"Marc Reeve" wrote in message
...
John Keeney wrote:
"Paul J. Adam" wrote in message
...

(Not sure if hearing protection is now mandated for FIBUA/MOUT, but that
could get _loud_ in a hurry)

I can attest to how loud 7.62 blank is during MOUT training (think of
firing
inside of small rooms of multi-story block building with bare walls &
floors).
I expended the better part of a thousand rounds out of an M-14 last week
in just those circumstances.
The M-14 doesn't even touch the noise generated by the breaching
charges,
SAWs and flash-bangs that are common in the MOUT environment. If you
did much MOUT stuff with out at least your fingers growing out of your
ears I'm surprised your hearing is as good as "poor".
All that being said, well, expect a lot of bad hearing in the years to
come.

Heck, I have bad enough hearing just from being in the vicinity of a
couple
thousand ordinary firecrackers (and pyrotechnic devices involving up to a
pound
and a half of flash powder) over the years, without hearing protectors. I
can't
imagine doing MOUT without any form of ear guards...

Mine are in. Seems some units consider them an option that they
hope they won't exercise: the tactical clues from unplugged ears
being more important to their lives than good hearing down the road.