"Paul J. Adam" wrote in message ...
Trouble is, maintaining both cohesion and tempo is really important in
FIBUA (or rather OBUA as it's now called - we conduct Operations in
Built Up Areas, we aren't necessarily just fighting there) which means a
lot of voice communication: it's hard enough to hear shouted commands
from downstairs or around a corner as is, without ear plugs in place.
So, you risk ringing ears and partial HF deafness later on, in order to
keep control of your fireteam during the action.

I wonder how much earplugs actually hurt communication in OUBA.

I know that on my motorcycle, while wearing earplugs under my helmet
means I can't hear subtle changes in engine noise, if I don't have
them in I'm noticeably more fatigued and less alert after as little as
15 minutes. I could easily imagine that the slight decrease in
hearing on average could be outweighed by the large increase in
hearing during the five seconds after shots being fired.

-jake