Veterans’ firearm injuries

Jason

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Jason was raised in the South, where firearms played a big part in his younger years. He recalls learning about firearms and firearm safety from his grandfather during hunting trips. Yet these moments were more than learning about firearm safety. To Jason, they were also opportunities to understand what it means to grow up and be a man. After serving in the military, Jason became a part-time instructor at a firing range. Today, he deals with tinnitus as a result of not wearing hearing protection while using firearms. Jason says wearing hearing protection was not always supported in military culture. This attitude carried over into his civilian life, where he continued not wearing hearing protection at the firing range. 

The permanent hearing loss has been a difficult reality for Jason to accept. As Jason describes, “It was a little hard to accept at first. I mean, that’s not something that’s going to come back. That’s not like I cut a fingernail and my fingernail will grow back.” Due to his condition, Jason has avoided attending certain events because of potentially aggravating his tinnitus. However, his family and friends have been supportive during this time and have offered a place for him to process this experience. Additionally, Jason has received treatment from the VA for his tinnitus. Now Jason encourages others to take hearing protection seriously, emphasizing the impact and permanence of hearing loss. Jason is also passing on the legacy of firearms ownership to his son, stressing that respect is not just reserved for firearms – it is about respecting oneself as well and taking steps to protect yourself while using firearms. 

 

Jason recalls his fondness for spending time at the shooting range.

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Jason recalls his fondness for spending time at the shooting range.

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I'm 40 years old and I went into the military when I was 18. And after I got out, I was really into going to the shooting range, and really big into spending a lot of time shooting guns. And I didn't realize the impact that it was having on my hearing until it already had happened, and I was diagnosed with tinnitus, the ringing in the ears. 

And some days are better than others, and some days it's really bad and it's really hard to do pretty much anything, but other days it's better. And common sense says wear earplugs. Sometimes I did, sometimes I didn't, but I just didn't know how important it was to wear the earplugs, and the ear protection, and stuff like that. 

Part of the military culture is the macho, "I'm a man and I don't need help with anything." That's just part of it. But, and it may have just been me and my friend's personality, I just felt like I didn't need them, and didn't even think about it. It didn't even occur to me, "Maybe two years down the road you won't be able to hear." But the damage was already done. And I should have been smart, and I should have worn them from the beginning, but it was, kind of, an emotional, it was a little bit emotional to accept that. 

The hearing loss is what I noticed first. There was just me watching TV, and somebody else coming in, and saying, "Wow, that TV's really loud," and stuff like that, and having to ask people to repeat themselves. That's how I noticed it first, and I was diagnosed with hearing loss. And then I started having ringing in my ears, and really bad headaches, and like throbbing in my eardrums. But yeah, the hearing loss is what I noticed first, and that's how I realized that there was a problem.

It was, kind of, hard to accept it, that I was losing my hearing. But it wasn't hard to decide to go see the doctor or anything like that. I knew that was what I needed to do. I wear a hearing aid. And there's, I don't know, it's, kind of, like a white noise kind of thing that is supposed to help when the ringing gets really bad. But yeah, the hearing aid is about the only therapy I received for it, or treatment I've received for it. I feel like it if there had been more impact on how important ear protection was, I think it would have made a difference. But ultimately, it was my decision, and I don't have anybody to blame but myself.

 

Years of not wearing proper ear protection while using firearms led to Jason’s hearing loss.

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Years of not wearing proper ear protection while using firearms led to Jason’s hearing loss.

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I'm 40 years old and I went into the military when I was 18. And after I got out, I was really into going to the shooting range, and really big into spending a lot of time shooting guns. And I didn't realize the impact that it was having on my hearing until it already had happened, and I was diagnosed with tinnitus, the ringing in the ears. 

And some days are better than others, and some days it's really bad, and it's really hard to do pretty much anything, but other days, it's better. And common sense says wear earplugs. Sometimes I did, sometimes I didn't, but I just didn't know how important it was to wear the earplugs, and the ear protection, and stuff like that. 

Yeah, the hearing loss is what I noticed first. There was just me watching TV, and somebody else coming in, and saying, "Wow, that TV's really loud," and stuff like that, and having to ask people to repeat themselves. And that's how I noticed it first, and I was diagnosed with hearing loss. 

And then I started having ringing in my ears, and really bad headaches, and like throbbing in, like, my eardrums. But yeah, the hearing loss is what I noticed first, and that's how I realized that there was a problem.

 

Jason shares that his injury was “a little hard to accept at first.”

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Jason shares that his injury was “a little hard to accept at first.”

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Yeah, more with the hearing loss side than the tinnitus, but yeah, and it was a little hard to accept at first. I mean, that's not something that's going to come back. It's not like I cut a fingernail and my fingernail will grow back. That's gone. It's, kind of, like your eyesight, or your teeth, or something like that. Once they're gone, they're gone. So, it was hard to accept at first. 
 
I mean, I guess one thing I haven't shared is that it affects my family; my wife, and my kids. They're definitely affected by it. They can see that I'm in pain, and it affects them, I guess, on an emotional level. But other than that, I don't think I mentioned it at all. 
 
Interviewer: Has it impacted you in an emotional level as well? 
 
Respondent: I mean, yeah, and just the fact that I know that, that I made the wrong decision by doing something this way. Because of that it's caused me to have hearing loss, and tinnitus. And I know that it's not going to come back no matter how hard I try or anything like that. It's gone forever. And that, kinda, impacts me a little bit, knowing that I could have done something different. 
 
And it definitely has affected my daily life. There have been times where I've decided not to go to an event because I knew that there might be an issue. If somebody asked me about it, I would talk to them about it, and tell them about it, say, if it were a close friend, or something like that. I may not go into as much detail as I would with somebody that was closer, but I don't have any problem telling people about my issues or anything like that because when I tell them about it, I ask them, "Do you wear ear protection?" or, "Do you realize how important your hearing is?"  
 
There have been times where I've decided not to go somewhere or not to do something because I might not be able to hear well, or because I may know that it's gonna be such a loud place and it might cause me to have an episode of tinnitus the next day, or that evening. If that's a possibility, I may decide not to go at all.
 

Jason talks about coming to terms with his decision not to wear ear protection while using firearms.

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Jason talks about coming to terms with his decision not to wear ear protection while using firearms.

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I mean, I guess one thing I haven't shared is that it affects my family; my wife, and my kids. They're definitely affected by it. They can see that I'm in pain, and it affects them, I guess, on an emotional level. But other than that, I don't think I mentioned it at all. 

Interviewer:      Has it impacted you on an emotional level as well? 

Respondent:     I mean, yeah, and just the fact that I know that, that I made the wrong decision by doing something this way. Because of that it's caused me to have hearing loss, and tinnitus. And I know that it's not going to come back no matter how hard I try or anything like that. It's gone forever. And that, kinda, impacts me a little bit, knowing that I could have done something different.

Interviewer:      So you blame yourself?

Respondent:     Yeah sometimes I do. But ultimately, I feel like it, if there had been more impact on how important ear protection was, I think it would have made a difference. But ultimately, it was my decision, and I don't have anybody to blame but myself.

 

Jason recalls fond memories of his first hunting trips with his grandfather.

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Jason recalls fond memories of his first hunting trips with his grandfather.

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Yeah, it was a hunting trip of my grandfather. I was ten or 12 years old, or something like that, the first time. But we would go out and camp for a couple of days, and go hunting. And he would show me how to use it and clean it, and how to take care of it, and how to carry it. And what to do and what not to do. Spending time with my grandfather; it was definitely about gun safety, gun usage, and stuff like that. But it was also, kind of, him spending time with me and, kind of, teaching me how to grow up, or how to be a man kind of thing. And I really did enjoy that. But I look back on that, those memories, with good feelings.

 

Jason enjoys shooting with his son and shares with him the importance of respecting firearms.

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Jason enjoys shooting with his son and shares with him the importance of respecting firearms.

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They played a big part when I was younger in my life. I was a part-time instructor at a firing range, so it was definitely a big role, day to day, when I was working there. As I've gotten older, it's been less and less of a role in my life, or an impact on my life, I guess. 

But I have a son, and once or twice a year we'll go out and not even, really, with the sole purpose of hunting. But we'll go out and there have been a couple of times where we've hunted. But it's, kind of, just spending time with my son, and being out in the woods, and trying to teach him the same thing my grandfather taught me about how to respect firearms, and that they're not a toy, that they're a tool.

 

Jason reflects that the “ready to go 100% of the time” mindset that is ingrained in the military is hard to disconnect.

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Jason reflects that the “ready to go 100% of the time” mindset that is ingrained in the military is hard to disconnect.

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Well, I mean, it's because I experienced that myself to a degree, and that's just, kind of, the culture that you’re raised in, in the military, is that you gotta be ready to go 100% of the time. You can't let your guard down, ever. And that's just part of the way you're trained. And that is the right training for somebody that is actively at war, or in a conflict. But that may not be the 100% right training for when they get out and they're at home. Just because of the 24/7 military life that you're in, that's just the mindset. And it's hard to adapt that to living at home when you're not in a military setting.

 

For Jason, it was his grandfather that taught him about the principles of using a firearm.

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For Jason, it was his grandfather that taught him about the principles of using a firearm.

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When I was growing up, my grandfather, he was the first one who taught me how to shoot a pistol. He had a farm out in the rural part of the state, and we would go out, and it wasn't even hunting or anything like that. It was just more of, just us spending time out in the country.  He taught me how to shoot pistols, and how to clean them, and how to respect them, how to use them smartly and not play around with them. It’s not a toy, it’s a tool, kind of thing. My grandfather taught me a lot and I really respected him for that.

 

Jason describes how his views on keeping firearms within reach changed after having kids.

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Jason describes how his views on keeping firearms within reach changed after having kids.

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Yeah, before I had children, I definitely didn’t keep ‘em in a gun safe or in a gun cabinet. They were more, kind of, ready to go. I didn’t sleep with one under my pillow or anything like that. But once I had children, I realized that, yeah, it’s not just me in the house or my wife in the house anymore. And I still felt like I needed it to be in the house, but I didn’t feel like I needed it to be as accessible.  

 

Jason suggests that hearing from others who have experienced unintentional injuries could help other Veterans engage in safe storage practices.

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Jason suggests that hearing from others who have experienced unintentional injuries could help other Veterans engage in safe storage practices.

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Maybe hearing from someone who got injured because it wasn't stored away properly, or someone who, it was their doing, and they didn't store it properly and because of that, one of their family members got injured. Hearing them speak, and talk about their experience, and stuff like that, I think would help somebody learn how important that is.

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