A buddy of mine has a muzzle brake on his 300 WinMag and he shot it once while I was about 25 yards behind him, walking away from the bench and it felt like someone had slapped me on both ears. OUCH.
Another time while elk hunting he had to shoot three times at a cow that was about to go over an edge into a steep ravine. When he got back to camp he said he couldn't hear a thing. It took a day or so for the ringing to go away and for his hearing to come back.
Same deal - i have a buddy with a brake'd 300 jarret. He shot 5 does on a cull hunt one afternoon without hearing protection. Pretty sure he did serious permanent damage.
