hearing protection act

HEARING PROTECTION ACT

NSSF

FAST FACTS

WHAT IS A SUPPRESSOR?

Firearm sound suppressors,

or “silencers” as they are ocially

named by regulation, are devices

which help reduce the noise of

gunﬁre to hearing safe levels when

attached to a ﬁrearm’s muzzle. Sup-

pressors are generally nothing more

than containment systems with a

series of baes which help contain

and re-direct the expanding gas-

ses that exit the end of the ﬁrearm’s

barrel when it is discharged. They

are very similar to car muers which

were, in fact, developed in parallel

by the same inventor in the early

1900s. Suppressors help to lessen

the concussive sound of the ﬁrearm

discharging. Using suppressors can

make shooting ﬁrearms safer, more

enjoyable and help make shooting

ranges more neighborly.

Suppressors have been available

for more than 100 years, are legal to

own in 42 states, and legal to use

while hunting in 41 states. As of May

2021, there were over 2.66 million

suppressors in the hands of U.S.

consumers. The growing popularity

of these products results in Bureau

of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and

Explosives (ATF) processing delays

of an average of nine to 10 months,

or 270 to 315 days, respectively as of

January 6, 2023.

THE HEARING PROTECTION ACT

Under current law, suppressors,

a ﬁrearm accessory, are regulated as

heavily as machine guns under the

prohibition-era National Firearms Act

(NFA) of 1934. To purchase a sup-

pressor, an individual must locate a

retailer that is regulated as a NFA

Class III dealer, complete an ATF

Form 4 with the model and serial

number of the suppressor, obtain

two passport photos and ﬁngerprint

cards from a local police department.

The local chief law enforcement of-

ﬁcial must receive a completed copy

of the application. Then the form,

photographs and ﬁngerprints must

be sent to ATF along with a check

to pay the $200 tax. Currently, it

takes ATF about nine to 10 months

to process the paperwork. Then, the

customer can obtain the suppressor

from the NFA Class III dealer, who

is also a federally-licensed ﬁrearm

retailer.

While the bill would remove sup-

pressors from the National Firearms

Act, it would not deregulate suppres-

sors. They would remain regulated

under the Gun Control Act of 1968

(GCA). Federally licensed ﬁrearm

retailers would still maintain detailed

sales records subject to ATF audit

and conduct an FBI background

check on all purchases, just as they

do now.

HEARING LOSS

According to the National In-

stitute for Occupational Safety and

Health (NIOSH), any exposure to

noise over 140db causes immediate

and irreparable noise-induced hear-

ing loss. Unsuppressed handguns

and riﬂes generally create a muzzle

report well above this threshold.

Gunﬁre noise is a “preventable”

occupational risk and an unneces-

sary liability. A suppressor can help

protect against hearing loss. Noise-

induced hearing loss is a document-

ed problem facing target shooters

and hunters. It is also a serious threat

to our men and women in the military

and law enforcement communities.

The ability to hear is crucial to the

performance of their duties. Many

people have received medical retire-

ment because of noise-induced hear-

ing loss. Much of this hearing loss

occurs due to repeated exposure to

gunﬁre, both operationally and in the

training environment.

SAFETY EDUCATION AND

TRAINING

Firearm suppressors have many

practical beneﬁts for civilians. One of

the “ten commandments” of ﬁrearm

safety is for shooters to wear eye

and ear protection. A suppressor

• Firearm sound suppressors reduce, but do not eliminate, the

noise of gunﬁre to levels safer for one’s hearing.

• Legal in 42 states to own and 41 states to hunt with, suppressors

are rarely used by criminals. Rather, they are important safety

devices for hunters and target shooters. They also help reduce

noise complaints against ranges.

• The Hearing Protection Act would not deregulate suppressors.

Instead of the current onerous process, the purchase of a

suppressor would follow the same rules as the purchase of a non-

NFA ﬁrearm including an FBI background check.

The Hearing Protection Act was introduced in the U.S. House of

Representatives by Rep. Je Duncan (R-SC) as H.R.152 and in the U.S.

Senate by Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) as S. 401.

continued

solves the need for ear protection

for shooters who would normally

be aected by the noise of the gun

shot. This makes for more eec-

tive ﬁrearms training. Shooters will

be able to communicate without

shouting at each other and hear and

comply with instructions and range

safety commands.

It is important to note that many

shooters who use suppressors on

riﬂes still choose to wear some type

of hearing protection for extended

time on the range. As noted, while

suppressors reduce the report of the

ﬁrearm to hearing safe levels, they

do not make them “Hollywood quiet”.

Spending a day on the range with

repeated exposure can have adverse

eects on a shooter’s hearing.

One of the most common prob-

lems for shooters is poor accuracy

due to the shooter’s anticipation

of the gun’s loud report and recoil.

This anticipation causes shooters to

“ﬂinch” before the gun even goes

o, to experience slight tremors in

the hand from nervousness, and

even to close their eyes or blink right

before they pull the trigger. These

issues cause the gun to move from

the intended target area. The use of

a suppressor dramatically increases

the shooter’s accuracy because of

the reduced muzzle report, reduced

recoil, and decreased muzzle rise.

HELPING MAKE RANGES

BETTER NEIGHBORS

Suppressors are widely avail-

able in Europe and other parts of

the world, and their use has long

been mandated in many countries

because of their safety attributes.

Hiram Maxim invented the modern

ﬁrearm suppressor in 1902 to solve

the noise pollution complaints of his

neighbors.

In Maxim’s book, Experiences

with the Maxim Silencer, he explains

that he developed the device to,

“meet my personal desire to enjoy

target practice without creating a

disturbance. I have always loved to

shoot, but I never thoroughly en-

joyed it when I knew the noise was

annoying other people.”

Over 100 years after his inven-

tion, noise pollution is still a problem.

Shooting ranges throughout America

are increasingly being sued by

neighbors or are being shut down

due to noise complaints. Suppres-

sors can help to reduce noise com-

plaints against ranges.

HUNTING

As demonstrated by the 41

states that have legalized suppres-

sor use for hunting, suppressors

are also useful for hunting where it

is not practical to wear ear plugs all

day to maintain awareness of their

surroundings. Using a suppressor

will suppress the gunﬁre enough to

protect a hunter’s hearing, allowing

the hunter to eectively track their

prey and take a shot without having

to ﬁrst apply hearing protection be-

cause it is already installed on their

ﬁrearm. Also, as the silencer reduces

recoil and muzzle rise, one is able to

get into position for a follow-up shot

more quickly because there is less

muzzle movement, and the cross

hairs stay closer to the target.

LAWFUL USE OF SUPPRESSORS

DOES NOT INCREASE CRIME

There are unfounded concerns

raised by anti-gun groups that sup-

pressors will be used in crimes.

While law-abiding citizens have

owned suppressors since 1902,

suppressors have very rarely been

used in crimes. In a study looking at

the criminal use of suppressors in

California and nation-wide between

1995 and 2005, the researcher

found just 153 federal criminal cases

involving suppressors, only 15 of

which involved the actual use of the

suppressor in the commission of a

crime. Less than 0.1% of homicides

in federal court, an inﬁnitesimally low

0.00006% of felonies in California

and a mere 0.1% of armed robberies

involve a suppressor. Suppressed

ﬁrearms are clearly not the choice

for criminals. This is likely due to the

fact that they do not silence ﬁrearms

like in the movies, they are ineec-

tive on revolvers, they prevent the

proper function of most semiauto-

matic handguns without the addition

of a special piston system, and they

make ﬁrearms longer and heavier,

which makes them more dicult to

conceal.

Removing suppressors from the

NFA will not pose a threat to public

safety. What it will do is reduce ATF’s

workload and allow the agency to

direct more resources to reducing

violent crime, rather than processing

paperwork.

3/23

Ronald Turk, Former Acting ATF

Deputy Director, “Given the

lack of criminality associated

with silencers, it is reasonable

to conclude that they should

not be viewed as a threat to

public safety necessitating NFA

calciﬁcation, and should be

considered for reclassiﬁcation

under the GCA.

Source: https://thereload.com/analysis-

silencer-sales-are-about-to-explode-

member-exclusive/