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Hearing Loss and Ear Plugs

#321
Earplugs, you mean. First of all, no earplug is better than asking your guys turn their amps down a bit. And if your drummer is a good one, he should be able to get the same sound with lesser volume. But usually you still need some kind of ear protection.

Basicly there are three options: either buy cheap foam plugs that are quite comfy, but get uneven sound. Or, if you have more cash, and want ultimate in comfort and superior sound insulation, have a specialist make you custom plugs that fit your ear perfectly - but these cost around 200 bucks to do.

The middle way is inexpensive plastic christmas tree -kind that are pretty much the musicians standard, as they dampen the sound pretty evenly. They are a bit less comfortable than foam plugs, but you get used to them. They are available from every guitar store, and I believe someone was selling them over Talkbass too.. The set you back around $15 - I own two pairs so I always have on pair in jacket pocket for gigs and one in gigbag for rehearsals etc.

They look like this:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#326
I haven't found foam ones that sound good to me. These are the ones I got recently, I bought four pairs and intend to buy more:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=1288&item=7362490973

20dB is quite a lot of attenuation for me, I was singing right next to a loud drummer today for about two hours... and my ears were very comfortable and my voice was much less strained than normal. I am one of those people who doesn't like his music too loud, so you may want to try some 20dB plugs too.
 
#331
I suffer from tinnitus, which has grown louder during the past year. After repeatedly asking the rest of the band to turn down (to no avail), I tried using the Hearos/ER-20s but found them too muffled for my taste (like the ubiquitous sex with a condom analogy). Didn't like wearing them but didn't like not wearing them either, as the ringing in my ears was growing worse.

I finally broke down and visited an audiologist to have my hearing checked (turns out I have "mild" hearing loss, normal for someone in his early 50s) and to order custom musician's earplugs. I went with the ER-15s, which are rated at 15 db noise reduction (midway between the ER-9s and ER-25s). The great thing about these is that once you've ordered the custom molded earplugs ($140), you can just replace the filters ($55) to increase or decrease the noise level, effectively turning them into ER-9s or ER-25s if you so desire.

Bottom line: I am REALLY happy with these. The 15 db version seems just right for the situations I typically play in, neither too much nor too little noise reduction. They have much better clarity than the "one size fits all" Hearos/ER-20s, are very comfortable, and my ears feel well protected. I'm actually enjoying playing MORE now that I'm wearing them. Best equipment purchase I've ever made!
 
#332
Boplicity said:
At the suggestion of Will C., I am pulling this topic from another thread. Will and I both feel it might benefit some musicians here who do not use ear plugs.

I have done irreparable damage to my ears and I DID use ear plugs. But I'd probably be stone deaf if I hadn't used them. As it is, I have permanent tinnitis. What is that? I'll tell you...it is a permanent high frequency ringing in my ears twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. It never stops. What I have to do is try to "cover" it up by running an electric fan or always having a TV or CD-player on.

How did it come about? Well I was in a heavy metal band that rehearsed at full volume and played at full volume, so hours and hours of aural assalt added up unrelentingly and insidiously. I'm talking about two Marshall stacks at full tilt and my bass stack at full tilt, plus the drums being pounded at max to compete with all our sonic blasting.

I wore earplugs. I had to or my head would ache. I used Sonic II plugs, the ones that come in the nifty plastic carrying case. Anyway, the others in the band, refused to use plugs. They believed that the plugs were "so NOT cool." Not cool looking. Not cool for blocking out damaging frequencies of sound.

Here's the deal though. High frequencies ( two distorted guitars) damage in the short run, but damage worse if the high levels are sustained over hours. And the damage is permanent. Once you have tinnitis, there is no road back.

In short, if you must play in that kind of environment, use the BEST earplugs you can afford. Cotton just doesn't do the trick. And seriously question the need to rehearse at "eleven" on the Marshalls all the time. Turn that equipment down, for crying out loud! If one musician turns up, then the others have to turn up to be heard. What you get is each one playing at max. For what? So you can be heard a block away?

Take care of your ears. They are a musician's best friends. Jason Oldsted
Click to expand...
Wow man seriously that touched me
 
#333
Nirvana4ever said:
yes i started this thread.

i do have a pair of earplugs (the ones in the pic above), but the thing is: i dont like them. i want to try headphones instead. understand?
Click to expand...
That's cool. I prefer working with headphones, and I do that in rehearsal. We've even only got the crappy ear protectors that are used in construction sites and firing ranges, so I can't even imagine how nice it would be to use one of those attenuated headsets...

I'm jealous of drummers who can wear those comfy headsets live.
 
#334
Tsal said:
And if your drummer is a good one, he should be able to get the same sound with lesser volume.
Click to expand...
Spoken by a non drummer, of course.

To a certain degree, I agree. But replace "the same sound" with "a good sound". You'll never get "the same sound" at a lesser volume with acoustic drums, any more than you can get "the same sound" at a lesser volume with ANY acoustic instrument. It's just that drums are arguably the LOUDEST acoustic instrument.
 
#335
I'm thinking of getting myself 2 pairs of some better plugs...

which are better - the Hearos or the ER-20s? - I'm REALLY torn on this... the hearos are about half the price (and some people have recommended them) of the ER-20s, but almost everyone here prefers the ER-20's (which are £13 a pair rather than the Hearos which are about £4 a pair for similar DB cut)

(first answer will be the ones I'm gonna get)
 
#336
addylewis said:
I'm thinking of getting myself 2 pairs of some better plugs...

which are better - the Hearos or the ER-20s? - I'm REALLY torn on this... the hearos are about half the price (and some people have recommended them) of the ER-20s, but almost everyone here prefers the ER-20's (which are £13 a pair rather than the Hearos which are about £4 a pair for similar DB cut)

(first answer will be the ones I'm gonna get)
Click to expand...
As far as I can figure, the Hearos are the same thing as the ER-20s with a different label on them. Over here, the Hearos are more expensive, in case you were wondering.

Just make sure that they're the hi fi earplugs. Hearos also makes a swimming earplug that looks very similar (three flanges). The swimming plug is completely blue, and the musician's earplug is off white with a blueish stem.

Good luck!
 
#338
Well, I can't speak from experience, since the only other earplug I've tried is the cheap Hearos model (excluding those foamies).

But, my understanding is that the the filter in the tip of the hifi earplugs is what makes the difference. It provides a more even noise reduction across the entire spectrum of sound. Anything made of solid material, like the rock and roll earplugs, isn't going to do that. For me, I ended up with way too much bass and not enough treble. Drums sounded really cool that way, but bass lacked distinction, and guitars were washed out. We won't even talk about vocals.

The hifi jobbies seem to work better for me. It's a more even noise reduction (even these reduce treble more than bass, or at least it seems so due to the increased head resonance that you're hearing). I'd suggest buying the cheapos and see if you like them alright. There are plenty of folks in this thread and others who swear by the yellow foam cylinder jobs worn by construction workers. I can't use them, but to each his own. My drummer wears the foam things and can usually hear just fine (although I think we're gonna switch him over to an in ear system so we don't have to worry about the monitor situation).

But if the cheap plugs work for you, sweet! Congrats! Just keep using the cheaper ones unless you can't stand it, like I couldn't. I'll probably still eventually pick up the $100 custom fit ones, but I'm scared to death that I won't like them either (I hated the hifi plugs for the first 4 or 5 months - then discovered I wasn't inserting them correctly).
 
#339
I got 2 pairs of the Hearos Rock'n'Roll plugs - from what I've read these aren't as close to the ER-20's as the "hi-fi" Hearos are, but -26db should help...

about a month and a half ago I was at practice (in a small room with a marshall half-stack FACING me 3 feet away at gig volume - not sure how loud it was, but i'd say at least 100watts was coming out of the bloody thing) After 10 minutes it had given me a headache (which has never happened at practice before - and I don't get headaches generally anyway)...I figure these plugs should help (or possibly SAVE) my ears at the next practice... :cool:
 
#340
This is a great thread. It has really brought to my attention something only my parents had ever mentioned

I am not very familiar w/ Decibels. I am in a few jam bands, and none of them rehearse particularly loud. We just play so it all sounds good w/ the drummer playing at a normal volume. I never get ringing in my ears or anything. I read earlier that evry time you get ringing in your ears that you cause permanent damage. Is it true then, that if they don't ring, you aren't causing any damage? Are you constantly causing damage to your ears with everything that you hear?

I have a 350w head and I put it at about 1/2 volume w/ a passive bass for rehearsals. How many Db is that? I looked at HEAROS and they cut like 20-40 Db. That seems like a bit more than I need eh? I don't know how one could describe different decibel levels, but for a reference point could you use rough wattage?

~Alex
 

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