311 replies to this topic

[stewblack]

+1 for the ER20's the most affordable and best bit of kit I ever bought. If you could force me to choose, I'd give you my Stingray rather than play without them in. After a little bit of getting used to I now prefer to listen to live music with them in.

[bass_ferret]

Sting in the tail! I am now suffering from vertigo, probably as a result of the damage to my ears.

I was looking forward to taking my son mountain climbing when he got old enough. Oh well.

[Linz]

bass_ferret, on May 24 2007, 12:57 PM, said:

Sting in the tail! I am now suffering from vertigo, probably as a result of the damage to my ears.

I was looking forward to taking my son mountain climbing when he got old enough. Oh well.

Never mind, get HIM to take YOU (he probably will anyway, the younger generation always thinks its parents are useless without a helping hand from them!)

[DrGonzo]

For those on a budget, you may be interested to know that I managed to blag a set of filtered moulds from the NHS...

Had an ear infection, went for a hearing test because I said I was a musician and sound engineer, blagged it!

[99ster]

This company supply the top-end (custom fit) Etymotic ear protection (ER-15)... similar price about £165 - which for me is cheap to protect my hearing!!! If I had to spend £1,650 to make sure I didn't go deaf I would still call that a bargain price.
http://www.handhelda...ges/ui_home.asp
(and they are also the sole UK distributors for the 'Ultimate Ears' custom fit 'inner ear' monitor systems - the absolute best kit that all the top musicians & engineers use...(£600-800) http://www.ultimateears.com/ - so they must know their stuff)

Edited by 99ster, 02 June 2007 - 08:04 PM.

[owen]

Going to do it. Which level of reduction 15 or 25 dB?

[iansmith]

This is a topic incredibly close to my heart (and head) - after 20+ years of playing drums, 10 years of playing bass and countless gigs, I'm now suffering the effects. Tinnitus, hyperacusis and partial hearing loss in one ear. Nice - not. Once your hearing starts to go, it won't mend itself - you're on your way to being stuffed unless you do something.

£160-ish for the custom-made Elacin plugs (or similar) is a small investment to protect your most valuable asset as a musician. I wish I'd done it earlier. I take them everywhere with me, even when going out to the pub in case the music's loud. Because they're quite clever at cutting out noise across the frequency spectrum, it actually makes it easier to hear people talking in noisy situations too! The cheaper Elacin ER-20s are quite good if you're on a tight budget, but I'd encourage everyone to give some serious thought to getting some ear protection.

By the way, I know this sounds like an advert for Elacin, so just to reassure you that I'm nothing to do with them, other than a satisfied customer, and I do feel rather passionate about this!

Edited by iansmith, 09 June 2007 - 03:29 PM.

[iansmith]

owen, on Jun 2 2007, 10:32 PM, said:

Going to do it. Which level of reduction 15 or 25 dB?

Depends on preference, really. 15dB is normally adequate for most applications, I'd reckon, unless you're doing very VERY loud stuff, as 25dB is cutting out an awful lot of sound (although I won't bore you by going into the details of how dB is a logarithmic unit of comparison rather than an absolute scale, therefore for every 1dB difference etc, etc...). Talk to the audiologist whom you choose to do your moulds - they're all qualified (or should be!), so should be able to give some good advice based on your requirements.

Edited by iansmith, 09 June 2007 - 03:39 PM.

[EdwardHimself]

I really should get some ear protection. Thing is though that I seem to have a mild form of tinnitus which i've had pretty much as far back as i can remember, i think it's because as a young child (maybe some would argue i'm still a child now, but that's a different story altogether) i had very sensitive hearing, i couldn't even go to the cinema or anything. I think i have a bit of hyperacusis now aswell, for the last couple of nights i've been having trouble sleeping because of the ringing in my ears even though it's very mild and it's pretty much the same as the previous nights. I just can't switch off because my brain keeps trying to switch me back on, if that makes sense. So thanks ian for giving me that link, if it ruins my holiday i'm definetly seeing the doctor about it.

Also when you consider that 100db is like a loud rock gig and 75 is like the sound your car probably makes traveling along the motorway, that 25 db of protection really does begin to make sense.

Edited by EdwardHimself, 20 June 2007 - 08:35 AM.

[dood]

EdwardHimself, on Jun 20 2007, 09:33 AM, said:

Also when you consider that 100db is like a loud rock gig and 75 is like the sound your car probably makes traveling along the motorway, that 25 db of protection really does begin to make sense.

Good analogy!

[alexclaber]

I am a HUGE supporter of hearing protection, having bought musicians' earplugs relatively soon after joining my first band. Before spending your next £150 on a bass, amp or pedals, go and get some custom plugs made, their are truly the best thing since sliced bread. You will not believe how much clearer everything sounds - simply because your ears are distorting much less. And bear in mind that when your ears are distorting they are being damaged and they never recover.

Alex

[Stuart Clayton]

alexclaber, on Jun 20 2007, 04:48 PM, said:

I am a HUGE supporter of hearing protection, having bought musicians' earplugs relatively soon after joining my first band. Before spending your next £150 on a bass, amp or pedals, go and get some custom plugs made, their are truly the best thing since sliced bread. You will not believe how much clearer everything sounds - simply because your ears are distorting much less. And bear in mind that when your ears are distorting they are being damaged and they never recover.

Alex

I'm off for a hearing test tomorrow as I am starting to suspect my hearing has suffered in recent years. After that, I'm definately going for some full-on protection, probably from here: http://www.soundguard.co.uk/one.htm.

I'll let you all know how I get on with them!

Stu

[Sibob]

I wear Doc Proplugs, non-vented, for every single gig that i do! Including all gigs and other 'loud' events that i go to.
I even put them in once when i went to a bowling alley, it was ridiculously loud lol.
They form part of my 'every morning pickup', Keys, Wallet, Phone, Plugs

I'm aiming to have a hearing test soon and get some fitted plugs soon though
Si

[Bassmasta89]

Ear plugs are definitely a must when practicing at high volumes. I use them all the time, and im sure i would go deaf if i didnt (damn drummer!!!).

[BigGun61]

lowhand_mike, on May 22 2007, 11:12 AM, said:

well first time after practice last night my left ear was really hurting, still is to be honest so i think now is the time to do something about it (might be a bit late but better than not at all) seeing as my amp is now really chucking out the volume.
so is it possible to pull over the sticky from the last forum or shall we just start afresh.

recommendations

Not just damn drummers, cymbals are what kill me.

[Toasted]

It's the cymbals for me too. Stood right next to the drummers hihats. It hurts.

I've taken to using the etymotic er-20's too. They're great plugs.

[MacDaddy]

Sibob, on Jun 28 2007, 12:13 AM, said:

I wear Doc Proplugs, non-vented, for every single gig that i do! Including all gigs and other 'loud' events that i go to.
I even put them in once when i went to a bowling alley, it was ridiculously loud lol.
They form part of my 'every morning pickup', Keys, Wallet, Phone, Plugs

I'm aiming to have a hearing test soon and get some fitted plugs soon though
Si

I have a little case that is attached to my keyring. One less thing to remember!

[alexclaber]

Saw Ash in Koko's last week and had forgotten my earplugs. As soon as they started playing my ears overloaded and distorted - when things are too loud it sounds like listening through a fuzz pedal. Improvised some emergency plugs with tissue paper and thankfully they did the job. Scary...

Alex

[amj]

Another reccomendation for the ER20's! Band practice is so much more bearable now, loud noises make irritable let alone the already well known effect on hearing. If you haven't got any earplugs yet then for god sake shell out a tenner and grab some of these!

[G-bitch]

I posted in Dood's thread back on bassworld or whatever it used to be (f*** knows how you're supposed to keep track LOL - only just found this one!) - picked the 15db jobbies from audiologist a couple of months back. Superb basically, don't think that the comments posted need any expansion.

One thing I will say is that 15db is plenty to make intimate (and bloody loud) metal gigs a very comfortable volume - most recently, Napalm Death. 25db is probably intended for industrial applications; I don't care how loud your band is, you don't need them unless you have particularly sensitive hearing in which case you wouldn't have been able to join a band in the first place