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Hearing Loss and Ear Plugs

#841
I see, thanks for the tip. I heard from a friend that they are great fro drummers though.

By the way, with so many good quality brands available and some with medical recommendations also, how many of you actually recommend seeing and audiologist rather than just buying one of the best costumes on the market?

I saw my specialist last year for ear testing and both of them are fine. Do I need another appointment for this? (It's expensive as hell...)
 
#843
If you read the whole thread there was someone banging on about over counter ones being a bad joke, but he was under influence of his audiologist who is in the business of selling custom sets.

Etymotic over counter ER20 come in a selection of ear canal sizes. I think there would be lawsuits if they weren't effective.

I think you have to be careful with duration of exposure when using either. There are some insanely loud stages and 12dB below insane is still deafening in 15 minutes.
 
#844
I've yet to find anywhere that the ER20's didn't work well, even with fully cranked fullstacks (me not being in the direct beam of course). While their government rating is 12 db they actually do 20 db "real world", hence the name. A 115 db stage gets reduced to 95 db, about where I like to be :) .

Oh, and they are now called ETY :
Etymotic Research ETY-Plugs - Standard | Sweetwater.com
 
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#845
Well I've decided to get a set of Alpine Musicsafe Pro 3. They were rather inexpensive (comparing to the hundreds for costume ones) and have 3 filters. They are very comfortable and canceled the noise well. I went home with no boom effect in my head. The only thing is that, and I only tried the medium filter so far, I can't hear the bass that well.

I'm gonna try the other filters by it got me thinking, would there be a earplug-friendly EQ setting? Like bossting/cutting something in particular would help me hear the bass better with earplugs?
 
#846
J.Nuno said:
Well I've decided to get a set of Alpine Musicsafe Pro 3. They were rather inexpensive (comparing to the hundreds for costume ones) and have 3 filters. They are very comfortable and canceled the noise well. I went home with no boom effect in my head. The only thing is that, and I only tried the medium filter so far, I can't hear the bass that well.

I'm gonna try the other filters by it got me thinking, would there be a earplug-friendly EQ setting? Like bossting/cutting something in particular would help me hear the bass better with earplugs?
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Mids. But you want to be pre DI to PA or you're going to be honky in the mix.
 
#847
I was using Hero's musicians ear plugs when I got Tinnitus. I wore earplugs almost all the time but didn't realize the potential hearing disorder. If you play in a loud band you need to have serious ear protection or you can easily screw up your ability to have peace and quiet. Do yourself a life altering favor and get a good in ear system with Shure black foam sound isolating earbuds. I know I sound like a fuddy duddy, but, there is an extremely nasty condition awaiting those who don't take it seriously.
 
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#848
I'm paying for the sins of my youth now. Even though I've been using ear plugs for the last several years, I didn't do it until it was way too late. I have tinnitus and profound hearing loss in both ears. Fortunately, there is no nerve damage.

I just got hearing aids on Tuesday. The hearing aids are a big help in everyday life, but I'll need to take them out and use my earplugs whenever I play in clubs, to protect what I have left of my hearing.

For everyone who thinks this doesn't apply to you, you have been warned!
 
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#849
Let's talk a little about the comfort factor. I bought what I thought to be a decent set of plugs some years ago and they're downright miserable to wear...can't even recall the brand...so I'm gonna be more picky in the future. We're not terribly loud so I can get by with with mild > moderate attenuation. What would be first on your list? Thanks for the consideration!

Riis
 
#850
Zooberwerx said:
Let's talk a little about the comfort factor. I bought what I thought to be a decent set of plugs some years ago and they're downright miserable to wear...can't even recall the brand...so I'm gonna be more picky in the future. We're not terribly loud so I can get by with with mild > moderate attenuation. What would be first on your list? Thanks for the consideration!

Riis
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Etymotic are very comfy.
 
#853
RoadRanger said:
I've yet to find anywhere that the ER20's didn't work well, even with fully cranked fullstacks (me not being in the direct beam of course). While their government rating is 12 db they actually do 20 db "real world", hence the name. A 115 db stage gets reduced to 95 db, about where I like to be :) .

Oh, and they are now called ETY :
Etymotic Research ETY-Plugs - Standard | Sweetwater.com
Click to expand...
That's not far to go looking.
 
#856
I recently got a couple sets of those Etymotics. They are very good. Fortunately, I rarely need to use them because our band is mostly sane, but I have had to pull them out a few times.
 
#857
I used Etymotics before I got my molded ear plugs and I'm surprised at how effectively the Etymotics reduce the sound level and also surprised at how comfortable they are when they're in. If you want an inexpensive solution, I think they're fantastic.
 
#858
this has been a concern of mine over the last few months. the band i play in now is easily the loudest i've ever been in. hearing protection has not been as much of a priority to me as it should have been over the years. i'm quite sure i have done some damage. this summer i started wearing hearos at almost every gig and practice and even some concerts

i haven't read through this entire thread, but the comments about the 'generics' not actually providing adequate protection are troubling, but not really surprising. thinking very seriously now about visiting an audiologist and getting some custom fitted plugs. there's actually one in the same office park that i work in..
 
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#860
zisme said:
i haven't read through this entire thread, but the comments about the 'generics' not actually providing adequate protection are troubling, but not really surprising.
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I believe that to be complete BS. The off-the-shelf stuff works fine. Some make the music sound better than others, but I've never used a set of earplugs that didn't work.
 
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