Dr. Emily Graves is a 2015 graduate of Tarkio High School.

Dr. Emily Graves with Quality Hearing and Audiology Center in St. Joseph, Missouri, urges hunters to use hearing protection this fall. A single unsuppressed gunshot can cause permanent hearing loss, but there are ways to protect your hearing.

“Wearing protection is going to be vital in protecting your hearing. Over repeated firing, the chances of noise induced hearing loss increases, so you’ve got to wear your protection in order to protect your hearing and the hearing that you have left,” Dr. Graves said.

According to Dr. Graves, there are three main ways to help stave off damage to hearing when it comes to gunfire. Active, passive and filtered hearing protection are different avenues hunters can take to prevent hearing loss.

Active hearing protection suppresses sudden and continuous loud sounds, but it also allows low-level noise to come through. This type of protection allows hunters to hear sounds like a deer rustling through leaves or a turkey gobble while still preventing hearing damage from gunfire.

Active protection is offered through an ear implant that is just a bit larger than an AirPod. An audiologist takes the patient’s ear mold impression and creates an earbud that amplifies ambient sounds while actively protecting against sudden blasts of noise.

Passive hearing protection is the most common and affordable type of hearing loss prevention. It consists of foam plugs or earmuffs that essentially block out all noise. This is great for the long-term health of a hunter’s hearing, but it also means that low-level noise doesn’t come through, making picking up those crucial cues while out in the field a little harder.

Filtered hearing protection is similar to active protection without the amplification of ambient sounds. This method uses a small earbud to lessen the magnitude of loud noises while allowing hunters to hear ambient sounds and conversations around them. This is great for people with normal hearing that don’t require low-level noises to be amplified.

“I recommend all types of hearing protection. Active is definitely more expensive, and so, if one can’t afford that, I would go for passive or filtered. But regardless, hearing protection is what I recommend, whatever type that may be, it’s just so important to protect your hearing,” Dr. Graves said.

Following a gunshot without any use of protection, one might hear ringing in their ear. This is called tinnitus and is often a symptom of something more serious, like permanent hearing loss.

“Harmful levels of sound cause irreversible damage, so making sure that you’re wearing your protection, it’s on correctly and you’re on top of it each time you go hunting is really important so you don’t get that ringing in your ears,” Dr. Graves shared.

Dr. Graves recommends using a noise machine, fan or television to help with tinnitus. Tinnitus worsens in silence, so any noise that can help distract your mind is beneficial. If that is not helping, hearing aids are the next step.

According to Dr. Graves, there are no resources in Atchison County to help treat hearing loss, making it even more crucial for hunters to ensure they’re wearing hearing protection this fall.

“If anyone is looking for hearing protection, I would be happy to get them on my schedule. We can talk about all types of hearing protection if you come in for an appointment,” Dr. Graves said.

Quality Hearing and Audiology Center is located at 2227 N. Belt Hwy. in St. Joseph, Missouri. Call the office at 816-233-0022 to schedule an appointment with Dr. Graves.

Dr. Graves is a native of Tarkio, Missouri, where she graduated from Tarkio High School in 2015. She then went on to the University of Missouri to complete her Bachelor of Health Science degree before attending the University of Nebraska on her way to earning a Master of Science in Speech degree and her Doctorate of Audiology. Dr. Graves is thrilled to be back in Northwest Missouri and looks forward to serving the area with compassion and personalized audiology care.