While I agree, tacitly, with your other points, I must react to these two.lkd wrote:Just a few things to point out:
1) Your hearing will "turn off" appropriately in high stress firefights. Our bodies do interesting things to compensate for the loud noises
2) A firefight in your house will be brief, I assure you. You're not going to suffer permanent damage.
First: Even if your hearing does "turn off" (in a couple of high stress situations I have been in it seemed more as though I was experiencing "tunnel hearing" ie, blocking some sounds while enhancing others) that does not prevent you from suffering damage from acoustic trauma.
Second: Even brief exposure to extremely loud sounds will cause permanent damage, broken stereocilia do not heal. Gunfire in closed spaces qualifies as extremely loud.