Heard of opening your mouth near large concussive blast, not sure of how much it helps reduce hearing damage, but it's so you're eardrums don't rupture.

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Definitely was told to open mouth and exhale during concrete charges while in the Marines. This was also prior to them changing the standoff drastically. At 33 feet behind a blast blanket taking the concussion from 6 sticks of c4 it felt like a donkey kick to the chest.

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100Good@reddit

Army Combat Engineer here. Can confirm with Bangalore torpedoes at 30ft. Mouth open and exhale.

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CommunalJellyRoll@reddit

No its suck not exhale! Wait a sec...

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100Good@reddit

12B here can confirm.

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factorV@reddit

That is exactly what its for, large concussive blasts and pressure waves, nothing at all to do with hearing damage.

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Huntrawrd@reddit

Its pure fiction. Even if it werent, your nose would be adequate to the task of pressure equalization. But thats not how that system or the physics of sound or explosions work.

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Fluffy-Map-5998@reddit

It's helps equalize the pressure somewhat

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spiritofgalen@reddit

I'd buy that it could dampen the sound a small amount, but not enough to prevent hearing damage

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Fluffy-Map-5998@reddit

Almost certainly

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ryno7926@reddit

I've heard this one too. Luckily I was never put in a position to test it.

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Verum14@reddit

I’ve done it. I suppose it could be placebo as well, but it seems to work pretty well.

I don’t think it’d make a difference whatsoever for small arms, though

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RedditWhileIWerk@reddit

no that won't work

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1GiLgAmEsH1@reddit

I literally just started watching Yellowstone last night and they did that as they were shooting tannerite. I didn't understand what was the reason but now that makes total sense

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snipe4fun@reddit

DO NOT OPEN YOUR MOUTH OF YOU ARE SPYING A .50cal BARRETT. The back pressure from the recoil compensator is comparable to a Karl Gustav. If you do not close your mouth when firing you will cause over pressure tears in your lungs. You’ll be coughing for a few days after as if you’ve got respiratory flu.

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ProceduralShooter@reddit

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Ruthless4u@reddit

That’s most people at the range

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EstablishmentFull797@reddit

Good way to get hot brass in your mouth lol

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NotAChristian666@reddit

wth are you shooting where brass ends up in your mouth?

45 years of shooting and I've never seen or heard of this.

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EstablishmentFull797@reddit

That’s mostly because people don’t shoot with their mouths open lol.

If anything it would be from someone next to you. I have had hot brass from someone’s rifle go down my shirt. Worked with a guy that was an RSO and he started requiring ball caps as PPE because someone on the line had a 9mm casing fall just right to get behind their eyepro

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ShellrockHomeless@reddit (OP)

What have i done now redditors will try it out and blame it on me 😔

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TheSockington@reddit

It’s a great story to share either way 🙂

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FordExploreHer1977@reddit

We shall call it the ShellrockHomeless Maneuver.

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EsotericAbstractIdea@reddit

Makes sense how someone can yell and not damage their own hearing.

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Kayehnanator@reddit

If I don't have plugs I stick 9mm in my ears and they fit nearly perfect, no ringing afterwards.

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ShellrockHomeless@reddit (OP)

Yeah in ww2 soviets were doing that

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TemperReformanda@reddit

You mean he didn't just squint his ears?

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ShellrockHomeless@reddit (OP)

Well i just dont know, dads say dad things to look coolet

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PhonedZero@reddit

I knew an old Scottish guy who was an artilleryman who said exactly the same thing!

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HeughJanus@reddit

commie fuddlore thats a new one

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Choke_M@reddit

There’s tons of old commie fuddlore like this, the sniper button, putting buckets and shit on tank barrels to disguise the actual shape of the tank. Spaced tank armor is arguably fuddlore depending on who you talk to. Snow in the mouth, fasting before battles was a big one in the Red Army because they thought the less stuff jn your stomach the less risk of infection if you took a round to the tummy. Countless AK fuddlore like the infamous kick AK disarm.

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cakesalads@reddit

"i put snow in my mouth so the Wolf does not see my breath"

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Alternative_Diet8199@reddit

I mean we were always told to shoot with our mouths open when I was on cannons, but only on the cannon, BOP type deal less hearing protection tho

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ShellrockHomeless@reddit (OP)

So it isnt commie exclusive. Now would that work if you were shooting a home invader with a rifle inside your house?

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Pastvariant@reddit

You are misunderstanding this response to your post. You keep your mount open to protect yourself from blast overpressure, because if you keep your mouth closed the air in your ears and mouth cannot move freely and this can rupture your eardrums. This does not protect your hearing in the manner you are thinking. You can still heave the hairs in your inner ear get damaged, which damages your hearing, even if you do not have your eardrums rupture.

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Comfortable_Guide622@reddit

This\^ \^\^\^

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guy48065@reddit

Zero-dollar hearing protection method confirmed.

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InteractionFun5997@reddit

It does mitigate pressure waves on your tympanic membranes, but it will not help mitigate hearing loss in the long run.

On a related note, firing artillery with your mouth open may be a good idea, but it’s a horrible idea if you’re firing a shoulder fired missile. Spent rocket fuel tastes awful and lingers for hours. 😖

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he_trumped_us@reddit

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

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he_trumped_us@reddit

https://i.redd.it/1epxupsogl3h1.gif

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Hkfn27@reddit

It only works if you're all ready deaf.

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ShellrockHomeless@reddit (OP)

Well his hearing is completly fine

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BenderIsGreat64@reddit

I'd be money he has SOME level of tinnitus. Maybe not enough to bother him 99% of the time, but if you/your dad claim he doesn't hear ringing when a room goes silent, I have a bridge for sale.

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ShellrockHomeless@reddit (OP)

Well ofcours every dad says dad things and trying to look cool and fine and perfectly allright is one of them. But he really dosent seem to have problems hearing stuff and never noticed him complaining about tinnitus. My mother on the other hand is like Gordon Cole

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spiritofgalen@reddit

Tell him to get an audiogram (hearing test)

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VanillaIce315@reddit

My dad’s hearing is still quite good, but he also had bad tinnitus from decades in a concrete truck. People are different, and some have more hearing to lose than others, or are more susceptible to damage/loss. Everyone experiences damage/loss from loud noise though

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englisi_baladid@reddit

Its not

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narcabusesurvivor18@reddit

He has 20/20 hearing

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englisi_baladid@reddit

No he doesnt dude. Like you realize he was doing permanent damage everytime he fired right?

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narcabusesurvivor18@reddit

Yes. I realize.
gif

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ShellrockHomeless@reddit (OP)

Yes it is

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englisi_baladid@reddit

Bro you clearly dont understand how hearing loss works

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ShellrockHomeless@reddit (OP)

Perhabs i dont, but it doesnt seem that he has any problems with hearing

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phibbsy47@reddit

I have great hearing, and make a living in the audio industry using it. But when I get my hearing tested, I have a giant hole in the frequency response of my ears centered around 5000hz due to exposure to loud noises, only on my left ear. Most hearing loss is in the same frequency range as the noise that caused it.

People with hearing loss are also awful at knowing how bad their hearing loss really is, because they have no basis for comparison, I see it all the time at work. The fan was failing on the network switch next to my coworker's desk, and although I could hear it from the next room, he couldn't hear it at all. He fired a MANPADS without ear pro in the 80s. He can hear just fine in casual conversation, but he probably hasn't heard a cricket since the Reagan administration.

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Cassius_au-Bellona@reddit

network switch
MANPADS
President Reagan
crickets

This story had it all! I cant wait for the sitcom.

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phibbsy47@reddit

Jobsite tales require drama, hyperbole, and wildly unnecessary segues.

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narcabusesurvivor18@reddit

What?

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TaylorFreelance@reddit

The noise was in English... that's why he didn't lose his hearing!

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PullFromTheHurt@reddit

gif

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Novel-Meet4146@reddit

Towards the end of the movie Dog Soldiers the Sarg tells cooper to open his mouth while he empties his MP5 into the closet floor. That scene is making more sense to me now.

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moreno2227@reddit

This doesn't help with sound at all but rather helps you get through large concussion without as high likelihood of permanent damage. We use it when working around flash bangs and concussion devices.

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jared8410@reddit

I read this & all I can hear now is, EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

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NoCitron2394@reddit

This is 100% bullshit

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Little_Whippie@reddit

I mean keeping your mouth open does help with not getting fucked up by pressure waves from explosions and such but I highly doubt it’ll protect your ears

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burner118373@reddit

I am a doctor, but no.

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Puzzleheaded_Car6307@reddit

If you shoot an attacker your hearing will be fine. It's the constant exposure over time from training.

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dumptruckulent@reddit

Shooting unsuppressed indoors can absolutely cause permanent hearing damage

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Puzzleheaded_Car6307@reddit

Not one time. I've had a 9mm shot about 6 inches from my ear and after a couple days I was fine with no permanent damage

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dumptruckulent@reddit

Buddy, damage is being done. That’s why it takes “a couple days” for your hearing to go back to normal. And the damage is definitely permanent. There is no medical procedure that can fix it. Stop telling people it’s ok.

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GSDTippyTappies@reddit

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singlemale4cats@reddit

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cody87hoke@reddit

Normally when you are involved in an ultra high stress event, like a self defense shooting your body natural turns down and sometimes off certain senses. It’s called auditory exclusion and a few rounds will not hurt your ears. You can take cigarette butts and shove in your ears, I don’t recommend it but it kind of works.

Now large explosions like artillery, IED, grenade, mortar, and even a 50 will definitely hurt the hell out of your ears. So this would not work. Idk if opening your mouth hurts, I’m def as hell in my right ear from being a tactical hobo. It’s also not cool when you finally get highspeed ear muffs (Peltors) and forget to clip them down when your laying beside your 240 gunner trying to tell him what to shoot at.

Now this doesn’t always work if you are extremely well trained and or been in a lot of these kinds of ultra high stress situations. Like a SWAT guy, a multiple deployed tactical hobo in the early 2000s, SF dudes, or cops that work in ultra bad parts of a bad city. Your body doesn’t react the same way after you’ve been to your 25th shooting, been involved in shootings, almost been stabbed, lots of fights etc. Pointing your gun at someone doesn’t even make you nerves anymore.

I can say personally the first time I thought I was going to kill someone I was shaking after. The 25th time I didn’t fell any different than just driving to work. It’s bad to get that way, not everyone does but it’s true. Doesn’t make you any cooler or anything.

Like I worked in a very high crime city where we were constantly in very bad situations, chasing a guy that had just tried to kill him baby momma, gotten in a gun fight with her, had a gun in his hand and ran. Jumps fence, partner runes through said wood fence (good thing he didn’t hit the post), with his gun out and NDs a round right beside my head, in a pretty confined back yard of brick apartments. Shit sounded like a cannon. My ears didn’t not feel good for a few days but the guy instantly gave up. I also almost shot the guy because I didn’t realize my partner ND’d and at the same time the guy was turning towards us to look at us with the gun still in his hand.

It’s different for everyone.

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BeenisHat@reddit

If you have to shoot a few times indoors, you should just assume your ears are going to ring. It's probably a good reason to consider a subsonic gun and possibly a suppressor.

We really need to get suppressors off the NFA.

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Femveratu@reddit

It actually does help some if you get caught without ear pro, used to be taught in U.S. military as well. However, there is no substitute for hearing protection muffs and ear plugs ideally.

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Hold_Left_Edge@reddit

Mawp.....mawp.

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IanKelsonMD@reddit

Eastern Europeans are the white ninjas and have no relatable skills other than being cannon fodder.

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86PickleRick1986@reddit

Hold my beer

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SirRudytheGreat@reddit

Well. How’d it go?

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Grey_Chaos@reddit

https://i.redd.it/ztr5g1yyek3h1.gif

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Buildinggam@reddit

I was always told to do this at top fuel drag racing even with ear protection it's something about balancing the air pressure so your ears don't pop

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EstablishmentFull797@reddit

Warsaw Pact grade Fuddlore

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RasStocks@reddit

The opening is for the concussion so your ear drums don’t burst but does nothing for hearing protection

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OlPauly@reddit

Did a lot of artillery over the years and if you're at the breach the noise isn't that bad and none of us wore ear pro. If you were set up in a formation where a another guns muzzle was behind yours it was very loud. Rifle fire was way worse imo.

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FortunateHominid@reddit

It helps with the sudden pressure changes/concussion. Won't protect you from hearing damage due to the sound itself.

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HybridP365@reddit

That's a very old "technique" that is definitely not limited to the old USSR. I've heard guntubers say it in videos, especially in reference to shooting large calibers like 50 BMG.

I don't know if it has any basis in scientific fact, though. I've never seen it repeated from a reputable source. Sounds like fuddlore to me.

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falcon_2000@reddit

For shooting .50, doesn't make a difference for sound but definitely makes a difference in a headache after a few hundred rounds.

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HybridP365@reddit

Have to afford a few hundred rounds of 50 BMG, and the rifle to shoot them, first.

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falcon_2000@reddit

Have the Tax payer buy your ammo > buying your own ammo.

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ShellrockHomeless@reddit (OP)

Interesting, like this isnt one of those things someone should test for the sake of testing it but like ive said, i do keep it in mind and i do train my draw and dryfire alongside with opening mouth to have the muscle memory just in case

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super-nemo@reddit

I met civil war reenactors that said the same thing for black power cannons. Cover the ear closest to the canon and open your mouth.

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Leroy1864@reddit

As a civil war reenactor I can confirm that it works.

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ScalierLotus11@reddit

This is real. In airsoft we shout "grenade" than open our moths when not wearing earpro, it works

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Snake3452@reddit

Real tip, wrong reason.

Opening your mouth reduces some cranial pressure when near a concussive blast. This can help reduce shock to the brain, but does NOT protect your ear drums.

I was taught to do it during hand grenade training in Basic Training. I’m also an artilleryman so I do it near the guns when they fire. It definitely feels better vs closed mouth.

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antle702@reddit

I have two hearing aids even though I’m only deaf in one ear. Pretty good electronic hearing protection that I wear all the time.

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guy48065@reddit

I know I've heard this before...but have never seen confirmation or a discussion about it.

gif

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falcon_2000@reddit

Doesn't help with hearing at all, but definitely does help with headaches when shooting a .50 or being near a larger blast.

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XZEKKX@reddit

I was taught to do that while using black powder canons. We used plugs most of the time, but opening your mouth does seem to help.

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Extra_Drop_6081@reddit

look, if i'm in a defensive shooting and it's caught on camera i'd rather take some hearing damage than wind up as a soyjak

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notCGISforreal@reddit

The funny thing about this idea is it is similar to how cardioid and hyper cardioid microphones work. In those, the sound is able to get to the front and the back of the diaphragm of the microphone through different channels so that depending on the direction it comes from, it will cancel out or augment, so that sound from certain directions are blocked from being picked up by the microphone. This is also somewhat dependent on the wavelength/frequency because of physics.

So the same idea on face value could happen with people, except our heads arent perfectly shaped to cause sounds to destructively interfere and cancel out if we open our mouths and turn to a specific angle to the sound. If they were, that would be a problem, since then we would have a gap in our hearing from certain angles, and that would have definitely been a disadvantage evolutionarily and likely been bred out over time.

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Mynplus1throwaway@reddit

I get a water rushing sort of noise when I flex whatever ear muscle you use to pop your ears on a plane. Pretty sure it's related. Not sure how much medical basis there is behind any real reduction in db

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hadtobethetacos@reddit

its not, you just have the ability to flex that particular muscle, not everyone can. opening your mouth has to do with pressure waves and concussive force. basically it reduces the chance that your eardrums are ruptured.

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Resident_Skroob@reddit

You are indeed supposed to keep your mouth open if you can remember to do so when standing right next to artillery. That's probably what your father was talking about. It reduces (not eliminates) the risk of having your eardrums completely blown out, as the overpressure wave that comes off the artillery will do more damage if your mouth is closed.

But having it open doesn't "prevent" hearing damage. It simply reduces risk of a rupture.

Despite what you have said in other comments here, if your father was indeed standing next to artillery while it was being fired (I'm assuming he was telling the truth), then he has hearing loss. Repeated exposure to a rifle round (even outside) without hearing protection causes hearing loss.

I have literally never (and I do mean NEVER) met an Artie without some form of hearing damage. This includes guys who doubled with the 3Ms (which have their own lawsuit) and muffs.

If he was an Artie, and he actually fired off, he has hearing damage.

But protection from the overpressure wave is probably what he was talking about.

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Tims_Learing_Center@reddit

I do that when my wife yells at me...it seems to work!

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Ok-Return7750@reddit

Do you hum as well? I’ve heard that can help with loud yelling wives.

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moving0target@reddit

I'm not supposed to open my mouth when she yells. Whatever the case, it just makes everything louder.

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Ok-Return7750@reddit

I’ve heard this before as well. It’s supposed to equalize the pressure on your ear drums from both sides to stop damage.

More than likely those guys stuck their fingers into their ears as tightly as possible to try and reduce hearing loss. Some used improvised items like rolled up cotton or soft cloth to lessen the effects.

I believe that opening your mouth when artillery goes off is just an urban myth.

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ShellrockHomeless@reddit (OP)

About the improvised stuff ive heard that in ww2 soviet soldiers would insert pistol round into their ears

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Dragonnuttz@reddit

gif

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squunkyumas@reddit

During the civil war, soldiers figured out they could lessen hearing damage by opening their mouth before a cannon blast. Has something to do with concussive force.

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KyOatey@reddit

I guess that's one positive thing the mouth breathers have going for themselves.

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WhiskyOtter@reddit

Has your dad had an actual hearing test? You can have hearing loss that isn't noticeable in day to day life.

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ShellrockHomeless@reddit (OP)

Nope but, he never needed to and, besides this post isnt about my dads hearing but mostly about if someone has any interesting info on this myth

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shibbster@reddit

If someone breaks in, I'm coming out blasting. My hearing will recover, mostly. My family won't if the break-in schlup makes it to them.

Hope that helps.

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ShellrockHomeless@reddit (OP)

Well obviously better deaf than dead im mostly wondering about effectivness of this myth

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ericroku@reddit

That's what I tell my wife.

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JMcLe86@reddit

Me too. Sadly, the shooting range closed the moment I got married.

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Sunuva_Gun@reddit

Honest Question: How was Dad's hearing?

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ShellrockHomeless@reddit (OP)

He has no hearing problems at all

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Sunuva_Gun@reddit

Thanks. I'm still not sure *I'm* gonna try this but it seems like it worked for him or he has mutant ears.

Either way, interesting.

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ShellrockHomeless@reddit (OP)

Its not something one should try for no reason. Its maybe good to try it out if you have to shoot without protection which like ive said can be self defense or home defense

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VerbalThermodynamics@reddit

It may help but it ain’t gonna negate shit.

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dustysanchezz@reddit

Just use two 45 acp rounds. Thats what my Grandfather taught me.

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CVMASheepdog@reddit

Actually, he's probably already deaf from the artillery fire so for him "anything" works now.

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ShellrockHomeless@reddit (OP)

Nope, his hearing is completly fine (he was artilery gunner only for a while tho he was later reassigned to a different unit)

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ButterscotchEmpty535@reddit

gif

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ShellrockHomeless@reddit (OP)

okay i will try to say it again so listen closely

My father has this mythical tip for how to shoot guns without ear protection (for instance in self defense)

For context, he grew up in communist czechoslovakia and during his mandatory military service he was an artillery gunner. Apparently they werent issued any ear protection at all and instead they were taught this strange thing. Opening mouth while shooting, apparently the sound waves will travel into your mouth and then thru your skull into your ears from the inside and it should negate the damaging impact caused by the waves traveling from the outside. He claims to have shot dozens of shells while standing right next to the artillery gun without any issues and to his credit his hearing is fine and dandy not even tinnitus.

I DO NOT RECOMEND TRYING THIS!!!

However, in case of self defense, the attacker will not give you time to put on earplugs and i guess trying it out while in an emergency it wont cause any more damage to have your mouth opened.

I wonder if you ever heard about this technique or what you think about it in generel. Im no doctor, neither im some sounding enthusiast (pun intended). It sounds like one of those things czechoslovak communist government would tell to its soldiers to save up on ear pro, but there also might be something to it. What do you thing?

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PHobsessed@reddit

Perfect response. Had me chuckling