Ear protection for attending concerts?
- Thread starter Niah2
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Rudianos
Senior Member
Etymotic Research Musicians Earplugs 25db suffices for me - custom molds at audiologist
www.etymotic.com
Custom Musicians Earplugs with Attenuator - Etymotic
Reduces sound levels evenly so that music and speech are clear and natural. Lets musicians hear their own instrument and their blend with others while protecting from damaging levels of exposure. Enhances the music experience for audiences while protecting hearing. *All Musicians Earplugs ship...
www.etymotic.com
kgdrum
“Making a mess & calling it Art is where it’s at!”
What a wonderful not to mention beneficial use of technology!Etymotic Research Musicians Earplugs 25db suffices for me - custom molds at audiologist
Custom Musicians Earplugs with Attenuator - Etymotic
Reduces sound levels evenly so that music and speech are clear and natural. Lets musicians hear their own instrument and their blend with others while protecting from damaging levels of exposure. Enhances the music experience for audiences while protecting hearing. *All Musicians Earplugs ship...
I never knew or thought something like this actually exists and is readily available,drummer jokes welcome.
jehovahlicious
Active Member
Huh?
jehovahlicious
Active Member
Seriously, this is a great idea, I just saw Ride and my ears were ringing for a couple of days. Funny enough, I took my son from age 3 or 4 to teen years to all kinds of live music and always had him wear ear protection.
kgdrum
“Making a mess & calling it Art is where it’s at!”
They say you can hear music clearly,the earplugs attenuate the signal by 25db.
I’m used to old school earplugs that seal the ear canal and you really can’t hear anything,lol It never occurred to me and I honestly never thought this was even possible. Yes I play drums,lol
timbit2006
A Member
Get musicians earplugs from the music instrument store. They're 10-20 bucks or so. Some of them make you look like a dork so be careful.
I've had custom molded ones with -15dB filters for many years. They're pretty good, although they don't attenuate evenly across the spectrum as advertised - the top end gets wooly AF (even after I replaced the original filters, which you're supposed to do every once in a while).
You'd think that Airpods Max would be able to do that much better, given how well their noise canceling works. I'd say Airpods Pro could do it too, but their mics aren't as good so it wouldn't sound right.
You'd think that Airpods Max would be able to do that much better, given how well their noise canceling works. I'd say Airpods Pro could do it too, but their mics aren't as good so it wouldn't sound right.
ghostnote
Vincit qui se vincit.
I don't know if people are aware that listening to loud music, deosn't matter if on concerts, clubs or trough headphones, over a period of time can severly damage the hearing. That includes of course beeing on stage. Had to work with headphones till 30 and also did lots of sample editing for sample libraries with them. I noticed after a while that my right ear "felt" a bit numb when I turned my head while listening to music other than headphones. Did a hearing test and found out that my right ear cannot perceive anything beyond 11kHz. I was shocked.
Henu
Dismember
As a metalhead for decades, attending loud concerts both as an audience member and as a performer, my weapon of choice is a classic one. I also use them in studio and rehearsal situations and have zero (abnormal) hearing loss at the age of 45, while being exposed to loud music for 30+ years.
These are often overlooked because they might feel too effective and damp too much, but there is a trick which everyone should know: Don't squeeze them at all, but just push them in their normal form as deep as they go. It will heavily dampen the toxic high end sound pressure which is the thing that does 90% of the damage, but leaves the general sound still open to enjoy. I've tried pretty much everything albeit for the molded custom ones, and nothing beats classic EARs when used in the way described.
These are often overlooked because they might feel too effective and damp too much, but there is a trick which everyone should know: Don't squeeze them at all, but just push them in their normal form as deep as they go. It will heavily dampen the toxic high end sound pressure which is the thing that does 90% of the damage, but leaves the general sound still open to enjoy. I've tried pretty much everything albeit for the molded custom ones, and nothing beats classic EARs when used in the way described.
wing
Active Member
I have custom modded earplugs. It's a bit of an expensive investment, the cost of visiting the audiologist plus the custom plugs themselves I believe set me back around $350-400. The plus side to them is the way they fit your ear canal precisely, it creates a snug and precise fit which won't slip out with sweat and rockin out, but also feels very comfortable (not too big or small). I got one designed for musical application so it filters out certain frequencies while preserving what matters.
That said, honestly the basic $12-20 ones you can get from any music store that look like a little bell tree do the job just fine and fit great. They do filter out a little more than the custom ones but the difference isn't huge.
I grew up playing the drums and used to tour as a drummer. I would advise that any musicians of loud acoustic instruments wear hearing protection at all times while playing, not just at concerts. Between drums, electric guitar, and now cello, I recently got tinnitus and I wish I was more proactive about taking precautions.
Also interestingly I discovered I prefer the sound of drums when my earplugs are in, because they cut a lot of the super high frequencies (especially from cymbals). As a result of shifting frequency perception, you actually hear more deeper lows and low-mids, which in turn makes your drum kit sound (and feel) deeper, punchier. That's been my experience any way.
That said, honestly the basic $12-20 ones you can get from any music store that look like a little bell tree do the job just fine and fit great. They do filter out a little more than the custom ones but the difference isn't huge.
I grew up playing the drums and used to tour as a drummer. I would advise that any musicians of loud acoustic instruments wear hearing protection at all times while playing, not just at concerts. Between drums, electric guitar, and now cello, I recently got tinnitus and I wish I was more proactive about taking precautions.
Also interestingly I discovered I prefer the sound of drums when my earplugs are in, because they cut a lot of the super high frequencies (especially from cymbals). As a result of shifting frequency perception, you actually hear more deeper lows and low-mids, which in turn makes your drum kit sound (and feel) deeper, punchier. That's been my experience any way.
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Marcus Millfield
Senior Member
I have custom earplugs too. They're molded to my ears and have changeable filters that I can swap for various occasions. I use the 30 dB filters for loud concerts which I attended when I was younger )not so much these days) and 10 dB filters when playing in a bigband, depending on the situation. I started using these after noticing one of my ears having issues every time I played with one of the bigband in certain locales. If the locale was low, the loudness of the lead player next to me would be too much for my ears to handle.
Now, I don't like playing with earplugs, because part of the sound resonated from the mouthpiece through my skull and that's annoying and it throws my intonation off a bit, but that's a small price to pay.
I've also noticed the custom earplugs being much more comfortable to wear than standard earplugs. It irritates the skin way less, especially if you maintain them correctly.
Now, I don't like playing with earplugs, because part of the sound resonated from the mouthpiece through my skull and that's annoying and it throws my intonation off a bit, but that's a small price to pay.
I've also noticed the custom earplugs being much more comfortable to wear than standard earplugs. It irritates the skin way less, especially if you maintain them correctly.
TR909sample
Active Member
It's been a long time since I've been to a live concert, but I would probably just bring my Airpods Pro 2, as I think it does a pretty good job at dampening sound.
A post in this thread mentions a custom option that does 25 db of cancellation and I was curious what the spec of the Airpods Pro was, so I looked it up and apparently it does 23 db of cancellation.
I often wear them outside, not even listening to any music sometimes, just walking on a loud city street and it does a pretty good job of turning the volume down on anything that's too loud.
A post in this thread mentions a custom option that does 25 db of cancellation and I was curious what the spec of the Airpods Pro was, so I looked it up and apparently it does 23 db of cancellation.
I often wear them outside, not even listening to any music sometimes, just walking on a loud city street and it does a pretty good job of turning the volume down on anything that's too loud.
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robcs
Active Member
I use a different Etymotic product - the Music Pro
https://www.etymotic.com/product/music-pro/
They are pricey but fantastic.
I conduct live musicians and play, so I need ear protection that allows me to hear what the music really sounds like. Over the years, I've tried everything from off-the-shelf "musicians" earplugs to custom-made plugs from an audiologist. All of them made music sound like I was underwater - and as a player, they made it impossible to play in tune with others.
The Music Pro's sound reduction is adaptive, so when the volume drops between numbers, the attenuation reduces - so, you can have a conversation without taking the earplugs out, and if the next number starts suddenly, you won't get blasted.
The frequency response is good - it really is just like turning the volume down on the world. There's a little dropoff at the bass end, but that's inevitable because they have a small diaphragm in the mic. They're definitely the best investment I've made in my hearing, and if anything happens to them, I'll order a replacement pretty much immediately.
https://www.etymotic.com/product/music-pro/
They are pricey but fantastic.
I conduct live musicians and play, so I need ear protection that allows me to hear what the music really sounds like. Over the years, I've tried everything from off-the-shelf "musicians" earplugs to custom-made plugs from an audiologist. All of them made music sound like I was underwater - and as a player, they made it impossible to play in tune with others.
The Music Pro's sound reduction is adaptive, so when the volume drops between numbers, the attenuation reduces - so, you can have a conversation without taking the earplugs out, and if the next number starts suddenly, you won't get blasted.
The frequency response is good - it really is just like turning the volume down on the world. There's a little dropoff at the bass end, but that's inevitable because they have a small diaphragm in the mic. They're definitely the best investment I've made in my hearing, and if anything happens to them, I'll order a replacement pretty much immediately.
