Ear Plugs - Need Advice Please

Mickster

Mickster

Well-known member
So...our band moved to a smaller rehearsal studio. It's not ideal for sound in any way but that's not my main issue. I need some advice on the best ear plugs you guys have used. I already have some tinnitus and I need to avoid further damage. I know there are custom fit plugs out there and I'm guessing those might be best...but I don't want the sound to be a muddled mess. I've tried a couple cheap plugs and the sound is far too drastically changed....frequency wise.

Also....a dumb question maybe...but I've not gotten an answer about this yet. When using plugs and singing...my voice sounds louder in my head...of course. I know that can't be avoided but it made me wonder if that in itself (singing) is damaging in some way...you know..screaming into a mic.

So...wondering what you guys might use. What about IEM's....I know nothing about them. Can't think of a more knowledgeable group to ask these questions to. Not worried about cost.

Thanks in advance for your advice!

Mick
 
I've seen threads about hearing protection before but I personally have not had success with anything that sounds good so I'm anxious to see the responses. I have tinnitus but I think most of mine is from recording and mixing with head phones but I am in a band and I'm sure that contributes as well. In the old days I used cotton or tissue but apparently that wasn't a good idea even though it did seem to make the extreme volume less painful back then. I have used commercial plugs like Heroes but I find that plain old foam plugs aren't much different.
 
I don't like plugging things into my ears.
I say leave your ears alone, and cover them with industrial ear defenders instead.
Earplugs are single use, but you can put ear defenders on and off forever.
If you think they alter the sound too much, you can adjust them to be just half over your ears, to let a bit more signal through.
It doesn't matter what you look like in rehearsals.
 
An ENT once told me that using headphones was not a problem because the volume was controllable...of course. To her....there was no reason why headphone volume needed to be lower than normal everyday hearing....and could even be louder to some extent. She said that using headphones properly might be a the best way to avoid ear damage for people like us here on this forum....with one exception....that the headphones be of good quality.....like the ones they use to measure hearing loss in their office. Now...she's talking about recording and mixing listening.....not as a tool to use when playing in a band.
Mick
 
Slouching Raymond said:
I don't like plugging things into my ears.
I say leave your ears alone, and cover them with industrial ear defenders instead.
Earplugs are single use, but you can put ear defenders on and off forever.
If you think they alter the sound too much, you can adjust them to be just half over your ears, to let a bit more signal through.
It doesn't matter what you look like in rehearsals.
Click to expand...
Thank you for that sir. I too don't like stuff stuck in my ear. I tried a set of hearing blockers used for gun range shooting. The sound was not usable really. I'm a guitar player and couldn't hear the upper frequencies of my Strat....totally killing tone perception.

Mick
 
Mickster said:
So...our band moved to a smaller rehearsal studio. It's not ideal for sound in any way but that's not my main issue. I need some advice on the best ear plugs you guys have used. I already have some tinnitus and I need to avoid further damage. I know there are custom fit plugs out there and I'm guessing those might be best...but I don't want the sound to be a muddled mess. I've tried a couple cheap plugs and the sound is far too drastically changed....frequency wise.

Also....a dumb question maybe...but I've not gotten an answer about this yet. When using plugs and singing...my voice sounds louder in my head...of course. I know that can't be avoided but it made me wonder if that in itself (singing) is damaging in some way...you know..screaming into a mic.

So...wondering what you guys might use. What about IEM's....I know nothing about them. Can't think of a more knowledgeable group to ask these questions to. Not worried about cost.

Thanks in advance for your advice!

Mick
Click to expand...
Sorry...gotta bump this. I need some specifics about what you guys use in rehearsal...etc. Thanks.
 
I haven't needed them in many years - but when I was rehearsing and gigging regularly I used (as needed) a pair that were adjustable. They had a little tweakable valve.

I was looking around just now and found these - they look like a maybe.

goaxil.com

AXIL XP Series Defender Ear Plugs

AXIL XP Series Defender Ear Plugs - The XP Defender operates the same way as the XP Reactor. The switch simply allows you to change the plugs into full defense mode.
goaxil.com goaxil.com
 
Shame you’re not in the uk. Our musicians union here subsidise decent musicians ear plugs. You get a test and then advice and can select how much attenuation you need then get moulds done and they’re very comfy. You get used to them very quickly and don’t mess up your playing because they are flat. Mine are 10dB. I use IEMs on stage and again acclimatisation was pretty quick. Bone conduction works better too so singing harmonies is easier. My voice is quiet I’m not a belter. I also wear hearing protection when we work on shows rather than are on stage and they are not remotely the same. Foam saves your hearing but is not musically balanced. If you have tinnitus get a proper test and proper protection it’s the best solution. My protection is iems first and then when we have to use wedges I’ll use the 10dB protection. Works fine. IEMs are a physical and equipment jump but your own personal mix is incredible. You forget how hard your brain works removing the drums and crazy guitar from (in my case) my bass sound. Damage is so common. The effort getting used to things in your ears is not instant but worth it. I still have the protection in the bass case so when I play with strangers I shove them in and forget them. You rely on IEMs. Going back is hard. Down side? You cannot play with bad IEM mixes so having a festival idiot do a mix for you when he can’t tell who is asking for more or less can be destructive. Suddenly losing your bass and getting more guitar because he turned the wrong send means you cannot play. I did all of one song once in the wrong key and had no idea I’d done it because I forgot the song was Ab and not A. Isolation is so good, losing the IEM mix kills you. Protection just makes it quieter nothing else, with the proper ones.
 
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