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Hearing Protection for Hunting Season: What Northern Ontario Hunters Should Know

September 10, 2026 | News

"Hunter in autumn forest, illustrating hearing protection considerations for Northern Ontario hunting season."

Bow season is already underway across the Timmins area, and rifle season isn’t far behind. Most of the advice hunters hear before heading into the bush focuses on the usual safety precautions: firearm handling, wearing orange blaze, and letting someone know where you’re going. Hearing protection rarely comes up, which is surprising given how much damage a single gunshot can cause.

Unlike the gradual noise exposure that builds up over years in a factory or a shop, a gunshot can cause permanent hearing damage in an instant. It is also one of the most preventable risks in hunting, provided you understand the risk and take the right precautions.

How Loud Is a Gunshot, Really?

Considerably louder than most hunters assume. NIOSH and OSHA both set 140 decibels (dB) peak sound pressure as the maximum safe level for a single unprotected exposure. Firearms routinely exceed that by a wide margin:

Sound sourcePeak level (dB)
JackhammerAbout 110
Ambulance sirenAbout 120
NIOSH/OSHA safe exposure limit140
.22 rimfire rifle140 to 150
12-gauge shotgunAbout 165
Centerfire hunting rifle160 to 175

Because the decibel scale is logarithmic, the gap between these numbers is far larger than it looks. Each increase of about 3 dB roughly doubles the sound energy reaching the ear, so a rifle at 165 dB involves vastly more sound energy than a jackhammer at 110 dB.

Can One Shot Cause Permanent Hearing Damage?

Yes. This is one of the most important thing to understand, and it sets firearms apart from most other sources of hearing damage.

Most noise-induced hearing loss develops gradually, after months or years of repeated exposure to high noise levels. A gunshot is different. Because the impulse peaks in a fraction of a second, it can overwhelm the ear’s natural protective mechanisms and permanently damage the sensory hair cells of the inner ear. A hunter who fires even a single shot without hearing protection may already have put their hearing at risk, whether or not a second shot follows.

The hair cells damaged this way do not regenerate. There is currently no medical treatment that can restore hearing loss to noise exposure, which is exactly why prevention is the only real strategy here.

What Kind of Hearing Protection Actually Works for Hunting?

The honest answer is that not all hearing protection is equally practical in the field, and the option that works best at an indoor range is not always the one hunters will actually wear in the bush.

  • Standard foam plugs are inexpensive and effective when properly inserted, but many people underestimate how deeply they need to be seated to work as rated
  • Standard earmuffs provide effective noise reduction but can be bulky under a cap or hood. They can also shift or lose their seal when a rifle is raised to the shoulder
  • Electronic earplugs and earmuffs use built-in microphones and processing to amplify quiet sounds, footsteps, a branch snapping, or a hunting partner’s voice, while automatically clamping down the instant they detect a gunshot-level impulse
  • Custom-molded hearing protection is made from an impression of your ear, so it sits consistently every time and stays in place through a full day of movement in a way generic plugs often don’t

A common concern among hunters who do not wear hearing protection is that standard plugs or muffs make it harder to hear what is happening around them. That’s a legitimate concern, and it’s the exact problem electronic and custom-fitted protection is designed to solve.

Signs Worth Paying Attention To

After a day in the field, it’s worth noticing:

  • Ringing or buzzing in the ears that lingers after you’ve left the bush
  • Sounds feeling muffled or dulled, particularly in one ear if that’s the side nearest the muzzle
  • Difficulty following conversation at camp that evening

Any of these symptoms after a hunt are worth taking seriously rather than writing them off as a normal part of the day. A hearing assessment can identify changes in your hearing and provide a baseline for comparison in future seasons.

Frequently Asked Questions

How loud is a gunshot, really?

Most unsuppressed centerfire rifles and shotguns produce peak sound levels between roughly 155 and 175 decibels, depending on caliber, barrel length and ammunition. Even a .22 rimfire typically exceeds 140 decibels. For comparison, a jackhammer measures about 110 decibels and an ambulance siren about 120.

Can one shot cause permanent hearing damage?

Yes. NIOSH and OSHA set 140 decibels peak sound pressure as the limit for a single unprotected exposure, and nearly every firearm exceeds that threshold unsuppressed. Unlike gradual noise exposure that builds up over months or years, gunfire can cause instant and permanent damage to the hair cells of the inner ear in a single shot.

What kind of hearing protection actually works for hunting?

Standard foam plugs and earmuffs reduce noise substantially but can interfere with hearing wildlife or a hunting partner’s voice, which is why many hunters skip them. Custom-molded hearing protection, fitted to your own ear canal, provides a more consistent seal, and electronic options amplify quiet sounds like footsteps while automatically dampening the impulse of a gunshot.

Do earmuffs or earplugs work better for hunting?

Used together, they provide more protection than either alone, a practice sometimes called double protection, and this is recommended in high-noise settings such as an indoor range. In the field, many hunters prefer electronic earplugs or custom-molded protection, since standard earmuffs can be bulky under a cap or hood and can shift when raising a rifle to the shoulder.

Is hearing loss from hunting covered by anything?

Recreational hunting-related hearing loss is generally not covered by provincial health insurance or workplace insurance programs, since it doesn’t arise from employment. Hunters shouldn’t assume any coverage applies and should ask their audiologist directly about the cost of an assessment or custom hearing protection.

References

The following authoritative sources informed this article. We encourage readers to consult them directly for current information.