Silence? Or Not So Much? Are Suppressors Really Hearing Safe?

The devil is always in the details. We hear about suppressors making shooting “hearing safe.” Is that true? Well, yes. And, no. It all depends. Here’s a brief look at some of the science behind silencing and suppression of firearms and what you need to know to be sure you’re not permanently destroying your hearing.

Sound (really pressure) is measured in decibels, or dB for short. All we really need to know about decibels is they’re not measured on a linear scale but a logarithmic one — kind of like one of those sharply escalating hockey stick graphs defined by complex algebra equations. For example, 20 dB is not twice as “loud” as 10 dB; it’s ten times louder. So, small differences in the dB level translate to big changes in noise.