DoubleOhStephan

You don't need to do anything, but knowledge is power. May I ask what it is you're trying to achieve, or perhaps more importantly, what's putting you off from doing it?

Cheers Skank. That's obviously a vintage model, these days the incorporation of electrical stimulation has taken "pleasure" to a different level...

Did someone say deer-plugs? Reminds me of a joke about a deer with no eyes. No idea what the punchline was though. 😬

Ahh... Awkward... 😅

Was that the Epi you put up the other day?

That NS-94 is tempting...

Aye, we use those, got fed up with the neighbours cat plopping in the garden and the puppy eating it... Work well tbf

Funnily enough, it's my right ear that gives me problems too. I also put it down to having the drummer to my right, but the more I've read into this subject, I'm now starting to think it may have more to do with using the headphones on my mobile. For my job I did a lot of conference calls, often when I was out and about, so always had the volume to the max to be able to hear anything. I'd also often take the left plug out a bit to counter the echo effect. I'm wondering now if that is what's given me tinnitus in my right ear. 😔

Assuming you're using a pick, I find the best way is to use the edge of your hand just resting on the strings near the bridge. You don't need any pressure really, just touching is enough to create a mute.

It that so?? So how do you explain this?!

Another vote for quarter pounders, I have a set in my bitsa PJ and they're great, classic P tone 👍🏻

Thanks. I've been looking through various reports relating occlusion effect, bone conduction & ear plugs. It's a difficult one because the majority of research is into the benefits of ear protection (which is plentiful, positive and demonstrable) and its a technical subject which I have no experience or expertise in all, but there is some information which suggests an issue for certain musicians which they need to be aware of (and what measures can be taken to minimise risk). My reading of it (and I welcome corrections or clarification) is that the occlusion effect (as described below) can be problematic under certain circumstances and can cause hearing damage (the tinnitus people are very interested in it) as well as infection caused by ear canal blockage. The occlusion effect occurs when an object fills the outer portion of a person's ear canal, and that person perceives "hollow" or "booming" echo-like sounds of their own voice. It is caused by bone-conducted sound vibrations reverberating off the object filling the ear canal.

Pretty much agree with what's been said above, get as many basses in your hands as possible. If you're looking to change to a P bass, keep in mind it'll have a wider neck as well as a bigger body than you're used to.

Just my opinion, but the choice of language being correct or incorrect is irrelevant tbh, it has created a debate which, through independent research, has revealed some very interesting information. I'm willing to overlook a bit of hyperbole if it increases my understanding (even indirectly) of a subject of such importance. I'm not a singer or wind instrumentalist, so the info uncovered doesn't directly effect me, but these guys are fellow musicians who play in our bands, being in a position to raise their awareness of this outweighs the wording of a headline.

What @Billy Apple has said is proven medically - 3.3 OCCLUSION EFFECT Occluding and sealing the ear with an earmuff or earplug (Berger, 1988) increases the efficiency with which bone-conducted sound is transmitted at frequencies below 2 kHz. This is called the occlusion effect. When a musician sings or blows into the mouthpiece of an instrument, the sound is transmitted via the jaw to the bone surrounding the inner portion of the ear canal. Blocking the ear canal with an earmuff or earplug allows this noise, which is effectively generated within the ear canal, to build up within the enclosed space. This causes an increase in the sound pressure level at the eardrum in the occluded ear compared to the open ear for sounds generated by the user (eg vocalist, brass or woodwinds). Compared to a completely open ear canal, the occlusion effect may boost low frequency (usually below 500 Hz) sound pressure in the ear canal by more than 20 dB. The occlusion effect causes wearers of hearing protectors to experience a change in the perception of their voice quality and other body-generated sounds and vibrations (eg breathing, chewing, etc). In addition, some people may also feel a sense of pressure or blockage in the ear when an earplug is inserted. There are two ways to reduce or remove the occlusion effect (Ross, 2004). The most effective way is to not completely block the ear canal with an ear-mould, by creating a vent hole that connects the outer surface of the earplug to the inner surface. This permits the bone-conducted sound generated in the ear canal to escape the ear in the way that it is supposed to. The amount of sound that escapes, and therefore the magnitude of the occlusion effect, depends on the size of the vent. The larger the vent, the more the occlusion effect can be reduced. Another method of reducing the occlusion effect is to use a very long and tight ear-mould (Killion, 2003); the plug should make a seal in the second bend of the ear canal (deep in the ear canal). The presence of the ear-mould deep in the ear canal prevents the sound vibrations produced by the wearer from being developed. However care is needed because a tight-fitting ear-mould situated deep in the ear canal may be uncomfortable and irritate the skin in the ear canal. Download the full report for yourselves here

Buy a Sandberg, they're just brilliant.

For sure. As the Doctor is working with orchestras and the studies have shown wearing ear plugs causes a problem with musicians playing wind instruments, it's a real and demonstrable problem. Not one that would effect string or percussionists though it seems, unless at extreme volumes. Certainly something to be aware of.

There's this lovely Sandberg KT on ebay at £630... These are seriously good https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F273954783615

Bit more info on this. It seems, in summary, that bone conduction becomes an issue if the ear canal is blocked as it causes a build up of pressure. However, this is only considered a problem for vocalists and musicians who play instruments that are in contact with the face https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrpdf/rr664.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiY86ekierjAhXSNcAKHaxIAxMQFjALegQIARAB&usg=AOvVaw3giRGZP-86CEkE9PP3bxQ3&cshid=1564951379371

Some info re. Bone conduction effecting hearing loss https://www.audiologyonline.com/ask-the-experts/hearing-loss-through-bone-conduction-522 Question If a patient wears earmuffs in combination with custom made earplugs, can you still get hearing loss through bone conduction (through the skull) when shooting a variety of guns? What is the rate of attenuation from external noise to the cochlea through bone conduction? Answer The limits to the attenuation for a perfectly attenuating hearing protector, that are imposed by the flanking bone-conduction pathways, vary from about 40 - 60 dB across frequency. This means that even if a hearing protector could block all of the sound entering the earcanal, that sound attenuated by 40 to 60 dB would still get though to the cochlea, and like the sound transmitted via the air-conduction pathway, this energy can cause hearing loss. However, in all but the most extreme environments, this will be sufficient protection. For all but the most susceptible ears and all but the most extreme amounts of gunfire, noise reduction that equals the attenuation imposed by the bone-conduction limits should be quite sufficient. The much larger issue is making sure that the shooter is properly wearing the single or double hearing protection devices to get the maximum protection they can provide.

I can't find anything online thay suggests ear plugs don't work, there is guidance about use (making sure they're in correctly etc) but all the reports I can find indicate they're as good as ear defenders. @Billy Apple does your man have any peer reviewed studies published we could take a look at (don't expect an answer now, just if you could ask when you next speak)? Since developing tinnitus I've become more protective over my hearing so want to make sure I'm fully informed 👍🏻

@mcnach Tbh I've only used them in the studio, but our guitarist and keyboardist were in constant competition to be heard, so within 30mins we were at serious volume 🙄😁 @wateroftyne That scheme is really interesting, I'm not playing atm but when I'm back in the groove I'll take a look at the ACS's 👍🏻

@4000 I use these, they work great for me, look pretty cool too. Wish I'd had them a few years ago tbh https://www.ear-plugs.co.uk/products/isolate-aluminium-ear-plugs Interesting to hear about your tinnitus, I developed it about 2 years ago and whilst it's not too bad, it does P me off and I'd love to get rid. Did your chiro do anything specifically or was it an accidental bonus of back/neck work (my back is knackered too)