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Discreet but GOOD hearing protection?

I will give a thumbs up to the already mentioned Earasers.
I have had a set of these for about 5 years now and they are the best off the shelf kind that I have ever had. I have worn them at the NAMM show for 10 hours straight without discomfort.
Oh, they also perform as they should without totally killing all frequencies...my $0.02.
 
Check out Doc's Pro Plugs. The clear color is pretty discreet, and they don't go into the canal so they are "healthier" and can be more comfortable when wearing them a long time. If you get the vented ones you'll still be able to hear enough of the band to play along, but get some solid ones too for the really loud stuff.
 
Standing right in front of speakers calls for more than a off shelf plug if you ask me. I wouldn't be shy to ask the congregation to pay for customs for everyone.

This. 100%. Best answer IMO.

Also, don’t stand in front of the speakers. Get away from them to the side. Some poor sap is going to be right in front. Don’t let it be you.

You already have tinnitus? So do I and it just got way worse despite using hearing protection. 20 dB isn’t enough. 25 dB isn’t enough. You need the 40 dB or so that foamies will give you.

What is this a church or a rock concert? Surely there are seniors in the congregation that must be experiencing pain and discomfort from this? Isn’t the whole congregation’s hearing important? Wear the most visible ones proudly. The church SHOULD have jars of different sizes of the the flanged ones that are reusable right at the entrance with a sign: for your protection if needed. Please keep and reuse. Ask them straight up “don’t you care about people’s hearing?”
 
Nothing against molded plugs, there are just lot of good choices out there. My preference is Earpeace for high volume and Earasers for low volume gigs, assuming I don’t lose any I’m usually set for at least a year per set. Both are essentially invisible from the stage and pretty much anywhere else.

I’ve used off-the-rack musicians’ earplugs for over 20 years and have essentially perfect hearing (for a guy in his 40s). I see the value of molded plugs if you’re going to go whole hog for some active plugs or something, but haven’t had any need to do anything more than buy some fresh new plugs from Amazon as needed, and have gotten great results.
 
Look cool or go deaf. Tuff choice man.
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I use Ear Peace. Many well known artists use them. I like the fact that they have 3 different filters so you can change the amount of reduction you want.

EarPeace HD - Musicians Ear Plugs

Ironically, I now have tinnitus as the result of a car accident. It happened a month ago and the ringing in my ears has not subsided at all.
 
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Budz are cool, instead of isolating your ears from noise all together they filter out the harsh highs and lows and brings decibel levels down to tolerance levels they were I believe $20 and come in their own little case and the fit in your ears like regular music ear buds, I like them for when the guitars get shrill sounding, they take away harsh frequencies that make me wince! My favorites are the Vic Firth over the ear muffs, but they are far from subtle!
 
My .02 on whether the custom plugs are worth the extra cost:

IME/IMHO there are two things plugs gotta do well, for a performing musician. They need to attenuate evenly across the audible spectrum, so that the wearer still has an accurate sense of the volume balance and tone colors of all the instruments. They also need to feel comfortable enough, while sealing the opening of the ear; the sound getting to the wearer's eardrum has to go through whatever attenuation device the earplug uses.

I wore foam industrial earplugs for a long time, but they fail the first criterion. They really destroy any accurate sense of the mix in the house.

I then used the off-the-shelf musician plugs. They pass the first criterion, but didn't cut it for me on the second. Never found one that sealed the ear well enough; unfiltered sound always got around them, particularly when I sang.

So for me the custom plugs are the way to go. Pricey, up front, but if you think of the cost as being spread over a large number of gigs...and saving your ears... For me, they're worth it. I've used plugs made by ACS and by 64 Audio. Around the same cost, and they both get the job done. (No experience with Westone, but they appear similar to the ACS from their web page.)
 
One of my music directors has custom-made earplugs. They have inserts he uses depending on the application (ie: rock vs classical vs jazz) that have different delay/filtration in them. He swears by them!

I personally can't wear the orange (or whatever colour) rolled-foam earplugs. They cause a tonne of occlusion and can make me randomly dizzy.

I've been using Alpines. They very discreet and come with a couple different sets of plugs with various db level reductions. I use the -12db plugs.
Before that I was using D'addario Pacato earplugs, but after a few weeks of use, they develop a bit of occlusion and cause a honk to develop in their sound.

Watching here for other ideas.
 
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Go to a proper audio clinic (where they make hearing aids) and get proper musicians earplugs. They cut the db without muffling the sound and take the harshness from things being too loud

Mine are flesh coloured and barely noticeable. They're worth every cent.


I can only second that.
I had mine made in my local hearing aid shop. They make a mold of your ears and send that off to have the plugs made. I chose Elacin filters which are great. Mine are a bright yellow. They are so small you barely notice them, but when I drop one while standing in the audience of a concert I have a good chance finding it before someone steps on it.

The whole thing set me back about 150 bucks. The only regret I have was not getting them way earlier.
 
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I've used Earasers for the last few years. They work well and are comfortable enough that sometimes I don't realize they're in my ear until after load out and I'm in the car. The problem for me is my ear canals are different sizes so I don't get a tight fit on the right side.
I just ordered a pair of Earpeace plugs and will evaluate them over the next couple of weeks.