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Musician earplugs

morebass!

morebass!

I'm all ears
Supporting Member
May 31, 2002
1,683
311
Madison WI
#1
After abusing my hearing for several decades I finally got a good pair of custom-fitted earplugs. I'm using -15db inserts with them and the sound is fantastic. A few years ago I tried to get some but my left ear canal was too narrow. Now they have engineered a solution and us skinny-canaled players can have them too. It's a huge improvement over foam plugs. I can hear the highs and on-stage conversation without the crash and snare deafening me. The sound of the bass is balanced. I strongly encourage anyone who has experienced ringing in the ears after playing to get some. Yeah they were $200 bucks but they are worth ten times that!
 
#5
I have the -15 musicians earplugs as well! They've been a life saver. The $200 price tag is welkl worth the greatly improved freq, response over regular foamies. (Although somethings definitely better than nothing!!!!)

I had a bad constant low-rumble in my right ear. After using the musicians plugs diligently for over a year now, my ear is actually recovered for the most part!

When I'm not on in-ears, or attending a show, I always use them!
 
#8
I had a few people ask via PM what I used... I have two pair... I had an old pair of Heroes... but now use : Etymotic ER-20 Hi-Fidelity Musicians' Ety-Plugs. And the Ear Plug Superstore is super fast & responseive to questions. I'm very impressed with their service.

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#9
morebass! said:
I'm using -15db inserts with them and the sound is fantastic.
Click to expand...

I use the -15db inserts also, but for some venues I can get away with a -9 db insert & a -15db insert in the ear closer to the drummer. :bassist:

Ric5 said:
I prefer in-ear-monitors to ear plugs. Then you really do hear everything andyou can control the volume level.
Click to expand...

Just wait till you get some knob jockey that pipes feedback straight into your eardrum because he's not paying attention.

Never. Again.
 
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#11
I always chime in whenever I see posts about ear plugs. Westone customs with a -15db have saved my playing career. Very comfortable, and just the right amount of cut, as the others have noted with similar plugs. There are several audiologists that will do the whole deal for around $145. Great investment -- wish I'd gotten them ten years ago.
 
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#13
I saw a 5-band punk rock extravaganza headlined by the Dickies (with puppet) and emcee'd by Joey Ramone in the basement of Coney Island High some 15 years ago and the noise was so brutal I had to stick cigarette butts in my ears... :eyebrow:
 
#15
The Etymotic ER-20 are awesome! They really are great at keeping the clarity intact while providing a great amount of volume reduction. Feels great to end a gig without your ears ringing!

Once I break out of my poor-college-student phase I'll be investing in some custom fitted ones.
 
#16
I don't want to be snobbish about this but I've tried the ER-20s and Hearos and they don't really compare to the custom-molded set I'm using now. The non-custom plugs are certainly worth having but the ones I've tried cut much more of the highs so I heard mostly bass. That may be preferable in some situations but I've found that playing is a lot more fun when I can hear some highs. Getting the musician earplugs was the best thing that ever happened to my on-stage sound.
 
#17
morebass! said:
I don't want to be snobbish about this but I've tried the ER-20s and Hearos and they don't really compare to the custom-molded set I'm using now. The non-custom plugs are certainly worth having but the ones I've tried cut much more of the highs so I heard mostly bass. That may be preferable in some situations but I've found that playing is a lot more fun when I can hear some highs. Getting the musician earplugs was the best thing that ever happened to my on-stage sound.
Click to expand...

+1

However, let's always encourage the use of some ear protection! Something is always better than nothing. :)

I ended up getting a pair of custom molded Westone's (Etymotic, same exact thing) w/ -15db reduction. They have the flattest response (a little better than the -25's). I think when you can afford this option, the <$200 custom molded musicians plugs are a worthwhile investment. For the price of an effects pedal, you can not only preserve your hearing- but your sanity as well! I ended up with a low-freq rumble in my right ear that was making me lose sleep and prevented me from tolerating quiet environments- not good! I'm happy that with diligent use of my 'plugs, 95% of the rumble has abated after a little over a year. I'm lucky!

I played the better part of 15 years without regularly using plugs (or in-ear monitors). I was a fool! The problem with typical "foamies" is that they cut the high's disproportionately to the lows. This leads to a muddy listening experience, wich doesn't inspire. As a result, I (and most other guys I know) ended up pulling one or both out at some point during the performance. This doesn't help!

Again, use foamies until you scrape together the 'scratch' for a set of good plugs. Less than $200 will buy you a hearing test, custom molds and filters of your choice (-9, -15, and -25 db I believe). It just makes too much sense not to.

Website:
http://www.westone.com/hearing-protection-products/custom-fit-hearing-protection-products-4


Comparative graph:
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Generic foam comparison (from Duke University tests):
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#18
First thing I did when I started playing next to a drummer using an acoustic kit was run out and get custom plugs. Paid em back in two gigs........saved myself a headache!

Paid $160 for em, and am thinking of getting another pair to keep in my truck because even listening to someone else's show/loud DJ stuff is annoying my ears now. If you've never worn custom ones, it's way different than the cheap ones (I've tried em all). They don't hurt my ears at all, only took me twice inserting them to get it down. I actually hear better with them in-can hear conversations above the din :). My band wants me to start singing and is concerned that they'll affect my singing, but they don't change the pitch of what you hear-just the volume. And you don't hear your own voice echoing in your head like the foam ones do.... I've gotta try it live but I'm thinking they'll be fine. I love my earplugs :)
 
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#19
I had a pair of the Westone customs made two years ago when the band I was in started upping the volume levels. I use the -15dB inserts and they work very well indeed. They took a while to get used to while singing though. They cost me around $150 and came with -24dB inserts as well.

One thing to note; you should have the molds made with your mouth open. One recommendation I heard was that you should place "two fingers" of thickness between your front teeth during molding. I wasn't asked to do this by the molding tech but I will do this next time. I find that with my current plugs (and a second set that I use with SCL3 IEM's) that if I laugh or otherwise open my mouth wide while singing with the plugs in, that the seal will break slightly and I then have to push on the plugs lightly to re-seat them.

I hope this helps someone else.

Graeme
 
#20
My sorry earplug experience.

Never listened to anyone until the ringing got bad. I always had ringing in my ears, no big deal, figured it was part of the job - but then, seemingly out of nowhere it started to get bad. Real bad. Researched and bought what I thought to be the best plugs for the money, some imports from england that cost about $30. Don't remember the brand. Used them because the music DID sound more natural, they were really comfortable, and felt my hearing was getting protected. In the long run, they didn't help though. I had no choice but to start getting used to foam plugs... which I always hated, but have to use now or I'm very near deaf for the 3 or 4 days following a rehearsal or gig (ringing is unbearable). The more expensive ones, after the damage was done, did very little to protect me from further damage. :/

That being said, if I were to do it all over again I'd have bought an expensive pair before I caused any damage as I believe I would have been able to prevent my hearing loss/ringing. I always hated the muffled sound foam earplugs caused. Having already done the damage I did, the only thing that seems to keep them from getting worse is blocking out as much sound as I can, and foam earplugs seem to do that better than anything else. And yes, it sucks, but I'm getting used to it.

Went to a clarinet and piano concert in a church about a month ago, it was unamplified, I didn't have earplugs, had to stuff my ears with cotton, and even with that it was literally painful. The ringing afterwards was horrible, and nobody else I was with had anything like my experience. Take care of your ears. I'm one of the guys who kept saying, "yeah. whatever." Like I'd deal with it if I ever had to. I am.
 

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