History Main / SteelEarDrums

* ''ComicBook/BlackCanary'' has this as a {{Required Secondary Power|s}}; without it, her MakeMeWannaShout powers would render herself deaf.

* {{Averted|Trope}} in the ''Literature/VorkosiganSaga'' novel ''Barrayar''. Aral and Kou are both temporarily deafened after a near miss from a grenade in an assassination attempt.

* The ''Franchise/JohnWick'' films play this straight most of the time, but it's rather noticeable with [[Film/JohnWick4 Caine]], a blind hitman that can match John Wick himself. His hearing is not explicitly superhuman and he gets himself into many gunfights, yet his ears never get damaged to the point where it affects his fighting skills.

* Old Creator/{{Sierra}} AdventureGame ''VideoGame/PoliceQuest 2'' requires you to go to the target range and adjust the sights on your gun to improve your accuracy. While there, you're required to wear ear protectors, or you get HaveANiceDeath when you blow out your eardrums. At one point in the game (at the Cove), it's possible to fire your gun once, at which point the narrator/character will comment, "WOW, that was loud." Firing it twice in that instance will result in another game over from deafening yourself.

* Averted in ''ComicBook/{{Hawkeye}}'' when Hawkeye deliberately deafened himself in order to protect himself from a supervillain who was using a sound-based mind control device. He wore hearing aids for years after that, though eventually writers stopped referencing it.

* Played straight in ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'', when Sarah is freed from the hospital. She and John are unaffected by a shotgun and pistol being fired in an elevator. In RealLife, Creator/LindaHamilton put her earplugs in incorrectly and suffered permanent hearing damage.

[[quoteright:350:[[ComicBook/DeltaTenn https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/del9.jpg]]]][[caption-width-right:350:Either that man is deaf, or those sound effects are just painted on the wall.]]

Guns are loud. In RealLife, hearing protection exists for a reason. Exposure to 140 decibels (the loudness of gunfire) can cause [[EarAche pain and permanent hearing loss]]. That's why people at a shooting range typically are required to wear earplugs, with frequent shooters investing a lot into top-notch protection, and that's why deafness is a real occupational hazard among soldiers. Weapon silencers are also employed for similar reasons in real life, [[HollywoodSilencer but less often in media]].

This is an [[AcceptableBreaksFromReality acceptable break from reality]], as no one wants to hear about the badass losing his hearing from trying to [[OutrunTheFireball outrun a fireball]] or surviving a shootout.[[labelnote: note]]As an aside, there is some TruthInTelevision here, since numerous police officers and soldiers have reported hearing normally ''but for gunfire'' during combat situations. This is sometimes referred to as "[[http://panicdisorder.about.com/od/glossaryah/g/AuditoryExcl.htm auditory exclusion]]."[[/labelnote]] And no one wants to see him putting in earplugs or wearing gigantic earmuffs, either. Typically, only coward-type characters will cover their ears while anticipating an explosion.

* Averted in ''Fanfic/TheFall'': [[LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero Louise]] has to fire a modern gun for the first time in order to better protect herself in the [[VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas wasteland]]. She drops the gun in shock and pain the first time she fires it.

** The ''Advanced Combat Environment'' (ACE) mod for ''VideoGame/{{ARMA}} II'' includes hearing damage. Earplugs are mandatory equipment when playing on servers with the mod enabled. Small caliber arms (e.g. 5.56mm NATO rounds) won't cause audible ringing. However, heavier caliber (7.62mm NATO or higher) weapons, explosions, and vehicle-mounted weapons fire will very quickly result in a loud ringing sound (think tinnitus) that can take some time to dissipate. The mod greatly expands on realistic hazards of the battlefield environment, from blurry vision and coughing when near a helicopter without eye protection, to deadly overpressure zones surrounding a Main Battle Tank's main gun firing.

* Averted with a '''vengeance''' in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11079647/1/Experimenting-Fear Experimenting Fear]].'' When the nameless MadScientist torturing Nando fires a gun twice right next to his head to destroy his eardrums and make him go deaf, we are treated to a graphic description of Nando screaming in pain as blood gushes out of his ears.

* In ''Film/TrueLies'', Harry fires a bullet past his partner Gibson's face, inside of a vehicle, at a mook coming at them.
* In the 2010 remake of ''Film/TrueGrit'', several characters fire their guns in the air with the cylinder only inches away from their ears.
* ''Film/{{Snatch}}'':
** Averted: Boris the Blade[=/=]Bullet-Dodger[=/=]Sneaky-Fucking-Russian puts earplugs in before shooting [[spoiler:Frankie Four Fingers]].
** Also averted with Solomon's replicas: Although the guns have no bullets, the blanks are loud enough to deafen anyone nearby and break car windows.
** But not with Bullet-Tooth Tony's sustained Desert Eagle shootout.
* The baby in ''Film/ShootEmUp'' spends an entire film having guns fired around and beside him, but barely even cries- in reality, it's pretty certain that'd deafen the poor tyke for life... and maybe it ''has'', right from the start, and that's why it doesn't seem to bother him for the rest of the movie. For what it's worth, the baby can be calmed down with [[ImpliedTrope extremely loud heavy metal music]], which would [[FridgeBrilliance probably be one of the few rhythmic sounds he'd be able to hear.]]

* Happens in ''Film/{{Witness}}''. Creator/HarrisonFord's character kills a corrupt cop by drowning him in grain towards the end. He blows another one away with the shotgun taken from the guy who was buried in the grain.
* Averted in the realistic movie ''Film/BlackHawkDown'', when one character is left mostly deaf for the rest of the movie after a 5.56mm M249 squad automatic weapon is fired from within a foot from his head. Also happened to SPC Nelson in real life, though he was able to recover about 15 hours later. Note that the Ranger who is deafened by the machine gun had not five minutes earlier [[DiscussedTrope instructed]] his partner [[TemptingFate not to fire the gun so close to his ears.]] The partner disregarded that because the alternative was to let a Somali militiaman shoot at them unopposed.
* Averted in ''Film/TheFugitive'' (1993). When Gerard shoots and kills Copeland (who is holding Deputy Noah Newman hostage), Newman tells Gerard he's suffering partial hearing loss in his ear.
* ''Film/TheUntouchables1987'':
** The baby in the BabyCarriage sequence.
** An aversion occurs in the movie as well, oddly enough. When [[spoiler:Jimmy Malone]] is killed, you can hear a baby in the background crying afterwards.
* Averted in ''Film/ThereWillBeBlood'', where the hero's young son is permanently deafened by the loud noise of an out-of-control gas eruption in one of his father's derricks.
* Averted In ''Film/TheKingdom'' when a female FBI agent falls to the ground in pain when someone fires a .50 calibre machine gun over her head. She expresses worry that it blew out her eardrum, and is temporarily deafened by it.
* Averted in ''Film/CopLand'', in which the sheriff is purposely deafened by a gunshot and the last scene is shown mostly from his perspective of having no hearing.
* Averted in ''Film/TearsOfTheSun'' where one of the [=SEALs=] has obviously had his eardrums [[http://www.imdb.com/media/rm454203392/tt0314353 burst]] from the gunfire.
* ''Film/SavingPrivateRyan'':
** A nearby explosion during the opening amphibious landing and final battle causes [[ShellShockSilence shock and ringing]] in the ears of Creator/TomHanks' character.
** Not only that but the way they finally find Private Ryan is through information from a soldier whose hearing was damaged by a grenade and is yelling all the time as a result.
* Averted in ''Film/ComeAndSee'': After Nazi bombs explode within a few dozen feet of Flyora, the soundtrack starts playing a very loud ringing sound to represent his tinnitus, which continues for several uncomfortable minutes. Although it eventually drops away, Flyora is still deafened for another scene or two.
* Averted in Jacques Audiard's ''[[Film/AProphet Un Prophète]]''. As the main character is temporarily deafened, the sound of the film is dulled and only the protagonist's voice can be heard loudly and clearly.
* Averted in ''Film/MyFellowAmericans''. When one of the characters fires a handgun he has appropriated from the pilots of their helicopter into their radio, thus ensuring no communication, it results in pain and reprimands from his nearly-deafened companion.
* Averted in ''Film/SweetSweetbacksBaadasssssSong'' where the police try to torture Sweetback's location out of the owner of the brothel where Sweetback lived and worked (information he doesn't have) by firing a pistol right next to his ears, which destroys his hearing.
* Averted at times in ''Film/SherlockHolmes2009''. When someone shoots too near to the titular character (and during the explosion of a gunpowder shack), the audience hears what Holmes hears (dampened noises and loud ringing in ears). The aversion doesn't work for ''every'' shot, though.
* Played incredibly straight in ''Film/KickAss'', where Dave has the superpower of "not going deaf when firing two Gatling guns on either side of his head". He ''could'' be wearing good earplugs under that cowl.
* ''Film/{{Tremors}}'':
** Mostly played straight in ''Film/Tremors1'', particularly in the famous rec-room barrage scene. Heather does cover her ears when Burt resorts to the elephant gun, but only to demonstrate that it's even more powerful than the rest of the Gummer arsenal. However, there was a fairly long cutaway between when the graboid breaks in and when Burt and Heather are actually shown shooting, during which they could have easily popped in some earplugs, so there's that.
* Touched on in ''Film/Tremors2Aftershocks'' as well, when Burt tells the other heroes to cover their ears when he fires off the BFG he is wielding. (He himself has earplugs.)
* ''Film/UnderSiege''. Gunfights never cause an issue, but when Tommy Lee Jones' character is walking on the deck of the ship when the heroes fire off a 16-inch main gun, he is shown to be deafened and in pain for a few minutes.
* Played ludicrously straight in ''Film/DoubleJeopardy'', when the protagonist fires a gun ''twice'' while trapped inside a coffin and shows no ill effects other than briefly wincing in pain, even though in real life, she would have been deafened by the noise.

* Averted in ''Film/CecilBDemented''; [[SassyBlackWoman Chardonnay]] fires her shotgun at one point while wearing headphones (in the movie, she's in charge of sound), and immediately regrets it.
* Averted in ''Film/TheGunsOfNavarone'' when the guns' loading crews, just before the firing, form up in ranks and ''on order'' cover their ears and open their mouths.

* Averted in ''Film/ChildrenOfMen'' when the protagonist is left with ringing ears for a while after a bomb goes off nearby. His former lover and current terrorist/freedom fighter tells him to enjoy that ringing while it lasts because once it stops he'll never hear that specific frequency again.

* Averted in ''Film/{{Looper}}'' after Kid Blue has an accidental discharge while GunTwirling his HandCannon; everyone clutches their ears in pain while the gunshot echoes around the room.
* Averted by The Operative in ''Film/{{Serenity}}'' after [[spoiler:Inara's incense turns out to be a disguised flash-bomb]].
* Averted in one scene of ''Film/RamboIV''. During the final fight, the female missionary who is beside the FriendlySniper cries out and covers her ears while the fight ensues. Many viewers assume this is simply her reacting to the violence around her. It is in fact due to the noise of the sniper's rifle. Those who have ever been next to an extremely powerful firearm such as a rifle chambered in .50 BMG know that the report coming out of the muzzle is EXTREMELY loud (especially since the weapon includes a muzzle-brake which reduces felt recoil, but effectively turns the volume way up). To put it into perspective a rifle like that creates a concussion from the muzzle that can be felt on the skin from several yards away. She's not crying out in terror, she's crying out in pain.
* Played straight in ''Film/CharliesAngels2000''; the angels stood in front of huge explosions and get back up without hearing problems.
* In ''Film/{{Dredd}}'', Ma-Ma stands in the midst of several [[MoreDakka miniguns]] that she and her minions are firing to take down ComicBook/JudgeDredd, but her hearing is perfectly fine afterwards. She still maintains her intimidating whisper throughout the rest of the film.
* Averted in ''Film/MrHollandsOpus'' during the parade scene, when the fire truck sounds its powerful air horn. Young children are crying from the pain, and even many adults are visibly wincing, but when Iris turns to her stroller to check on Cole, [[spoiler:she finds him still sleeping peacefully, which is her first clue that Cole already is almost entirely deaf]].
* ''Film/MadMaxFuryRoad'': Downplayed. The movie emphasizes Max going temporarily deaf every time a firearm is used in close proximity to him, but he still rolls through it without any real permanent hearing damage.
* ''Film/{{Heat}}'' both played this straight and averted it in different scenes.
** In the opening robbery of the armored car, the guards are deafened and disorientated after the robbers use an explosive to blow open the rear of the truck. Cheritto is incredulous when PsychoPartyMember Waingro attempts to berate and order the guards around, and finally snaps at Waingro, shouting "Hey slick, see that shit comin' outta their ears? They can't fucking hear you!"
** The famous bank robbery shootout, which is widely and rightfully considered one of the very the best shootouts in movie history, does play this trope straight. Considering the sheer number of large guns and rifles being used, (shotguns, [=M16s=] a couple of Colt [=M733s=], a Galil, and an FNC-80, and that's before we even get to the standard arms of the uniformed cops) and the extraordinary number of shots fired, everyone involved should have been deafened. This goes double for the robbers, who are at one point blasting away with three automatic rifles from inside the confines of a car. There's no way they should have been able to hear the instructions that they shout to each other later, or the quieter moments like when Neil [=McCauley=] pleads with his wounded friend Chris Shiherlis to get up and keep going so they can make their escape.
* ''Film/SplitSecond1992'': Stone fires his HandCannon six inches from Durkin's face to shoot at a giant rat behind him. He's not half-deaf afterwards.
* Averted in ''Film/WonderWoman2017'' where Diana is temporarily deafened out by an explosion and can't even hear Steve's DyingDeclarationOfLove.
* Averted in ''Film/TenCloverfieldLane''. [[spoiler:When Howard shoots Emmett, Michelle experiences ShellShockSilence from the gunshot in a confined bunker. Howard, however, is already wearing earplugs (a sign that he intended to kill Emmett all along) so is unaffected.]]
* Features in both [[{{Foreshadowing}} setup and payoff form]] in ''Film/BabyDriver''. The ({{Watsonian|VersusDoylist}}) reason for Baby's habit of [[NothingButHits listening to his iPod at all times]] is that the car crash that killed his parents also left him with permanent tinnitus. Later, in order to "take away something [he] love[s]" in revenge, [[spoiler:Buddy fires a pistol next to each of his ears in turn, deafening him]].
* ''Film/TheSiege'': Averted with Anthony Hubbard during the bus bombing. When the terrorists blow up the bus, the shockwave hits him full force as he's not hunkered behind the protective cover of a car, and he hits his head on the pavement, leaving him with tinnitus. Based on the fact that Frank Haddad runs up to him and holds a finger up to Hubbard's face [[HowManyFingers to check his eye coordination]], it's possible Hubbard also has sustained a concussion.
* ''Literature/{{Inferno|2013}}''. Langdon is attacked in the hospital by a female assassin, and (due to a head injury) winces in pain from the gunshots as she tries to ShootOutTheLock.
* Zigzagged in ''Film/KingsmanTheSecretService''. Gunfire never seems to bother anyone but a grenade going off indoors leaves Galahad momentarily deaf.
* ''Film/Freaks2018:'' Pistols are fired inside houses, and rifles are fired inside a diner. No one seems to be troubled by the noise.
* ''Film/GetSmart'': Averted in the paintball course. 23 fires a surprise shot at a target, his gun inches from Max's ear. In the next scene, as Max is talking to the Chief, he still feels a ringing sensation in his ear.
* ''Film/JohnnyEnglishStrikesAgain'': Parodied when English and Bough are caught searching the ''Dot Calm'' and need to break themselves out. English reveals he has a secret weapon to breach the lock: a q-tip smoke grenade.
-->'''Bough:''' That's quite a powerful charge for such a small space, sir.
-->'''English:''' No, nonsense. ''[slips the charge into the door]'' [[TemptingFate It'll just be a slight pop]].
-->''[The skeptical Bough covers his ears as the grenade goes off, blasting the door off its hinges and out into the hallway]''
-->'''Bough:''' Should we locate the hold and look for the source of that signal?
-->'''English:''' ''[deafened by the explosion]'' I THINK WE SHOULD LOCATE THE HOLD AND LOOK FOR THE SOURCE OF THAT SIGNAL! ''[Yelling is heard as guards begin moving on their location]''
* Averted in ''Film/TheLegendOfTarzan''. [[EvilColonialist León Rom]] puts his fingers in his ears when his mercenary friends are about to fire tons of heavy artillery at the Opar tribesmen in the film's opening.
* Played with in ''Film/GunsAkimbo''. Miles accidentally fires off a shot from his (literally) wrist-mounted .45 1911s, while struggling to maneuver them to get dressed in his apartment, whereupon he is instantly [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome deafened and stunned to the point of nausea]], even narrating how firing a gun in an enclosed space would leave most action movie protagonists talking in sign language for the rest of their film. But after that point, he engages in firefights in all manner of environments, and his hearing is none the worse for wear.