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do you use earplugs during a gig?

#41
At 52 years old, I have really gotten away with murder on my ears. No tinnitus and still good hearing, a little high-end loss in my left ear, but that's it.

But I am starting to notice sensitivity after exposure, so I know my luck is not going to last.

I have begun using the foam plugs for things like running heavy machinery and lawnmowers, and I'm looking into the Etymotics or Hearos very soon for rehearsals and performances. The stages are getting bigger (and louder), which is good for the band, bad for the ears.
 
#44
I'm 18, I wear plugs to every practice, gig, and concert. About two years ago I went to a seven-hour indoor festival and the ringing has not stopped yet. It is going down, slowly. At this point I only hear it when I have my plugs in, or it's really quiet. As someone who loves music more than he loves women or eating, the most horrifying thing I can think of is deafness. Literally, I believe I would probably commit suicide. So after that show, I went to my audiologist and said, "I'm a musician. What can you do for me?" Best $140 I've ever spent. You can barely see them, too.
 
#48
I wish I hadn't been driving around with my car's boomin system all those years, I wanted to build up credit for when I got older and could play.

So now I'm older and have to wear them, cause things seem to "break" in us now, and that sucks.
 
#52
i have always worked in a loud industrial enviroment, raced for many years and played music. i was warned but never listened to the people that told me to wear ear protection. now at 48 my ear ring constantly. i cant hear someone talkin if there is backround noise. i use to have it quiet when i went to sleep, now i have to put music on to fall a sleep. the ringin is that bad. so all you hard a$$es out there wear hearin protection. i wish i did. to answer the question, yes, i use ear plugs but the damage has been done.
 
#53
Always when taking pictures or recording a live show. Never on stage, because our band is a 2-piece + vocalist and we simply do not subject ourselves to much volume. We're behind the PA, don't need monitors (I can always hear the vocalist directly), and typically can hear people in the room talking while we play. If I had to sit in front of an amp or PA speaker, I would put my plugs in.

Now, I played a couple of times with a full rock band, and absolutely wore protection. I'll often do a quick sound check without the plugs, for balance, then play with them in.

At 57, I have only a very slight loss of sensitivity in one ear (from an incident a long time ago) and still can hear above 15KHz without trouble. I'm actually glad that CRTs are being replaced by LCD displays because the horizontal sweep signal is almost painfully loud and used to drive me out of the room in our computer lab at my last job...
 
#55
I have form fitting ear plugs and won't play without them. Good ear plugs really do work and don't destroy the sound. People, there is no excuse at all not to wear good hearing protection (not just cotton, dead roaches, etc). Anyone who does not have good professionally made hearing protection should put that on the top of the GAS list.
 
#56
TrevorOfDoom said:
i never gig without them, (unless i'm using in-ear monitors). i used Hearo's for a long time and loved them, but they stick outta the ear and look funny, so i upgraded to Earpeace and i've nothing but good things to say about them.
Click to expand...

Aside from the not sticking out of the ear thing, how do the Earpeace plugs compare to the Hearos?

I've been using the Hearos High Fedelity plugs for a while, and they seem fine, aside from it looking like something is sprouting out of my ear canal.

For what its worth, it looks like the Hearos are re-branded Etymotic plugs.
 
#57
i do yes, every practise and gig, i know that my tone is good and fits with the band mix, my drummer used to only wear them at practise but after seeing me use them during a gig decided that it would probably be okay sound wise for him and save his hearing. neither of us sing though. our singer/keys player can't use them if he sings, and our guitarists/backing singers don't use ear plugs either. i can still feel the gig as my amp is flapping my jeans and the kick drum is blowing my shoes off. i've knackered my hearing by playing music through cans on my head so i really don't want to lose it anymore.
 
#58
Handyman said:
Aside from the not sticking out of the ear thing, how do the Earpeace plugs compare to the Hearos?

I've been using the Hearos High Fedelity plugs for a while, and they seem fine, aside from it looking like something is sprouting out of my ear canal.

For what its worth, it looks like the Hearos are re-branded Etymotic plugs.
Click to expand...

the earpeace have a slightly higher decibel block, and nobody really notices them when they're in.
 
#59
One guy I play with refuses to wear earplugs. When he EQs the monitors, you can wear the heavy orange foam earplugs and it sounds *completely natural* inside the plugs. Which just tells me that he's lost enough hearing that it must sound like he's wearing cheap foam earplugs *all the time*. Sheesh.

I hate hate hate singing with earplugs in, but I suck it up. That's rock and roll.

Edit: I tell a lie, it sounds a bit harsh with foam earplugs. He's really lost that much hearing.
 
#60
Hey! I'd forgotten about the ringing in my ears until you guys mentioned it :/

I had a pair of earplugs a couple of years back; coming out of a practice and being able to hear completely normally was an amazing feeling.

I lost those though. On the odd occasion that I've had a jam with a couple of other guys we've all stuffed our ears with tissue paper; the only effect being that we all turn up to be able to hear ourselves better through the paper :/

Anyway, one quick search later and I find these "Hearos Rock n Roll" Invalid Link Removed for £8 ($12) delivered.

Are these the ones you guys are talking about?

With the last set of earbuds I had I found it really hard to make out the bass when I was practicing, does this happen to you guys too?
 

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