Question:
Can someone help me out here. I cannot hear my plane taking hits by another aircraft . However I can hear, with no problems me hitting another aircraft.

Is this something with sound or something on my end such as settings that causing this?

This is "normal" in this game, the sound engine used has their limitations - SoundMod, done for FPS games - in a simplified way:

Your plane move inside a "bubble of sound", so what happens behind your plane move back and you have difficult to hear, at same time sounds events that happen in front you, like hits enemy plane ~150/200 meters ahead move for your cockpit. FLAK too is barely audible.

And to make more puzzled this deficiency is more noted with high end sounds system (5.1, 7.1), with my cheap onboard sound and 3.1 speakers I a able to hear hits in my plane, but not loud like my hits in enemy plane.

In similar way - but not related with sound - the puffs of your cannons hits don't appears over enemy plane, but ~5 meters behind him, weird.

A "theory" say that this happens because the game engine was done for slow WWI planes and as the WWII planes fly more fast the things became de-synchronized.

Does head position matter? Or which way the pilots head is positioned? Also I'm using onboard sound as well. Would a Soundcard help any?
Thanks Sokol.

I think that have no relation of your virtual pilot head.

Game dev's promise look at this issue - probable when time/priority/resources allow:

https://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/26103-hit-player-plane-sounds/page-2#entry410786

In relatively recent update the guns sounds of your weapons was turned very loud - you hear shell moving for cannon branch above you 1000+ HP engine sound...
accord dev's this was made in this way due players request:

"Q - is it possible to get back the old gunsounds or -if not- a switch to reduce the sound intensity.
A (Dev) - For now it is not. Most of community have claimed that guns were too quiet when engine is running and speed is high, and there was no "immersion of fire and metal storm in 2 meters aside of me". We have fixed that."

They want hear "metal storm" like in Hollywood movies.

Probable this issue of you heard your hits in enemy plane - besides SoundMOD limitations - was done in similar way due the very "gamey" approach take for this game in their release version, targeting the "WT casual mouse player"...

LOL..
Ok, Thank you Sokol !

Hey, good to see you again. Hope all is well, stop in to our site and visit, or better yet, come fly with us.

Neun

There are a number of settings solutions that have helped some people to hear hits better on their own aircraft, does seem to vary with hardware

I can get a fright when flak explodes near my aircraft (higher end system) also from unexpected canon hits, hearing hits on other aircraft is a limitation of FMOD sound engine, although FMOD does have many other benefits

better to search the IL-2 site for those threads

Cheers Dakpilot

Hey man! Been a long time. Yes I am slowly getting back into the Sim world once again. I saw you in WOL server but you left before I could say Hello.
Not sure if my flying skills with BOS are up to par just yet. Still doing some fine tuning with stick, TrackIR , and game settings etc. However I will definitely check you guys out.

I notice when taking AAA hits I hear it all the time. I agree, I really need to research this issue. Thanks sir !

Look forward to it!