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Hearing Loss and Ear Plugs

#61
Originally posted by Bassbarbie

:D Reminds me of that VW advert here in the UK


Red wine will almost always give me raging tinnitus - but it's different from my usual tinnitus in that it's usually a very loud more pure note, and it goes away again thankfully!
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Yeah - with the squeahy sign!:D


Hmm, it's not my ears that have a problem with red wine, just my head - usually the next day.......;)

I've been looking for them, over here, but even with postage, it still works out cheaper to get them from Mike Dimin's web store!
 
#62
Originally posted by Johnny BoomBoom
I reckon I'll go for customer fit plugs sometime this year - sadly over here they are about £140 ($200) - so finding the 'disposable' income might take a few months. However, I think to preserve your hearing, it'd be a bargain at double that!
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I'm going to get custom fit plugs as soon as I have the money (read: next student loan cheque) I just need to find somewhere over here that I can get it done.
I've thought about going to my GP and asking them to refer me to an audiologist, so I can get them fitted and have my hearing checked, I just haven't yet.

But does anyone know anywhere in Scotland that does that, so I don't have to bother my GP?
 
#63
Try Clements & Osbourne in Glasgow. Greg (Clements) used to work for the people I work for.(Oticon) and Michael (Osbourne) still does, his mother is the other half of the firm. Keep it in the family eh!.

236 Ayr Rd, Newton Mearns. 0141 616 2624.
536 Crow Rd, Glasgow. 0141 954 6030.

You could try Stephen Fairfield at House of Hearing, 2 Stafford St, Edinburgh 0131 220 1220
I'm not entirely sure they do them though.

I'm spoiled as I get my hearing checked regularly for free and we take our own impressions and make our own custom moulds.
 
#64
Originally posted by JMX
The only non-custom plugs I found with a good sound and high protection are Hearos (30dB cut) http://www.hearos.com
I found you need some time to adjust to wearing them - but now they feel so comfortable that I can actually wear them all day long - and I alway wear them at rehearsal, gigs, at concerts and in loud clubs/discos.
But I agree, the best solution are custom-made plugs, if you can afford them!
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The "211 High Fidelity HEAROS - $14.99" are exactly the same as mine. They buy them from ER and repackage them. They sell them for 14.99 + 5.95 s/h for a whopping total of 20.90.

Mine are $10.00 and shipping is as little as $1.50 ($4.75 for Priority Mail with delivery confirmation). You can get them delivered to your door for less than the purchase price of getting them from hearos. Fact is you can 2 pair from me, shipping included for $22.90 ($24.75 for Priority Mail w/ delivery confirmation - US only). Even Bizarro would dig that

Mike
 
#65
i got some hearos for christmas, and although i haven't tried them in a loud situation yet they seem to work great - the frequency of my voice seems to be kept at the highest volume, which is just what i need. my guitarist isn't a marshall-blaster, it's the cymbals that always get to me.
 
#66
Thanks for all the info, especially the doctors in the house. I had no idea that custom fitted ones even existed. I'm going to see someone tomorrow about getting some. I don't care about the cost, I'm sick of staying awake all night because of that damn ringing after shows. :rolleyes:

Great thread, possibly the most important I've read so far...
 
#67
ok, just used mine today in the studio putting bass on a friend's solo recordings. she had to turn up her guitar loud to get a good tube overdrive sound happening, so i turned up and stuck in the plugs. the tone didn't sound as good, but i could better hear the nuances of her playing, and mine, so they definitely helped me synch up to her better. and they totally take the edge off cymbals. what a relief.

i have the feeling i won't want to wear them at gigs, though, as the volume gives me energy.
 
#69
Originally posted by dancehallclasher

i have the feeling i won't want to wear them at gigs, though, as the volume gives me energy.
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How much energy will you have to get out of bed every morning with a constant ringing in your ears. How much energy will you have to even want to get your bass out of the case when a ceasless ringing in your ears saps your energy. Tinnitus has caused people to commit suicide.

finally, how much energy with the volume give you when you can't hear a damn thing.

I think you currently suffer from YOMIC - Young Men's Immortality Complex. Let's hope 10 years from now that is all you still suffer from

Mike
 
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#71
They arrived over a week ago, and tonight was my first chance to try them in a high volume situation.

Very excellent ! They work just as promised.

With shipping and exchange rate, mine were pricey but well worth it. Ironically my drummer (who forever borrowed earplugs off me) showed up to our last rehearsal with a pair that looked very similar to the ER-20s but at a fraction of the price. Bottom line though is that those just weren't the same ... they were more of an ER-20 made totally of foam. They still gave you the dead sound of foamies.

The ER-20s are nothing fancy as far as materials or design goes, but they do work. Bonus is that they came with a neat little plastic pouch to store them in, and with a little chain so you can keep them on your belt or keychain. I recommend getting the string accessory so you don't lose them.

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You can hear your own voice really well - they make you feel like your head is totally sealed off - yet as advertised you can hear all sounds and tones quite clearly. I'd almost say they don't attenuate enough but maybe that's just my perception after years of being used to foamies, and I could also have inserted them more deeply.

It really sounds like a whole new world now. After a night in a small and loud bar, then gigging right next to a VERY loud drummer, I had no trouble hearing at a quieter jazz jam party later in the evening and now at home I have no ear fatigue or hissing/ringing.

Monday will be the true test when I face a triple-bill of Today Is The Day, Morbid Angel, and Motorhead from 20 paces.

Great work Entymotic ! Invalid Link Removed


Edit Jan 9, 2003 :

The Motorhead show was still loud & clear, in fact so much so that I was worried, but afterwards I had no ringing/hissing and no hearing fatigue.
 
#73
Originally posted by Mike Dimin
I think you currently suffer from YOMIC - Young Men's Immortality Complex. Let's hope 10 years from now that is all you still suffer from
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i beg your pardon. did i say that i didn't think high volume music could ever have an adverse effect on me? no. i fully recognize the risks. i was merely stating a fact. do i like that fact? no.

thanks for your diagnosis anyway, doc.
 
#75
Originally posted by dancehallclasher

i fully recognize the risks.
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On what basis to you "fully recognize the risks"- From heresay, from reading posts on talkbass or watching VH1 stories on Pete Townsend. Unless you've experienced it, you just don't know.

I also know that I will never change your mind, so what the hell, don't where 'em, embrace the volume, dig the energy - just don't complain when everything that everyone said here comes to pass. Don't complain when the ringing in your ears makes you think of taking your own life.

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#78
Bump. Still doing research on earplugs. My appointment with the audiologist is on February 12.

Here is some interesting information for people:

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Table with OSHA sound level criteria
Daily Duration (hours) --> DB
8 --> 90
6 --> 92
4 --> 95
3 --> 97
2 --> 100
1.5 --> 102
1 --> 105
.5 --> 110
.25 --> 115

I asked about my combo (200w 15") and the Yorkville rep said it can pump out about 90db.

Just some more information to think about...
 
#79
I've spent a lot of time during the last 6 months trying to get used to those foam ear plugs. I'll admit they work great if you're in the crowd but they're crap while I'm playing.

I'll even go as far as to say that they may cut everything from 200HZ up, but they BOOST everything from 200HZ down. This is probably not correct scientifically but that's what is sounds like to me.

I've tried weraring them halfway in, all the way in, cutting a little bit off here and there, everything imaginable, but to no avail. The reason I precevered is because I've had people tell me that the moulded ones arent any better. But now that I think of it, they're all sound engineers and like I said, the foam ones work well when you're in the crowd.

You guys have convinced me to ge get a hearing check and some decent plugs. I reckon I can handle the jabs better if I can hear em!
 
#80
Hmmm....this is a great thread...I've never thought about hearing loss...or ear plugs...I don't play in very loud situations, nor do I play loud music, but this is still valuble information for any serious musician who wants to gig. My home stereo peaks at 10 db I think....but I never drive it that high because my speakers will probably pop at 0 db(my amp is more powerful than the speakers can support) I wear headphones a lot when I practice late at night. Granted I just got an ABG and I won't be playing electric much late at night, often times I'll have my headphones(really nice koss pro studio monitoring headphones) on for hours and hours and hours at a time and when I take them off my ears definatly feel different. I couldn't say decibel-wise how loud my headphones are, but I could imagine that since they are right on my head, db levels-> ear damage ratios would translate differently than say my amp or my stereo.

I'm only 17, so I'm sure I have enough time to make the right choice about ear plugs....I'm reminded of a drummer friend of mine, who always wore earplugs when he played, even though people made fun of him for it, he didn't care, his ears were paramount over peoples mis-conceptions.
 

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