View Full Version : Headache's and shooting
Does anyone else get headache's when shooting?
I get them a lot.
I wear good electronic earpro. I'm not doing anything overly exerting. It's outdoors. It is often quite hot and humid and I try to stay hydrated.
I get them a lot. So I mentioned it to my friend and he says he sometimes does too. So today I said well so far no headache. We shoot about maybe another 30 minutes for about 3.5 hours total and I was by the end starting to feel a bit tense. 40 minute drive home and by the time I hit the door I'm ready for a couple Advil which don't really seem to do much from what is now 5:30...... Now it's 8PM and I've eaten a few bites, had more water, drank a beer... and just about now my headache has pretty much gone.
It's really a PITA as this is fairly typical and I can't figure what causes it.
Do any of you get this and know how to prevent or minimize it?
Inkslinger
08-31-18, 19:25
I get them too sometimes. I think it’s the result of ear pro pushing on eye pro. I keep meaning to order a pair of these to try out.
https://noisefighters.com
I've switched by eyepro from Oakley half jackets that have triangular temples to Revision which is flat temples. Same thing. ... and these Revision don't seem to fit tight. IOW, they sort of sit in place on my head as opposed to the Oakleys that squeeze.
BUT... that was my thought too.
Now my friend wears his everyday glasses and those what I call factory worker ear plugs. The plugs with the heavy band that he just lets hang around his neck. So he has basically zero difference with respect to glasses and fitting.
Does anyone else get headache's when shooting?
I get them a lot.
I wear good electronic earpro. I'm not doing anything overly exerting. It's outdoors. It is often quite hot and humid and I try to stay hydrated.
I get them a lot. So I mentioned it to my friend and he says he sometimes does too. So today I said well so far no headache. We shoot about maybe another 30 minutes for about 3.5 hours total and I was by the end starting to feel a bit tense. 40 minute drive home and by the time I hit the door I'm ready for a couple Advil which don't really seem to do much from what is now 5:30...... Now it's 8PM and I've eaten a few bites, had more water, drank a beer... and just about now my headache has pretty much gone.
It's really a PITA as this is fairly typical and I can't figure what causes it.
Do any of you get this and know how to prevent or minimize it?
could it be your vision ?
not saying its bad more talking eye strain from constant moving and attention needed etc...
when one is intensive on things and constant eye movement is involved headaches are a side effect
I also used to get it when I started working on boats sometimes when watching tourists in a hyper attention way of making sure they do not swim off drown etc.. went away as it became the norm
a ophthalmologist was telling me about it and its more do to your brain activity level so if your shooting is not casual but more intense concentration training that could be it
wear your ear protection around doing something to see if its pushing in your glasses easy way to check that maybe :)
An Undocumented Worker
08-31-18, 20:09
Yep, I get em too. 4 hours at the range is my max, but I think it's the pressure from my ear pro more than anything else.
HardToHandle
08-31-18, 20:13
I have pressure related issues develop, leading to headaches.
.223, .308 and sometimes 12 gauge will cause headaches if shot under a covered range. Shoot the same gun, ammo and ear pro without a covered range, much less pain.
.38 and larger revolvers give me the pain regardless.
could it be your vision ?
not saying its bad more talking eye strain from constant moving and attention needed etc...
when one is intensive on things and constant eye movement is involved headaches are a side effect
I also used to get it when I started working on boats sometimes when watching tourists in a hyper attention way of making sure they do not swim off drown etc.. went away as it became the norm
a ophthalmologist was telling me about it and its more do to your brain activity level so if your shooting is not casual but more intense concentration training that could be it
wear your ear protection around doing something to see if its pushing in your glasses easy way to check that maybe :)
It could be, eye strain that is. Now that you mention it. I have worn my earpro cutting grass and weed trimming and not had it happen. Same glasses. But that would be maybe 2 hours max and no real eye oriented intensity.
Yep, I get em too. 4 hours at the range is my max, but I think it's the pressure from my ear pro more than anything else.
That's sort of how I feel like a pressure build up.
Few headaches outdoors assuming good hydration. Indoors, my sinuses get wonky depending on the temp changes, humidity, and range pressurization.
if shot under a covered range.
One place we shoot, but not today, does have cover and a back wall like a metal car port. That area booms with pressure and I have never liked it. The other covered areas are taller with more irregular structure pieces to break up the sound waves.
The strange thing is, I don;t feel like I have ear fatigue but when I take the earpro off it's a relief.
It's also possible I'm getting eye strain driving home from the sun. So a near headache from shooting then driving in the sun when I'm already pretty tired visually.
I've never heard anyone really mention this, I'm surprised so many people get it.
Few headaches outdoors assuming good hydration.
I'm going to wear a bladder next time and just load up on water and see what happens.
For me, it's my MSA Sordins squeezing the bows of my WileyX shooting glasses. I was assuming that it was a bad prescription or an inevitable consequence of trying to grind progressive lenses in a highly curved wrap-around pair of glasses, but when I switched to wire-bow glasses, the headaches went away.
Do you wear the normal cups or the gel cups? that's something else I want are some gel cups.
On our range we had a covered canopy at 25 as well as a 2 foot wide barricade wall at each firing position.
Shortly after we covered the 25 I noticed that I was getting headaches and began doubling up with plugs under my e-muff's.
I also noted that on days when we were not under the canopy I was less tired. At the time I attributed it to not being able to move around as much - their is a lot more range to roam when you are at the 10 compared to at the 25 under a canopy; reading some of your comments, maybe the triple shock waves - initial, rebound of canopy, rebound off barricade - were the culprit.
I also can say that up to the time we put up that canopy I had passed the hearing tests on my flight physicals for the reserves. I went off jump status about the time we redid the range and surprise, surprise, next quadrennial physical I didn't pass the hearing test.
I'm going to wear a bladder next time and just load up on water and see what happens.
Also have you tried eating before you go shooting? I know sometimes range time means late lunch and that can mess people up. But nobody wants to stop and eat before the range leaving guns and gear in the car.
It's most likely vision related. I get them too from eye strain, especially if it's really sunny or my face is in direct sunlight. Just got my updated prescription glasses and hoping to get to the range tomorrow to try them out. I used to wear them just for driving and range but it seems like now I'll have to wear them all day.
Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk
Moose-Knuckle
09-01-18, 05:23
I cannot even where a snug fitting ball cap with out getting a pressure headache.
Ear and eye pro all can contribute to causing them. You may want to see an ENT to rule out any inner ear problems.
How is your head positioned when you're shooting? If you project your head forward, you may be straining the muscles from the back of your neck down to near your shoulder blades. If that's the culprit, you'll be able to feel knots in your neck if you search from the base of your skull to midway down the back of your neck, left and right of your spine.
The worst "headaches" I've ever had, I'm talking so bad you are almost seeing stars and feel like puking, all turned out to be due to this neck strain issue. Ibuprofen, massage, stretches, exercises, and heat all help this.
Shooting prone is the worst for it. A few minutes of that and I'm feeling it.
It all started for me after working a computer job from home with a new office chair and getting my first set of prescription glasses. Turns out it was a posture/ergonomic issue that came from a crap office chair, bad seat height/monitor height, and holding my head with a more restricted tilt all the time to maintain line of sight through the prescription lenses. It's been a constant issue ever since. Getting old sucks. Thank God for Vitamin M and pointable shower heads.
I am a long time migraine sufferer. After a while you begin to really understand triggers that cause headaches that eventually morph into a vomiting, head throbbing, can't stand bright light and noise, go to bed now and hope for the best migraine. I keep with me at all times the following items wether at home, at the rifle range, or at work in the fire engine:
1. Sun glasses
2. Aspirin, alleve, Excedrin migraine. At the first hint of headache, take the aspirin. After an hour, go for either the alleve or the Excedrin. If that doesn't work work, time for the prescription imitrex which is amazing!
2. Ear protection
3. Water
4. A protein rich snack
5. Don't skip on the afternoon coffee if you are a caffeine addict!
Protecting myself from the common headache triggers of bright sunlight, high noise levels, blood sugar, dehydration, and caffeine withdrawls works very well for me. I take one imitrex every 3 months. Usually for a headache trigger that I can't control, strong low pressure thunderstorms!
So fun....
Does anyone else get headache's when shooting?
I get them a lot.
I wear good electronic earpro. I'm not doing anything overly exerting. It's outdoors. It is often quite hot and humid and I try to stay hydrated.
I get them a lot. So I mentioned it to my friend and he says he sometimes does too. So today I said well so far no headache. We shoot about maybe another 30 minutes for about 3.5 hours total and I was by the end starting to feel a bit tense. 40 minute drive home and by the time I hit the door I'm ready for a couple Advil which don't really seem to do much from what is now 5:30...... Now it's 8PM and I've eaten a few bites, had more water, drank a beer... and just about now my headache has pretty much gone.
It's really a PITA as this is fairly typical and I can't figure what causes it.
Do any of you get this and know how to prevent or minimize it?
I have Ménière’s disease, so headaches come with the territory. Ibuprofen before I start shooting gives me the best results.
Indoor or covered ranges shooting next to carbines, or worse, comps, and I get headaches.
I don't think it's earpro related, I think it's more shock waves hitting your face and skull.
I'm at the point that I'm starting to think comps should not be allowed at indoor ranges, or at least isolated to one end. Last time I was next to a comp guy backblast was brutal, we quit shooting.
Also have you tried eating before you go shooting? I know sometimes range time means late lunch and that can mess people up. But nobody wants to stop and eat before the range leaving guns and gear in the car.
i was running late yesterday and had very little to eat. I actually skipped any breakfast and lunch. I might have had a few bites of leftovers for breakfast.
How is your head positioned when you're shooting?
For most all of yesterday, except a few times with a rifle off a table, I was shooting pistol at about 50 yards. I --thought-- I was sort of relaxed but upon returning home I did have a lot of stiffness in my shoulders. the base of skull/spine and across the back of my shoulders. This was after I had the headache in full swing. I felt like I wanted to twist my neck and make it pop or stretch but it was too stiff to really turn. Which oddly though as I was shooting, never really felt stressed. I do recall though sort of pushing my head forward or maybe lifting my shoulders too much. I try not to do that but I do recall catching myself doing it.
I am also heavily left eye dominant and RH shooter. I am trying to work on getting my nat. point of aim in front of that eye. 90% of the time my sights will lift naturally and the front sight will be touching the left rear instead of being centered. I've tried everything with arms, eyes, head.... and am simply having to go to more of a boxing stance.
I think maybe I have a lot of small issues that I can cure. My glasses were clear and it was really bright. I can def. eat and drink more. The percussion I won't have control over. The eyesight I struggle with and can't seem to get right. I still see a double image on my front sight a lot. The posture I can change / cure. I think I 'm just going to have to be a lot better prepared and watch for warning signs before it happens.
Interesting.
I don't get headaches from shooting, ever. Over 30 years, indoors, outdoors, temp below freezing, 95 degrees. Heat related issues yes, when it's 95 and humidity over 70%. But with lots of water, cold rags to the head and neck, those remedies took care of the heat. Prescription glasses, contacts and Rudy eye protection, custom molded ear plugs or head band type of ears, no problem either. Classes and training from 9AM to 9PM, no issues.
I guess I'm weird.
Now if you want to talk about body and joint aches after a 12 hours class, yes, plenty of achy breaky pains.
Try to stay hydrated, keep cool with wet rags and wear a wide brim hat to keep the sun off (they look dorky but helps tremendously - not as cool as some tactical logo baseball caps), eye pro sunglasses, good hearing protection, snacks to keep from getting hungry, that's about all I can suggest.
Inkslinger
09-01-18, 10:49
On a side note, I used to get headaches of different levels of intensity usually once a week if not more. Changing my diet has had a huge improvement. I eat low carb now. No refined carbs and sugar and minimal dairy. I also didn’t have fall allergies last year for the first time that I can remember. I don’t know if that was diet related so we’ll see how this fall goes.
ditto others on hydration but I carry a water bottle with me 24/7
Averageman
09-01-18, 13:09
Is there any chance that the cause could be from a continued exposure to the repetitive blast from the weapon?
I've damaged my ears over the years pretty badly, I am very careful now,, but I've often wondered if the blast wave could damage you like this, give you a headache?
HardToHandle
09-01-18, 19:26
Is there any chance that the cause could be from a continued exposure to the repetitive blast from the weapon?
I've damaged my ears over the years pretty badly, I am very careful now,, but I've often wondered if the blast wave could damage you like this, give you a headache?
For years, Sweden, home of the Carl Gustav, have limited the number of total shots a soldier could be exposed too. I am no fan of the CNAS cited in this report, but likely there is a repetitive risk involved.
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/04/30/606142634/report-to-army-cites-concussion-risk-of-weapons-blast-to-the-shooter
Don’t overlook the ergonomics of how you are shooting. Tension headache and migraine headache have neuromuscular triggers. This is not always the case with migraine (though it is very common, hence why Botox works as a preventative to treat migraine) but it is by definition for tension headache.
How do you hold your head when you shoot? Are you placing your neck in an ergonomically poor position? Poor fitting ear pro and/or eye pro may be contributing.
Eye strain can also be a contributor. Are you shooting both eyes open with an optic that has magnification (even if very slight, i.e. 1.1x, an early MRO, or similar)?
Where are your headaches located? Frontal, temples, back of the head, neck, shoulders? The location where the headache starts and to where it eventually spreads (if it spreads) will be good clues as to the etiology.
Where are your headaches located? Frontal, temples, back of the head, neck, shoulders? The location where the headache starts and to where it eventually spreads (if it spreads) will be good clues as to the etiology.
Generally I get a lot of tension at the base of my skull. It also seems like it spreads into my eye sockets. Sunlight always bothers me but if I get a headache it makes it worse. It's a lot like having teh wrong eyeglass and reading. That dull sick headache. but... for whatever reason... if I grab the back of my neck from base of skull to shoulders it helps. Especially base of skull. the eye related part seem s like it's inside my head. The neck part seems like it's more surface oriented.
I think I must have multiple things happening. Even if I were using bad or tension posture, we were not shooting so intensely that it should give me headache. We are taking turns, taking breaks, talking, shooting, relaxing. It's not 4 hour blast fest. I mean if I moved furniture for 4 hours I doubt I would get a headache.
No magnification. All I was shooting was VP9 and Ruger 22/45+RDS for the most part. I might have fired 15 rounds on a rifle with a RDS as well.
I've had this happen on days when I basically shoot rifle too though.
I'm going to take hydration and nutrition out of the equation next time for sure. It's one thing to get tired and feel a bit beat but the headache just ruins it. I can get a headache reading. I feel it happening, take off my glasses and stop reading. It goes away. Worse case I might have to take like one Advil and wait 20 minutes. I don't seem to get that same warning when shooting and the cure is not as rapid. So it may be eyes but I don't think it's all eyes.
Moose-Knuckle
09-02-18, 05:30
i was running late yesterday and had very little to eat. I actually skipped any breakfast and lunch. I might have had a few bites of leftovers for breakfast.
Oh man, yeah if I skip a meal or wait to long in between without a snack I get a bad headache and if I don't head it off soon enough I'll puke. Been that way since I was a kid. Hot temperatures amplify this.
Pressure from eye pro and the ear pro? could also be strain in shoulders or neck. I can get headaches if I am instructing and have to be close to the muzzle blast, that concussive force even from just 223 can screw with me after awhile.
Generally I get a lot of tension at the base of my skull. It also seems like it spreads into my eye sockets. Sunlight always bothers me but if I get a headache it makes it worse. It's a lot like having teh wrong eyeglass and reading. That dull sick headache. but... for whatever reason... if I grab the back of my neck from base of skull to shoulders it helps. Especially base of skull. the eye related part seem s like it's inside my head. The neck part seems like it's more surface oriented.
I think I must have multiple things happening. Even if I were using bad or tension posture, we were not shooting so intensely that it should give me headache. We are taking turns, taking breaks, talking, shooting, relaxing. It's not 4 hour blast fest. I mean if I moved furniture for 4 hours I doubt I would get a headache.
No magnification. All I was shooting was VP9 and Ruger 22/45+RDS for the most part. I might have fired 15 rounds on a rifle with a RDS as well.
I've had this happen on days when I basically shoot rifle too though.
I'm going to take hydration and nutrition out of the equation next time for sure. It's one thing to get tired and feel a bit beat but the headache just ruins it. I can get a headache reading. I feel it happening, take off my glasses and stop reading. It goes away. Worse case I might have to take like one Advil and wait 20 minutes. I don't seem to get that same warning when shooting and the cure is not as rapid. So it may be eyes but I don't think it's all eyes.
Sounds like tension headache in the back of the head and neck. Have you recently had your vision evaluated? If not, you should. Headache is very complicated with multiple potential triggers - you sound to have ocular and musculoskeletal triggers for these headaches.
Sounds like tension headache in the back of the head and neck. Have you recently had your vision evaluated? If not, you should. Headache is very complicated with multiple potential triggers - you sound to have ocular and musculoskeletal triggers for these headaches.
Concur.
I've noticed that I avoid issues as long as I'm not supporting the weight of my head with those muscles on the back of my neck, i.e. maintain good posture as much as possible. Something that I find helpful is remembering stretches along with exercise. Stretching out the legs and touching the toes, pulling my shoulders back and down while standing up straight, arm circles, and a stretch involving rolling my head slowly around my shoulders, focusing on the 10 o'clock to 2 o' clock areas and the 4 to 8 all seem beneficial. Don't forget to do some exercise to balance out your back and in between the shoulder blades if you primarily do body weight exercises.
I find the way most car seats and head rests are shaped to be torture if I have to drive or ride for any length of time. The only thing that helps is keeping my head off the head rest.
If I screw up and get the pain started, I find that stretching with a little massage of the neck, along with hydration, can sometimes kill it. If it's gotten beyond that point, I add ibuprofen and a hot 5-10 minute shower with the nozzle pointed at my neck. It's important to maintain an upright posture and rest my forehead against something (balled fist will do) to remove the strain on those muscles. A combination of the above always kills the pain for me.
It seems to me like some sort of repeated damage to some part of those muscles/connective tissues has caused them to become easily inflamed, sort of like carpal tunnel. In my case, I'm convinced it was due to forcing myself to remain seated in a bad posture, with my head often tilted forward for hours at a time over the course of several months of a particular telecommuting job.
Have a look at how Jerry Micculek shoots a pistol. He keeps his head fully upright, not really in what you might think of as a fighting stance. This may well have more to it than just his approach at efficiency of motion.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.