I actually have In the Gravest Extreme and Stressfire on order, but for those who have read them, does Ayoob actually cite any real cases where wearing hearing protection was actually pivotal in the outcome of a lawsuit, or heaven forbid, a criminal case? Because I tried looking on the web in the past and couldn't find any.

You often hear that "Wearing ear plugs could be used against you" line whenever hearing protection is discussed. Even more common in discussions are: "Only use factory ammo for self-defense, not your handloads" or "Use a plain Jane weapon like your grandpa's wood-stocked double barreled shotgun and not your tricked out 'tacticool' assault rifle", etc. Again, I've never been able to find any cases where it actually mattered, let alone was even used at trial. I wonder if these "common knowledge" ideas are more of an urban legend?

Heck, going back to the OP's topic of CCW, the same argument could be used against anyone who carries concealed (Were you out looking for trouble, Mr. Defendant, when you provoked an incident with my client?) or someone who buys more than a box or two of ammo at a time, like that screaming deal on a case at the gun show (1,000 bullets? Mr. Defendant, why on earth would any sane person need 1,000 bullets at home? Just how many innocent people did you intend to gun down besides my client?).

Seriously, I'm interested. If anyone can cite any cases, I'd like to read up on them.