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Hearing Loss and Ear Plugs

#821
I use custom ear plugs and they work fine for me. I do believe they attenuate the sound equally. I carry them wherever I go, well, in my purse because I am female, so that's easy. I find a lot of uses for them,besides playing in groups, such as going out to listen to music, using loud yard equipment/vacuum cleaner, and recently being at a party where the DJ cranked the music up so loud it was almost painful. Sad thing was that I commented to the young DJ that I liked his selection of music for the party, but it was very too loud for me. He was clueless, and was surprised at my comment. I imagine his hearing is going already.

And, do get your hearing checked. After at least 40 years of playing music, I went to an audiologist for an exam. Good news is that the hearing is fine, just the normal drop off in the super high range from age. So, happy to say I survived all the bands I played in since age 12, getting a music degree, playing in orchestras, and now playing jazz. There were times when I had bad tinnitus after a gig, but I took care to spend the next day at low or no volume, even with ear plugs,to help hear the ears, and I think that helped. Now I just have a little tinnitus, that sounds like a ride cymbal, but only bothers me when it is completely quiet. Tinnitus is related to, but does not absolutely mean hearing loss, but I think it is a sign that more of the same volume will lead to hearing loss.
 
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#822
I've been in bands pretty much all my life and have always worn ear plugs and still have some hearing loss. However I made my living as a professional photographer and for the first 15 years of my career did wedding and events. They were always loud. But recently I've gone to some events where the volume was at stupid loud levels. W H Y ? ? ?

I find that often the sound levels that bands and DJs play at today are beyond enjoyable. I recently attended a wedding and the band was great, but the sound monkey kept the sound and the EQ such that my only reference to the "music" was the bass and the bass drum pounding inside my chest. I swear, literally the singers could have gone home because nobody could really hear them. ***???

And nowadays you go to the stores in the malls and they have that techno music blaring. I mean... I was recently shopping in Barcelona waiting for the GF to do her thing and I couldn't help but notice how uncomfortably loud it was for a shopping environment. I couldn't hear myself think. Having nothing better to do I pulled out the decibel meter on my iphone (i know it's not accurate but it's close enough) and in each store the volume was between -90 and -100db!!!! There's employee hearing loss just waiting to happen. Compared to bands and DJs at events its not all that loud but if you're in that environment for 20-40 hours a week the damage will be slow but cumulative.

And one more thing... As a classically trained musician I have always been taught that the band has to balance. What's going to these days where the bass and bass drum dominate EVERYTHING and the rest of the instruments and singers just get buried in the rubble. What's up with that? Some would call it trend or style... IMO it is bad musical taste, and seemingly accepted by the sheeple who THINK it's cool.

Rant disengaged.
 
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#823
buldog5151bass said:
So have the band turn down. Respect each other. Sorry, I can never understand this issue.
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Me neither, until today, and now I'm totally getting earplugs. We do this twice-monthly gig on a little gambling boat in a room that holds about 150 comfortably. It used to be fine...we all used stage volume except the sax player and just used PA for vocals, and it was great. Well about a month ago, our drummer decides he wanted a real soundman there and hires this dude. Nice enough guy, but always pushes levels as loud as he possibly can before feedback. Several times he's done shows for us elsewhere where the instruments went through the PA, and several times the music has been earsplitting. Today was the final straw, though. He decides the keys and guitar should also be in the PA (and nothing else), and at first I was cool with it because it was totally at a comfy level. The very second we started, he cranks them to at least twice the volume we were at during soundcheck. The mics were on the verge of feedback the whole time, and I was completely gone out of the mix. He runs up and tells me to turn up. I secretly give him the finger and stay at the same volume because I was pissed. Then I realized nobody would hear me if I didn't turn up, and I couldn't have that. Then on break, the drummer starts getting on me that all he could hear was me. I sold that soundman down the river completely guilt-free. And now my ears are ringing and my head is pounding.

So earplugs. Certainly not going to spend a lot of money on them for the two or three times a month I'll need them, but I'm going to get a decent set.
 
#824
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#826
RoadRanger said:
Yah, always an awesome idea to let your deaf (aren't they all?) drummer choose the sound guy :D .
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I've pretty much given up trying to have any input in the operation of this band. I'm in a band full of people who have no problem letting YOU know what you're doing wrong, but the second you have a suggestion for them, they get all upset and lose it. Used to try to fight through it, now I couldn't care less. But it pays pretty decently and we have a lot of work, so I'm totally in "save my own ass" mode now and I'll just keep fiddling until Rome burns.

I ordered a set of these LiveMusic Hear Safe plugs based on the reviews on Amazon. Almost got a set of Earasers, but a lot of the reviews said they weren't all that effective and don't cut nearly as much as they claim. Haven't tried Etymotics, but I see they have a $400 set that would probably be pretty sweet if I were dripping in money.
 
#829
I used these in the 1970s-80s, whenever I played with a "loud" band.
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($11 or so)

They had a special metal cartridge that allowed a 'whisper' but blocked loud sounds.
I found that I didn't have ear fatigue from playing hours at "11".

I have tinnitus, too, but that came about years after I stopped playing live - but could still be the result of youthful indiscretion.
 
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#830
Ha! I used to have a couple sets of those Sonic Valve things, too. They were better than the foam earplugs of the day but I thought they could be improved upon. Plus they stuck way out of your ears and looked goofy.
 
#831
The Etymotic basic model is about twenty bucks a set. They come in a few sizes and very comfortable, last years in the supplied case. The sound is slightly down in treble overall. No biggie.

I keep them on my keychain. Never without. They make conversation so much easier in loud bars too. Everyone is shouting at each other and I can hear fine. Get the clear stalk ones that are near invisible.
 
#834
I like these LiveSound earplugs. Got two sets, a heavy cut and a medium cut. As long as I don't jam them way in my ear, they actually sound pretty musical. And they leave the bass range up louder than the rest of it, so I was actually able to turn down to a fraction of what my usual onstage volume is and I still heard fine. I don't think I want to use them on every gig, though. Not like I'm playing metal.
 
#837
After much research and internal debate, I finally went with a set of Earasers. I'd used them a couple times in our rehearsal space and thought they worked well but had my first chance to try them out at gig volume this past weekend. I have to say that they do a very nice job of taking off the harsh, ice pick in the ear, sounds (cymbals, huge 'whap' from the snare, harsh end of the guitar amp, etc) yet still let the rest of the band (and my bass) through at a level that is acceptable and doesn't result in ringing in my ears after a gig. I can leave them in in between sets and still speak very comfortably with those who try to have conversation in a loud bar. ;)

I will say that in a moment of greenie exuberance and nervousness (first gig in over 15 years), I forgot to put them in at the start of the show. Our first song is "You Wreck Me" by Petty and that first chord nearly did me in! Holy crap!! I fortunately made it through that first song without my ears bleeding and was able to put them in between songs.
 
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#838
Does anyone have any experience with the Westone Tru Universal series? I'm looking at both the Professional and Recreational models. There's a $50 price difference between the two, but if the more expensive ones provide better results, I don't mind paying extra.

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FWIW, I had custom molds made by Etymotic back in the mid-90s, but I wasn't at all happy with the results. The hard plastic plugs hurt my ears, and even with the highest level of attenuator, I still found my ears ringing at the end of the night. Plus, they were nearly impossible to remove once they formed a good seal. Maybe technology has changed since then, but because of my previous experience, I'm not exactly optimistic about getting custom molds made again.
 
#839
I'm still trying to decide on how better a more expensive set of earplugs would be best for me. But meanwhile a question arose in my head: why do people only use earplugs and not those big headphone-like ones? At least for the rehearsal room wouldn't they be more confortable? And regarding people claiming that when they move their mouths and faces the earplugs move, wouldn't the big ones be better? Are they less efficient? There's a pair at my work place that says 29db cut in the box.
Thanks
 

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