Silencer not quiet on ARs

[ginzomatic]

I have shot suppressed ARs in 5.56 and 300blk. Both were full-sized suppressors. I have found that the sound, even when suppressed, to be very uncomfortable to my ears and I end up using ear pro when shooting. No ringing in my ears afterward, just discomfort while shooting.

I expect that the problem is port noise as I have no problems shooting suppressed bolt guns without ear pro.

I don't bother using suppressors on recreational ARs anymore since there does not seem to be a point if I need to wear ear pro. I do have suppressors on my home defense guns.

Is my hearing oversensitive, possible from hearing damage, or is this the same for everyone?

Do you notice a difference between 300blk and 556 suppressed? For me, 556 has a very sharp tone to it, which makes it uncomfortable. I don't have the same issue with 300blk supers.

[WillBrink]

Outdoor. Don't know the dB rating but they were full-size suppressor rated ear safe for those calibers.

Ear safe and ear comfortable not always the same thing and ear damage can happen and surprisingly low DB levels.

[Aries144]

Just to be clear: with one possible exception, there is no data that suggests any semi-auto rifle, firing supersonic ammunition, is hearing safe for the shooter. This is because of back pressure and port noise. The "hearing safe" advertisement was borne of ignorance of the high sound levels a semi-automatic rifle can produce at various points of gas exit when firing.

Often, when microphones are placed both at the standard position 1 meter to the side of the muzzle and at the shooter's ear, the mic at the shooter's ear records noises above 140dB even though the reading to the side of the muzzle may be well under 140dB.

An exception may be the OSS suppressor. I can't recall if tests were reported that showed @ear levels under 140dB or not. The trade offs for that design are a 50-60% increase in weight and significantly louder muzzle report than industry leading designs.

A shooter can fire supersonic ammunition safely with no hearing protection using a manually operated action.

Subsonic ammunition can be hearing safe for a shooter, depending on some variables. With subsonic ammunition, blowback operated firearms may or may not be hearing safe, depending on factors that influence at what pressure gas is released from the chamber end of the barrel. Roller-delayed blowback or locking bolt firearms are reliably hearing safe with a wider set of configuration variables when using subsonic ammunition.

[FlyingHunter]

One way to make a suppressed AR "quiet" is to shoot one repeatedly without ear pro. Over time, the collective hearing damage will make the suppressor sound surprisingly quiet.

[Mr. Goodtimes]

One way to make a suppressed AR "quiet" is to shoot one repeatedly without ear pro. Over time, the collective hearing damage will make the suppressor sound surprisingly quiet.

This is true. I spent most of my late childhood running chainsaws and lawn mowers with no hearing protection. Thus, even the Surefire Warden sounds hearing safe to me.


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[Pappabear]

The only time I feel it necessary to wear ear pro with a can is a SBR with Mini can. Otherwise I think you might have sensitive hearing. Not due to hearing loss the , just the opposite. If you need ear pro, wear it. Even with Pro, its much better. So often when crunching down on the gun your ears get manipulated and they don't work great.

Live the dream, suppressed with some protection.

PB

[Defaultmp3]

I really wish I remember where I had read it, but someone did a pretty decent write-up a while back about how a shooter really needed two forms of hearing protection to fully prevent cumulative hearing damage. Especially when shooting AR's. His example was foam plugs combined with over the ear muffs for unsuppressed shooting, and foam plugs only when using a suppressor.

I assume that's related to the bone conduction issue, hence why muffs provide more complete protection than plugs.