the ears too.

Love ya',

John