You are right - hearing damage is hearing damage. However we are, in this instance, talking about a brief exposure (a few shots maybe at worst a dozen or less). This should not have any long term or major impact. Long term exposure such as discharging a firearm repeatedly would likely produce hearing loss. I for example do have some measured loss of hearing and I attribute it to being dumb when younger and doing a lot of shooting without good hearing protection.

The question here was for the situation and I would never recommend or consider the impact of auditory exclusion as a substitute for proper hearing protection and suitable use. In the situation being considered, I feel going without hearing protection would be appropriate and wearing it in a household "confrontation" would not be advisable. Thanks for helping clear this up.