Who wears earplugs

[tomjackson]

I was at practise the other day, could hardly hear an 18 watt amp on full.  My ears have been buzzing for 2 days.

Who wears earplugs?

I have some elacin generic ones that are okay but what's the point of spending $$$ on BKP's when through them they could be epiphone pups??

[Stevepage]

I wear them when ever I get near loud music/noises but I do sometimes forget. So I make sure I take breaks in between.

I saw Judas Priest earlier this year and was relieved I remembered my ear plugs, they were so loud  :lol:  If that makes me 'false' then so be it  8)

[Oli]

I've got some custom moulded ones, and take them to every gig or club that i go to. They've got interchangable filters, but i've only got the -15dB ones (can get 25 and 9). The response is pretty even across the board, so everything just seems quieter, rather than muffled. You can also have a conversation with the person next to you, and actually hear them!

They cost about £100, but they are well worth it- comfortable, work well, and save my hearing, which is something very important.

[MDV]

Yeah, if I remember them. I also have a decibelometer sitting on the desk infront of my main listenting position so I dont expose myself to anything too loud for too long.

I can still hear 20khz, if only barely, and intend to keep it that way (for as long as possible)

[ilÿti]

I always bring them to concerts. I've experienced in the past that I got my hearing ruined by the warm-up bands so that when the headliner came on, I wasn't able to hear them properly. That really spoils the fun. What I do now is I wear the ear plug during the warm-up bands and take them out during the headliner so I can get the full sound experience without ruining my ears.

[psy]

I ticked Yes...  However I don't wear them when I'm playing, but I do the sound at quite a lot of pub gigs & wear them when I do them.  I only use those yellow foam ones & they cut too much mids for playing guitar.  I'm going to have to invest in moulded ones I think.

[_tom_]

I dont, but I think I should get some. Just never get round to it.

[Nolly]

I have custom moulded earplugs, they are an absolute godsend.

[Twinfan]

Never when I play with my own bands, almost always when I'm watching big gigs.  The only I haven't had to wear earplugs at recently was Steel Panther!

[Fourth Feline]

Yes for me also Tom ; and now ( some years down the line - and needing acute hearing ) glad I did.
Ironically , when last gigging regularly, it was the drummer's Hi-hat and steel snare drum that affected me - not my own backline .   If at least one ear plug was not worn - it would cause tempory deafness and ringing in my right ear for hours to follow.

You raised a notable point in reminding us that 'buying into subtely' ( B.K.P ) would be increasingly pointless if we were hearing everything ,  in only it's coarser detail.  Even if we fitted them for the audience's benefit, we would be less able to manipulate the product of what we thought they heard.

[JDC]

Yeah, if I remember them. I also have a decibelometer sitting on the desk infront of my main listenting position so I dont expose myself to anything too loud for too long.

how easy is it to go over 85dba at home? I mean it ain't sitting on a bus when I turn up the volume to drown out background noise but I do like to have a certain amount of volume so you got that sweet spot where the sound is nice and thick

back on topic, I got some cheap ear plugs somewhere, when I got them in all I hear is bass although I've never took them to gigs or festivals, been meaning to get some better ones and wear them more often

[LazyNinja]

Ironically , when last gigging regularly, it was the drummer's Hi-hat and steel snare drum that affected me - not my own backline .   If at least one ear plug was not worn - it would cause tempory deafness and ringing in my right ear for hours to follow.

Same here but in my left ear. I always used to stand on the right side of the stage so my left ear was always ringing after playing. I've got one of those Alpine ones which were about £15. They're ok, but it's just not the same with them on. However, long term hearing is obviously a lot more important so in my next band I'll be sure to wear plugs all the time.

[MDV]

Yeah, if I remember them. I also have a decibelometer sitting on the desk infront of my main listenting position so I dont expose myself to anything too loud for too long.

how easy is it to go over 85dba at home? I mean it ain't sitting on a bus when I turn up the volume to drown out background noise but I do like to have a certain amount of volume so you got that sweet spot where the sound is nice and thick

back on topic, I got some cheap ear plugs somewhere, when I got them in all I hear is bass although I've never took them to gigs or festivals, been meaning to get some better ones and wear them more often

When you have 2 adam A7s firing right at your ears, very. Plus, I like to record guitar loud enough to gete some speaker excursion. That shatters 85db (or 80, rather, which is the actual cutoff for hearing damage, albeit over about 8 hours (or 4 depending what source you look at))

[HairyChris]

If you don't, you're an idiot.

I was an idiot for the 90s and have intrusive (8khz one ear, 8.5khz the other) tinnitus...

[AdamB]

I've got some custom moulded ones, and take them to every gig or club that i go to. They've got interchangable filters, but i've only got the -15dB ones (can get 25 and 9). The response is pretty even across the board, so everything just seems quieter, rather than muffled. You can also have a conversation with the person next to you, and actually hear them!

They cost about £100, but they are well worth it- comfortable, work well, and save my hearing, which is something very important.

Yes, i also have these with the -15db filter, they're amazing! I wear them at practice always, but never live. But i do wear them to most gigs. My girlfriend is an audiologist though, so she makes sure i look after my ears :D