Do soldiers wear earplugs when fighting in the battlefield?

I remember going to a shooting range once without wearing my earplugs, and as soon as the guns start firing, my ears were ringing. Is this what happens to soldiers in the battlefield?Do soldiers wear earplugs when fighting in the battlefield?
No.



And after you start firing, you don't even think, "I wish I had my earplugs in." You're thinking about a few other things.
Some AFSCs and MOSs (jobs) in the military use ear protection extensively and it is part of their standard equipment. For combat soldiers that is not the case as they don't have time to put them in, can't hear as well where opposing weapons fire is coming from, nor the orders, shouts, and commands of their fellow soldiers. Hearing loss of some kind is one thing that the the VA automatically includes in an automatic 10% ddisability finding for all vets because they know it is going to occur.Do soldiers wear earplugs when fighting in the battlefield?
Actually for my unit it was SOP to have earplugs and wear them when outside the FOB. I can't speak for every unit that served in Iraq but that's how we rolled.

1-87inf 10th MTN
No, they don't...



Ear plugs actually cut down on your auditory acuity, which means that sounds that could save your life are NOT heard. They essentially knock 30dB off the incoming noises. So if you're walking down the street, you won't hear the guy with the knife creeping up behind you.



Like the gent from the Corps said...when the firefight starts, you deal.



Good Luck!Do soldiers wear earplugs when fighting in the battlefield?
no, we don't stop to put earplugs in, you just deal with it.
Sometimes we do or didn't. I lot of folks acted liked they were to cool to wear them. fine by me. We wore the new ones with the two colors (brown and yellow sides) when possible or the issued ones or the old soft, squishy yellow ones (cigarette butts.lol). The were mandatory for wear and yes, you can hear someone yelling. Not good for creeping in a quiet street or in a dark house. But in a convoy, perfect. They saved my hearing in a SBVIED blast 15 feet away and were even melted along with alot of other stuff. But my hearing was saved. The Marine driving right in front of me wasn't wearing half his stuff and was badly burned and sharpnel all in him. We both were tore up in Ramadi along with the Marine gunner. Good fellas though. Too bad he lost his hearing his left ear.



Anyway, wear you shyt. You want to file a claim for hearing loss and your a machine gunner or artillery gun bunny and were issued earplugs, you'll look stupid when you say I didn't feel like wearing them. Oh by the way, we do investigations on wounding and deaths with the Safety civllians and that's one of the things they look at along with eye protection and gloves. Its the way it is. You got it, wear the junk. It will work to a point and its better than nothing unless your name is Logan or Clark Kent.
No they don't. Simple as that.
Normally no. That is why many soldiers have 'traumatic island deafness' which means that they are deaf at the frequency of gunfire. I recommend you wear earplugs or ear defenders when you go on the range, especially if you shoot .357 magnum and .44 magnum rounds or CZ 9mm submachine gun rounds. SMGs on full automatic fire can be deafening like the old M3A1 'Greasegun'. I like those fitted with a sound suppressor, Ha! Ha!
in a perfect situation they would but to tell you the truth we dont because i dont think that haji is going to pause the shooting to give us time to put ear plugs in.. all the fights i been in happend in a split second never had time to do it an
Nope, makes it to hard to hear the other stuff going on around. However, it is nice to have a pair in the pocket in case EOD has to blow something up near you. A pair of 9mm shells works in a pinch.
Yes, our ears ring too. We can't wear them for several reasons.



There is often not enough warning or time to do so; you have to hear what is going on around you - especially in urban environments (sounds carry in the streets at night); it is impossible to talk on a radio with hearing protection in, etc.



You just have to deal with it, and honestly, you don't notice the ringing until after the fight. I guess the adrenaline keeps you from realizing it. My left ear rings all the time now, and you just learn to deal with it.



I just retired from the Army, and I have serious hearing damage in both ears - the left is worse off, as the right was somewhat protected by being directly behind my weapon.



It's just the price you have to pay - unfortunate but true. That what's nice about getting disability compensation from the VA.
No how would you hear orders or hear A radio, I carried a radio and had one ear piece over one ear permanently what would I do when I wanted to use weapon stop and take an ear plug out ?



My hearing is down, when I had a check up they said it was from firing weapons, but it can be an advantage when I don't hear what the wife says, I tell her its because of Army days LOL
A friend in the Army and Lt Colonel with two tours of duty in Iraq just addressed this during a conversation. His soldiers, all were equipped with "head sets" to communicate, much like a "BlueTooth" he said. To stay alert, including listening, they were not authorized to wear any type of "ear plug" in the other ear.



Many engagements he personally was involved can get "loud". It was extremely important as the "battle" continued to understand and hear orders during. He said, although "ear" maybe "ringing" you can still hear "commands", with "ear plugs" you may not and possibly "killed".



Hope this helps from someone there.
Even though it's not the smartest thing, some don't even wear earplugs on the range.