Firearm suppressors prevent hearing loss and should be made readily available to the public.

The Hearing Protection Act of 2017 (H.R. 367 and its companion bill S.59 ), are being considered to aid in protecting the hearing of hunters and recreational firearms users. The causal relationship between loud noise exposure and irreversible hearing loss has long been recognized by medicine and the U.S. government.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communicative Disorders (NIDCD) as well as numerous academic studies and publications provide a preponderance of evidenc e supporting the need for greater access to and use of firearms suppressors.

Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership strongly supports making firearm suppressors readily available to the public as a critical health intervention to prevent Americans’ hearing loss. Reducing barriers to firearms suppressor ownership and decreasing the likelihood of gunshot blast noise induced hearing loss and tinnitus in tens of millions of U.S. firearms owners will have no material impact on criminal firearms use.

Download the DRGO Position Paper in Favor of Firearm Suppressors to Prevent Hearing Loss here

One-page Executive Summary is available here