How has hearing loss been avoided in war?

Question

Guns are very loud, even in an open field. In a trench or inside a city, I can only imagine they would be louder, and quite capable of causing hearing loss. How have armies ensured that their troops weren't all deaf by the end of the first battle or even bootcamp? I'd imagine cotton balls would help but I've never seen that mentioned in books or other media.

Answer 1

Hearing loss has not been avoided. Many veterans come home with extremely damaged ears based on how intense of a warzone there were in.Luckily, the brain and senses adapt so after a while hearing is retained.