I’m no expert on gunshot injuries. Psychological trauma I can see, but bleeding on the brain or damage to the inner ear? If the muzzle of the rifle was next to his ear I could see it.
Older people’s brain shrink a bit in the cranium and pull on the arteries that supply blood. The increased tension make the arteries more susceptible to bleeding. Which is why it is potentially serious for an elderly man to hit his head on let’s say a car door, or suffer a fall....I read this tidbit in a medical text somewhere. If anyone can corroborate or dismiss have at it.