MY EARS!

[MycooLeeyun]

Man.. tons of insight on the situation here. I may look into those earmuffs and I also might talk to the band about turning the hell down, but I'm fairly certain it's not going to have much effect. I tend to do things that are going to benefit me in the long-run (call me crazy) *sarcasm, but it seems that most of my bandmates aren't as concerned. If I can't get this volume thing situated, I'm going to go crazy. I lay in bed at night with a constant ringing in my ear and it drives me nuts.

[Luke19Boarder]

Originally Posted by Stick_Player

If you are going to play at silly-stupid sound levels, you might as well look silly-stupid doing it.

3M™ Peltor™ Optime™ 105

I was going to suggest using something like these in addition to your in-ear ones. That should really quiet things down.

[MycooLeeyun]

Yeah.. good suggestion. I'm going to wear my in ear plugs in addition to these. I just ordered those ^^

[MrLenny1]

Small room = lower volume.
Man, 10 x 10 is small, whatever you do take care of your
ears. Don't blow it off, tinnitus sucks and hearing aides are very expensive.

[Tommy504]

I use Moldex brand "sparkplugs" at work. NRR rating of 33. (Yours have a Noise Reduction Ratio of 12.) They are the best insertable earplugs I have used. They are super soft and comfy, unlike the harder barrel shaped ones. I highly recommend these. I wear them all the time-at work, mowing the lawn, concerts, etc. I didn't wear them in one ear during a practice with some rock guys I sat in with. I now have tinnitus in my left ear. I should have known better. Get some of these. Another option is muff style hearing protection. Muff styles offer excellant protection and is easily taken on and off during practice. For extremes wear both. No kidding. But first, turn it down and put some tennis balls on the drummers sticks Good luck. Tom

[Kaappari]

Take you'r hearing seriously. My ears have been ringing for the past 5 months because i was exposed to loud noise on a band practise without earplugs. I think it's never going away...

[dincz]

I haven't read the whole thread, but you mentioned your ER-20 earplugs are too small. You know they come in 2 sizes right?

[Bisounourse]

Did'nt read the whole thread, so sorry if this is a doulbe post.

I would suggest to buy tailormade earplugs; I have a pair (-22 db) and they do wonders... Another advantage is that they don't have a muffled/boomy sound; you here everything, but you get the sense that someone just lowered the volume.
They aren't cheap (over here in rainy Belgium a pair cost me around 120 €), but they last for four years and can be worn on a daly basis.

If you really want 'premade' earplugs, try wax ear plugs: you can warm the wax in your hands and then put it in your ear, so it can adapt to the exact form of your ear.

And also: turn down the volume...

[Downunderwonder]

If your small ones rattled around inside your ear canals then you got some monster holes in yer noggin. It sounds more like you can't be fitting the plugs properly. You may have to lift your earlobe to get them inserted.

I'd still be looking for another band. Those that can't control volume in practice are never going to get a live sound under control. I bet they have zero dynamics, all one volume from start to finish.

I got a slight ringing, it's on 24/7 but I caught it just in time to cease the damage. It doesn't drive me nuts going to sleep but if it was any worse it would so I dodged a bullet. Etymotics for me, not quite flat but flat enough.

[MycooLeeyun]

Hey guys, thanks for all of the responses. I have been trying to take my hearing very seriously lately. I ended up getting the ear muffs that someone posted earlier in this thread and they work great. The only problem is the volume is so low now that it's hard to get into the music as much at practice. I have a slight constant ring in my right ear, but thankfully it doesn't drive me too crazy.

[millsbass5]

Originally Posted by Floyd Eye

For God sakes find a bigger place to play. Or turn EVERYTHING down.

BINGO!!!

[NYCbassist]

Originally Posted by Kaappari

Take you'r hearing seriously. My ears have been ringing for the past 5 months because i was exposed to loud noise on a band practise without earplugs. I think it's never going away...

Same here. Mine have been ringing for years after a Nascar Race at Martinsville, VA. I really need to see an ear doctor.

[iridiumrocks]

Originally Posted by Kaappari

Take you'r hearing seriously. My ears have been ringing for the past 5 months because i was exposed to loud noise on a band practise without earplugs. I think it's never going away...

We started using IEM's years ago because our guitarist had tinnitus. He said it is very annoying to have a constant ringing or buzzing in your ears that you can never fix. I would take steps now to protect your hearing. Once the damage is done, it's too late.

[fourstringdrums]

Originally Posted by MycooLeeyun

Yeah, I figured that might be the problem. It's about the only place we can afford right now. It runs us $60 a month as opposed to a 10x20 that will run us $120 a month. Damn it's loud..... I really want to maintain good hearing as I get older and this practice space is not helping with that.

Just curious but how many people are in the band? I pay $150 for an 8x16 space and that's just for me and my drums (I'm in an apartment). I can't imagine trying to cram a whole band in there.

Definitely try to find a bigger place or learn to turn down. The group I'm in now, we play with two acoustic guitars, a bassist, myself on a small kit WITH sticks, and we don't have a P.A. at the moment. Vocals can be kind of quiet, but we make due. Though it depends on the style of music. If we were a hard rtock band I don't think we'd be able to get away with it.

[Steve Dallman]

if your ears ring after a practice or playing, you have already damaged your hearing. Some of the damage will repair itself, but some is permanent, and damage from repeated exposure to damaging sound levels is cumulative. Over time your ears' ability to recover at all will diminish, and all the ringing and hearing loss will be permanent. Your band is ignorant, stupid or both. What is the point of playing, not to mention practicing at those volume levels? What is cool about hearing loss? Why do you think you have the right to permanently damage the hearing of your audience and that of the employees at the venues you perform at?

[4dog]

In highschool i played with a drummer who hit his cymbols sooo hard that my ears would literally distort after 2 min. Asked him to lighten up he said no, long story short,i quit ,wasnt worth the rest of my life. Just saying.

[pbass2]

I wouldn't set foot back in that place until you get the other guys on board to tame the volume. It is truly not worth it.

There's got to be some other space available that's not so insanely small--that's not big enough for a drummer to practice in by himself, let alone a full band.
I hope the ringing you have now goes away--it might, but not if you continue pummeling your ears like this.

[JDLowEnd]

Been practicing with Stihl chainsaw ear protectors for years! Seriously amazing stuff!

[boristhespider9]

Originally Posted by 4dog

In highschool i played with a drummer who hit his cymbols sooo hard that my ears would literally distort after 2 min. Asked him to lighten up he said no, long story short,i quit ,wasnt worth the rest of my life. Just saying.

For me, this has been the culprit. Something about my current drummer's cymbals is absolutely ear-piercing, more so than any other drummer I've ever played with. He hits them hard and something about the tuning of his particular cymbals just kills my ears. Get away from the drummer, get a larger room, have everyone turn down and use top-notch hearing protection.

If the guys won't turn down and the drummer won't tone it down for practice, they are simply unprofessional. Keep in mind, it's a real health hazard they are exposing you to that will affect you in your "real" life, not just music (which will likely come and go). It's not worth it. Have a serious talk with them and send them some articles on the subject to convey the seriousness of it. If they won't comply, consider whether it's worth it. There are plenty of bands who understand that you don't need to go full throttle in a small practice space to properly rehearse.

[Rob Lewis]

What is this "massive volume" nonsense all about? I genuinely don't follow...