November/December 2018

We were cheek by jowl in a pit blind, and I was so focused on the goose that I didn’t notice the gun barrel come up beside my left ear. The shot that followed was literally deafening, and the concussion had me disoriented for several seconds. I don’t recall how long it took for my hearing to return, but I know that the ringing didn’t stop for quite a while.

That incident took place years ago when I thought I was invincible and there were no such things as long-term effects. Which is why I wasn’t wearing hearing protection that morning . . . . And I paid the price.

In time I wised up and began taking precautions—first with foam and rubber plugs, and then with earmuffs. At a sportsman’s show I had molded plugs made and thought they were the answer. The trouble with all the devices was that they were passive—simply blocking out sound and not allowing me to hear birds, dogs or my hunting companions.

It wasn’t until a got a pair of ESP electronic plugs that I was satisfied. These custom-fit plugs have built-in microphones and speakers, allowing you to hear normal sounds but cutting out high-decibel noises. Now I am able to carry on conversations and not worry about gunfire—mine or someone else’s—further damaging my hearing.

I mention hearing protection, because this is our annual “Waterfowl Issue,” and I have found waterfowling situations—with hunters often in close proximity in hides or boats—to be some of the most assaulting on the ears. (I recently had another shot fired beside me when someone was dispatching a duck, and I was doubly thankful for my ESPs.) If you don’t yet have hearing protection, I strongly suggest you get it. If you have it, I suggest you wear it religiously.

The last thing you want is to go deaf in a blind.

Ralph P. Stuart