Ear Plugs?

hidinginthebush

Hi peoples!

So I have found myself in a band situation for the first time, we haven't gotten any gigs yet, but are certainly going that way. The one thing I've noticed though is that from playing in small rehearsal rooms with drums and cranked amps, my ears are taking a serious pounding. Can anybody recommend any experience with ear plugs? How effective are they at keeping the noise out? Will still be able to hear myself and the band play, or will there just be a low frequency drone? I really want to do the best to protect my ears in future years, plus I've found that ringing ears AND a hangover is the worst combination known to man. So there you go, ear plugs or maybe alternatives, what's you experience?

cheers!

Mickb

Some info here:

http://www.audiorelief.co.uk/index.html
They supply ear plugs etc.

Some general info: http://www.dontlosethemusic.com/home/

MiCk B. :-)

Rigsby

You are right to be concerned about your ears/hearing. That ringing in your ears means you are a step further towards tinnitus. Once you get this, it is with you for life.

As for ear plugs : get the best you can afford. You can get wax ones ("Quies" are a good brand IMO). Custom made ones are a good investment. While the wax ones will keep out excessive noise, it is at the expense of clarity. The custom made ones have interchangable filters, depending on how much noise you want to keep in/out. The usual filters would be 10 or 15 db. A mold of the inside of your ear is taken, for a snug fit. These plugs cost in the region of 200 euros. Expensive yes, but your hearing is priceless. With the custom made plugs, the volume is reduced but not the clarity.

I got mine from "Advance Hearing" 12 Aston Quay. There is a man in Kimmage who also does them. Hopefully, someone here will have an address for him. It took about a month for them to be ready.

Whatever plugs you choose, it is prudent to protect your hearing in the best way you can afford.

Man In The Box

Protecting your ears is absolutely essential and a lot of people seem to ignore it. I've tried out a few different types of earplugs and I finally went and got myself a pair of moulded musicians earplugs a couple of years ago and it was totally worth it. With the standard earplugs you get most places I found that they tend to muddy up the sound and they're not ideal especially when trying to play with a band. The moulded ones I got give perfect clarity but just turn everything down. It takes a little bit of time to get used to them but it's worth it I think. You can obviously choose what level of attenuation suits you best. The one downside is that they are expensive and will probably set you back a couple of hundred euros but I've had mine for at least 2 years now and they're still perfect. And they've gotten a lot of use.
I don't know what the story is with posting peoples details here but if you want the contact details of the guy I go to in Dublin pm me and I'll send them on to you.

IrishCian

If you're looking for really cheap and easy, lots of pharmacies sell foam earplugs in a little yellow box for about 50c..
Thats what I use in a small concrete shed with a drumkit, 100w guitar amp, 100w bass amp, etc

silverhare

I find the Quies (sp?) wax plugs to be quite good as they mold easily, fit snugly and with a little messing about with a toothpick (not while it's in your ear!) you can reduce their attenuation a little. High frequencies suffer most though.

Cans are another alternative. (extremely useful in the practice room if you use stereo fx).

Einstein

Yep, another user of quies brand ear plugs.

They take out all the horrible frequencies that damage your ears, and believe it or not things can actually sound a lot better with ear plugs in.

I use in ear monitors myself, at a failry low volume, they act as earplugs too.

But if im not using in ears Quies are always my first choice!

Rigsby

IrishCian wrote: »

If you're looking for really cheap and easy, lots of pharmacies sell foam earplugs in a little yellow box for about 50c..
Thats what I use in a small concrete shed with a drumkit, 100w guitar amp, 100w bass amp, etc

I found these to be useless, as they kept on falling out. Besides, their ability to protect to the extent of the wax ones is questionable. It's a case of, "you get what you pay for". What price your hearing ?

AnonoBoy

Rigsby wrote: »

I found these to be useless, as they kept on falling out. Besides, their ability to protect to the extent of the wax ones is questionable. It's a case of, "you get what you pay for". What price your hearing ?

I agree with this. I wouldn't rely on those cheap ones for anything other than trying to drown out sounds while trying to sleep at a festival.

Over the long-term you're better off paying for the quality ones and keeping your hearing.

Grolschevik

Rigsby wrote: »

I found these to be useless, as they kept on falling out. Besides, their ability to protect to the extent of the wax ones is questionable. It's a case of, "you get what you pay for". What price your hearing ?

I used to use ones that my then bass player would bring along. They were provided by his company (he worked on the assembly line in some factory that was, er, noisy!) and the plugs were the ones that accorded with the current health and safety legislation.

They're squidgy orange/pink yokes with a top-hat-like rim. Perhaps somewhere between chemist-bought cheapies and €50-moulded-to-the-specific-countours-of-your-ear specialty plugs. Dirt cheap. He had so many, that I still have some after nearly ten years...

With those, you could hear everything, just not very well: it's like there's a duvet covering the amps and drums...

Rigsby

It always amazes me how people have no problem paying 100's of euro for "accesserys", but neglect, or are reluctant to buy the most important one.

sydsad

jaysus,

In all my time in bands iv never once used earplugs. Im not saying dont use them, just that i never have. My drummer would always use them though.

I dont think my ears have been affected. Got a hearing test for a job done a while ago and they were perfect.

although i would consider using them if i started a band again. I suppose im lucky i havent done damage and to be honest i dont want to test that luck much further.

southlouth type

It beggars belief how much people dont realise you NEED earplugs while playing in bands , i even wear them watching bands or in loud clubs etc . I have tinnitus from playing drums and being in loud environments for years and its a nightmare . Got some moulded plugs from specsavers a few years ago and there a god send . € 200 for the plugs but hey its your ears your talking about here , we have no problem spending that kind of money going out on the lash IMO all the cheap ass plugs that you get in the chemist are for sleeping and swimming and not for volume .They will block out almost everything and make playing music unpleasant in comparison with the in ear molds .

Malice

southlouth type wrote: »

€ 200 for the plugs but hey its your ears your talking about here , we have no problem spending that kind of money going out on the lash

The next time you're going out will you give me a call? You must do a right job on yourself to spend €200!

Personally I just use the yellow mouldable earplugs. They do muffle the sound to an extent but I mostly play bass so it's not too much of a problem for me. I agree that your hearing is precious and I'm often surprised at the amount of people who don't bother taking even basic precautions.

gotBass

goto a motorbike shop like cotters and buy the earplugs there a bag of them will cost you a lot less they work for me when I need them

southlouth type

Malice wrote: »

The next time you're going out will you give me a call? You must do a right job on yourself to spend €200!

Personally I just use the yellow mouldable earplugs. They do muffle the sound to an extent but I mostly play bass so it's not too much of a problem for me. I agree that your hearing is precious and I'm often surprised at the amount of people who don't bother taking even basic precautions.

Ha Ha ! Im not that bad mate . But as musicians we spend lots of money on needles things and dont regard protect our ears . Seems strsnge

Malice

southlouth type wrote: »

Ha Ha ! Im not that bad mate . But as musicians we spend lots of money on needles things and dont regard protect our ears . Seems strsnge

There's your problem. Sticking needles in your ears is never a good idea.

Major Lovechild

hidinginthebush wrote: »

Hi peoples!

So I have found myself in a band situation for the first time, we haven't gotten any gigs yet, but are certainly going that way. The one thing I've noticed though is that from playing in small rehearsal rooms with drums and cranked amps, my ears are taking a serious pounding. Can anybody recommend any experience with ear plugs? How effective are they at keeping the noise out? Will still be able to hear myself and the band play, or will there just be a low frequency drone? I really want to do the best to protect my ears in future years, plus I've found that ringing ears AND a hangover is the worst combination known to man. So there you go, ear plugs or maybe alternatives, what's you experience?

cheers!

Learn to play less loud and find other musicians who have a clue what a volume switch is. As for drummers - they can play lighter - if not then they can't call themselves a real drummer.

Rigsby

sydsad wrote: »

I dont think my ears have been affected. Got a hearing test for a job done a while ago and they were perfect.

Perfect for now anyway. Tinnitus does not happen over night. It can take years to get it. As I said in an earlier post, everytime you expose your ears to excessive noise, is another step towards the dreaded permanant ringing in the ears that is tinnitus.

Major Lovechild wrote: »

Learn to play less loud and find other musicians who have a clue what a volume switch is. As for drummers - they can play lighter - if not then they can't call themselves a real drummer.

While I am not sure of the official safe db level, I can assure you that the minimum volume required for the average non acoustic pub gig is well above the safe level. So your suggestion, while welcome, is not the solution.

Malice

Major Lovechild wrote: »

Learn to play less loud and find other musicians who have a clue what a volume switch is. As for drummers - they can play lighter - if not then they can't call themselves a real drummer.

Why not just stop playing through amps full stop and grab some acoustics to play softly instead? Tell the drummer to quietly clap their hands to keep time and get the singer to whisper too. Then you'll never need earplugs.

Major Lovechild

Rigsby wrote: »

Perfect for now anyway. Tinnitus does not happen over night. It can take years to get it. As I said in an earlier post, everytime you expose your ears to excessive noise, is another step towards the dreaded permanant ringing in the ears that is tinnitus.



While I am not sure of the official safe db level, I can assure you that the minimum volume required for the average non acoustic pub gig is well above the safe level. So your suggestion, while welcome, is not the solution.[/QUOTE]

If you are not sure then I recommend that you find out. Until then your assurances are worth naught.

And to Malice: While sarcasm has never been known to effect the hearing one must at least be good at it for it to have any effect at all.

Malice

Major Lovechild wrote: »

And to Malice: While sarcasm has never been known to effect the hearing one must at least be good at it for it to have any effect at all.

What? Sorry, I can't hear you you'll have to write louder .

Major Lovechild

Ok then.


louder


Any better? :pac:

Rigsby

Major Lovechild wrote: »

If you are not sure then I recommend that you find out. Until then your assurances are worth naught.

http://www.hearingaidknow.com/2007/03/07/how-loud-is-too-loud-decibel-levels-of-common-sounds/

Major Lovechild

Rigsby wrote: »

http://www.hearingaidknow.com/2007/03/07/how-loud-is-too-loud-decibel-levels-of-common-sounds/

Glad to see you have done some research.

Here is more

http://www.audiologyonline.com/management/uploads/articles/Chasin_January_2008_AudiologyOnline_SixMusicianFactSheets_Addendum_A.pdf

Rigsby

Major Lovechild wrote: »

Glad to see you have done some research.

Here is more

http://www.audiologyonline.com/management/uploads/articles/Chasin_January_2008_AudiologyOnline_SixMusicianFactSheets_Addendum_A.pdf

Fair enough, but I'm prepared to err on the side of caution and use ear plugs, rather than depend on fellow musicians or sound engineers to keep the volume low. Everyone has to weigh up the evidence for themselves, and act accordingly.