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Hearing Loss and Ear Plugs

#641
After many decades of live performance, playing unprotected has taken its toll. I now use simple foam or molded ear protection, depending upon the venue and proximity to drummers, monitors, and amps. Your brain compensates for a decrease of db on stage; it takes a few minutes to adjust your perception. I have tinnitus at two frequencies, and forty percent hearing loss in one ear. Worse, one ear perceives sound about six cents lower than the other.
It may be my personal opinion, but I find tomtoms and ten inch bass speakers the greatest offenders with transient attack at the most sensitive frequencies.
I've repositioned myself on stage and have switched to fifteen inch speakers whenever I am able to do so. This seems to have helped with post performance hearing fatigue.

Thumbellino
 
#642
Eh? You'll have to speak up...
Can anyone explain this ridiculous volume thing to me? I mean, I understand the whole rocknroll rebellion thing, but what's rebellious about cranking up the volume on an oversized amp? Is it just the antisocial thing? C'mon, what? I really would like to know.
 
#645
KingRazor said:
Is there a good place to find IEMs that you can get custom-fit to your ears that offer around -15db of noise reduction?
Click to expand...

You have to find an ENT person who will do some molds and you buy their product.
Like I use Westone IEMs and -15db earplugs, both custom molded. You just look up on Westone's site to see who's authorized or capable of doing their molds properly and hook it up. A lot more simple than you'd think. :thu:
 
#647
I just got a set of -15db's (Starkey's if anyone's askin') and so far I'm impressed. Haven't had a chance to play with them yet, but blasting my car stereo to an uncomfortable level wearing these made it sound just like my stereo at a 'normal' level. I'm anticipating (hoping) that these will not only protect my ears, but actually increase my enjoyment of playing with my LOUD band by adding the clarity that comes from more reasonable volume levels to the adrenaline that comes from feeling the rumble in your chest and under your feet from playing FARGIN LOUD!!!!

Will report back later, but long story short - so far the notion that these are transparent and do nothing but lower the volume seem to be NO JOKE!!!


-JV
 
#648
Wonderful super thread! Great tips. Something that I've noticed is that I can hear the other musicians in the band MUCH better if we turn down the volume. It makes everything more musical. I've played with a few people who "like the sound to hit them in the chest" and that is when the ear plugs come out (or go in I suppose). If you play with people who can actually keep it down (rare I know) then you will hear more of what your bandmates are playing. And as everyone has already said, whenever you notice that ringing sound, you have just done PERMANENT damage to your ears. I too bring my plugs with me to loud shows even if I'm not playing. This thread has reminded me to be mindful of a musicians' strongest asset, the ears. Thanks.
 
#649
Just an update to my previous post...

If you play loud and you care about your ears you NEED these. I can't say enough how much I love these earplugs. They are simply amazing. What I had hoped for is true. I can hear everything more clearly now. I feel they have helped me to pick up on mistakes I make while playing, and have enhanced my enjoyment of playing and listening to the other guys in my band play.

For an investment of $150, these are well worth it, and will hopefully save me THOUSANDS in the future when I don't need hearing aids, or at least can put off getting them a few extra years.....


-JV
 
#650
I have tinnitus as well as some pretty serious hearing loss...not as a result of loud music but only because I'm a newbie. Mine came from working around loud machinery. I now wear hearing aids and pretty much just ignore the tinninitus. I started wearing custom molded plugs too late. It sucks! Wear plugs...really! There ain't no goin' back once it's gone.
 
#651
Ok I managed to get through the first 12 pages, then skipped to the last 4, so sorry I didn't read the whole thread. Here are my questions.

-Are the Hi-FI Hearos the same as ER-20's?
*edit* yes they are, up to page 15 now.

-Where'd Mike Dimmin go? It doesn't appear he sells plugs anymore.
*not since 2005 apparently. The answers lie within, 16 pages to go! : )

-Beyond the ER-20's (re: custom molds) what brand/model is the best for live mixing.
*looks like the ER-15 is the only choice, and all the other brands (westone ES49) are exactly the
same, just branded.


I'm a sound engineer, so I need the flattest possible frequency response. I've been using the foamies, usually do soundcheck and first couple of songs without them, then put them in. Of course I pop them out every once in a while for a few seconds to make sure the mix is still right. Time to step up to better plugs though. Are there any ear plugs that actually provide a solid reference for mixing?


*note before you all attack me for mixing too loud...I often mix in a very small club and sometimes the dumb highschool metal heads refuse to turn down the half-stacks. The result is no drums or guitars through the PA, just vocals. But the stage volume alone is very loud.
 
#653
yea jason i have tinnitus too. some nights worse than others but it's always, always there.
It gets really bad after I play drums or go to a loud concert. I don't mind low volumes practicing at home but it's tough to get a concerted effort of controlled volume in a stage setting. Even w/ an aviom i find I have to crank others through it unfortunately, partly because I want to feel & hear them, in part because I can't feel/hear them.
typically mature musicians can have a reasonable stage volume & leave it to the sound engineer to make the house loud, you just have to convince them to get out of the garage mentality.
 
#655
Is it proven fact that THERE IS NO CURE WHATSOEVER for that ring in our ears?
(I have a very low level, just when I'm falling asleep or waking up... ...though my ears 'blocking' themselves when loud or bass is pumping...)

is any cure, herbal or whatever?



btw, I think listening to iPod after being in the loud environment was a MAJOR CONTRIBUTION to damages...
 
#656
I've just ordered a set of ACS ER 20 generic fit plugs. I'm only 18 and I love listening to and playing music and hope to enjoy these for as long as possible. I intend to get a set of their custom fit ones at some point, but really can't afford them at this moment in time. I am the only member of my band who even considers things like this, but I am slowly working on them
 
#657
When I played back in the late 70's and early 80's I use to stuff my ears with wet cotton. Yeah, it didn't sound very good but as a result my hearing (for the most part) is fairly intact. I didn't stuff my ears for sound checks but once it was showtime the wet cotton went in. Glad I did. I'm now 58 and my last hearing test which was about a year ago showed about a 5% loss in my left ear and about a 10% loss in my right ear. I can only imagine how bad it would be if I never stuffed my ears.

Even so, I do have a constant mild ringing in my ears that's barely noticable. But if I do go to a concert I have to wear ear plugs because if I don't my ears will ring insanely for about three days.
 
#658
Mike M. said:
When I played back in the late 70's and early 80's I use to stuff my ears with wet cotton. Yeah, it didn't sound very good but as a result my hearing (for the most part) is fairly intact. I didn't stuff my ears for sound checks but once it was showtime the wet cotton went in. Glad I did. I'm now 58 and my last hearing test which was about a year ago showed about a 5% loss in my left ear and about a 10% loss in my right ear.
Click to expand...

So by age ~60 you have an average of 7% hearing loss. Let's say you make it to age 120. You will have more than 80% of your hearing in tact. At age 180 you will have 70% of your hearing and congratulations at age 240 you will still retain 60% of your overall aural capabilities. My doctor told me to never stick anything in my ear smaller than my elbow.
Were you still listening to loud music through the 80's/90's/2000's ??? Huh ?

I wasn't able to read every post but I would venture a guess that some of these tinnitis sufferers may also have been around maybe loud fireworks/ machinery / factory / auto shop / concrete saws / skill saws / general construction - you would also be introduced to many insanely loud high frequencies ...

Great Thread BTW ... I've been rocking loud for 25 years and I'm sure there's slight hearing loss, but are you planning on living to be 240 ? I've never once in my life used any ear plugs, but as I get older maybe it's something I should consider.
 
#659
Thanks for this post and I'm very sorry about the constant ringing in your ears! I have it too but I think the constant moderate noise level at my job is the biggest factor for my ringing! (as well as me being stupid with some loud shows, gun shots, firecrackers).

I also was not able to read all of the 33 + pages of responses. So, I'm sorry if I'm repeating something.

I heard an interview with George Martin. The producer for The Beatles and EMI records UK. He has severe hearing loss now and says that it's from wearing headphones in the recording studio.

Pete Townsend says that most of his hearing loss is from headphones as Pete was a studio-holic.

So...............

Let us watch the headphones and buds! Ipods, etc! If we can't hear noise and voices while wearing phone or buds............it's too loud!

We love music! We love bass! Without our hearing, these loves are dead as well as meaningful conversations with others!

Protect our ears/hearing! One of the five senses!!!!!!!!
 
#660
bassdude51 said:
Thanks for this post and I'm very sorry about the constant ringing in your ears! I have it too but I think the constant moderate noise level at my job is the biggest factor for my ringing! (as well as me being stupid with some loud shows, gun shots, firecrackers).

I also was not able to read all of the 33 + pages of responses. So, I'm sorry if I'm repeating something.

I heard an interview with George Martin. The producer for The Beatles and EMI records UK. He has severe hearing loss now and says that it's from wearing headphones in the recording studio.

Pete Townsend says that most of his hearing loss is from headphones as Pete was a studio-holic.

So...............

Let us watch the headphones and buds! Ipods, etc! If we can't hear noise and voices while wearing phone or buds............it's too loud!

We love music! We love bass! Without our hearing, these loves are dead as well as meaningful conversations with others!

Protect our ears/hearing! One of the five senses!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...

Here's a link to a study that was done on in ears that backs up what you just said.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 

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