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Fitted Earplugs

M

Mahumadi

Inactive
Apr 19, 2009
171
1
North Eastern PA
#1
I remember seeing a thread a while ago that talked about a specific brand of fitted plugs that are very popular. The thread also talked about Decibels and which ones were the perfect mix of perfection/clarity of tones.

I just auditioned for a rock band and I made it! Man they play loud, which is great, but I dont want my ears to poop out in a few years. Well be playing loud gigs and loud practices.

Any help or guidance would be appreciated. :bassist:
 
#2
#4
I use Westone custom fitted earplugs. I went to my ENT and had doctors take molds of my ears and sort out everything for me. I recommend going to your ENT to get all of this done.

I use the 15db filters and the 25db filters, either will probably work.

also, what Jerry says is true, spot on!

I would like to add two things:

1. they are very comfortable, but they take some getting used to, so if they don't feel great at first, don't worry, it takes a few times for them to feel really good.

2. one of the nice things is that you can still hear what people are saying when they talk to you while you have the ear plugs in, so you wont have to take them out for conversations in between songs.

also, its very late, so I'm sure I made allot of grammatical errors, or not.
 
#6
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Those are the ones I have. My university has a speech/language/hearing lab which does hearing studies and custom ear plugs and stuff. They do a discount with referrals (Berklee students got like 10% off or something) but for those of us actually paying tuition to fund their work we had to pay full price. They were $150 with two sets of filters (-15db and -25db) if I remember correctly. The recommended the -25 for gigging but for most uses the -15 are fine.
 
#7
I use the -15 filters in mine...might snag some 25's, but I'm thinking that'll be too much. Not sure of the brand, I'm using two different ones. Went to audiologist for em.....make sure they don't charge you for a doctors visit! The price of the plugs should include the fittings and any refittings needed......

Honestly, I leave mine in until we leave.....nowadays even the house radio music at places bugs me, plus I hear conversations much better while music is playing with em. I even bring them to see friends' play :). Caveat: You'll have to set volume levels before putting them in, I always feel liike I'm booming loud but I'm not :).
 
#8
I bring mine to concerts and stuff too, I've just gotten used to using them. Definitely agree, set your volume and tone levels before putting them in. They're supposed to be flat, but there is definitely a slight increase on the low/low-mid attenuation relative to the rest of the signal.
 
#9
Any specific feedback from the -25db users?

I use 15db now but am concerned b/c I have moderate to severe hearing loss and have been advised to take every precaution to protect my hearing. I can't hear people talking very well with 15db in so I'm worried that the 25's will pull out all the nuance of the music.. then again I don't want to go deaf.
 
#10
Groovin said:
Any specific feedback from the -25db users?

I use 15db now but am concerned b/c I have moderate to severe hearing loss and have been advised to take every precaution to protect my hearing. I can't hear people talking very well with 15db in so I'm worried that the 25's will pull out all the nuance of the music.. then again I don't want to go deaf.
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There are times when I use my -15s at a gig that is particularly loud for whatever reason and I have a little ringing the next day, so the -25s would have been a good decision, but those are few and far in between. There is one particular venue around here that tends to be very loud because of the setup of the club (short distance between stage and back wall but very wide overall - the PA blasts against the wall and bounces all around). Other than that, the -15s are usually good enough. If you have some hearing loss already, the -25s may be the right choice, and I think that more than makes up for the reduction in volume.
 
#12
MNAirHead said:
An industrial audiologist can make them to your spec... IF you work in a place with a safety director.. ask for a referral.. many times the vendors will cut you a deal if you'll let the staff know where they came from.

I think my last pair were around $30 this way.
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Could I get more details about this? I've been really interested getting Earplugs that fit. I've done Hearos and the fitted skin colored ones, and then sometimes I've used some of the "Universal" stuff, but those aren't quite as good either. I don't work anywhere with a safety instructor, but is there any other discounts anyone else knows about?
 
#14
drasticDUB said:
Mine are made by a company called Sensaphonics...they are great, and I sure wish i had remembered to bring them to sound check today!~
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+1 Sensaphonics. I'd also mention that fitting is critical. Make sure the audiologist gets a deep impression and lots in the outer ear area so it stays put.
 
#15
Audio Music said:
+1 Sensaphonics. I'd also mention that fitting is critical. Make sure the audiologist gets a deep impression and lots in the outer ear area so it stays put.
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The deeper the better. Especially if you sing, the deeper ones will help to prevent that boomy sound of your own voice. It can be uncomfortable at first to have a very deep plug, but it helps with the sound.
 
#16
I had the -25db and didn't like them as they were too much and couldn't hear the rest of the band. so I compared the filters to my guitarts -15 an found the difference was the hole opening on the inside of the filter. So I measured his hole and put mine ion the drill press and drill out and they are perfect at -15 now. If you need more reduction for loud concerts, add a peice of tape over the opening on the inside of the filter hole and it drops about another 10-15db.
 
#17
Mahumadi said:
Yes these are the ones. I see there is a dealer very close. Ive seen a lot of old threads that many people recommend the 15 db.

What does everyone else use?
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I use the Westone 9db... just enough to really bring down the volume, but not enough to ruin your tone. I used the 15db for years, but felt it was just too much. Of course, I'm not in a metal band, and don't even use plugs on 80% of my gigs. However, the 9db filters will make standing right next to the loudest drummer you can imagine no bid deal (unless his time sucks:D)
 

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