Earplugs for Gigs

ChrisCox1994 · April 2017

the planet waves ones are a good all rounder for me, they take less DBs away overall and i use them for playing and watching gigs.

I had some greater attenuating ones before that were overkill and took me out of the vibe in the room, be it playing or listening/watching.

A lot of people I think write off plugs because they get ones that are too severe and it kills the connection to the sound or vibe/whatever but if they just take off the harmfull loudest frequencies then theyre fine to gig and go to gigs with.

UnclePsychosis · April 2017

Er-20s are great, I've been wearing them for years. The only time anyone has ever said anything negative about them was one time at a Mogwai gig, needless to say three days later when his ears were *still* ringing and mine were absolutely fine he wasn't feeling like such a smartarse.

If you are still going to gigs regularly and already have tinnitus I would strongly consider getting yourself some custom fit ones.

andyp · April 2017

It was Mogwai that started this problem for me too. After that I noticed the ringing took longer to go away and now I know there's a problem even though it's mild.

I don't go to many - 5 or so a year maybe and generally spaced out rather than all at once. I think the 3 or 4 I went to close together relatively soon after Mogwai were the straws that broke the camel's ear. It's still the only gig I've ever been to that had signs up warning it was loud, and they had earplugs available on request. I didn't realise quite how loud it was until afterwards.

If I get slagged I'll play the old card.

UnclePsychosis · April 2017

andyp said:

It was Mogwai that started this problem for me too. After that I noticed the ringing took longer to go away and now I know there's a problem even though it's mild.

I don't go to many - 5 or so a year maybe and generally spaced out rather than all at once. I think the 3 or 4 I went to close together relatively soon after Mogwai were the straws that broke the camel's ear. It's still the only gig I've ever been to that had signs up warning it was loud, and they had earplugs available on request. I didn't realise quite how loud it was until afterwards.

If I get slagged I'll play the old card.

Just play the "I'm not an idiot" card. There's nothing cool about being deaf.

VimFuego · April 2017

af anyone mocks you for wearing ear plugs, they ain't no kinda friend. And you are fully enittled to tell them that, then sell them to people smugglers to be used as donors in the human organ black market.

andyp · April 2017

UnclePsychosis said:

andyp said:

It was Mogwai that started this problem for me too. After that I noticed the ringing took longer to go away and now I know there's a problem even though it's mild.

I don't go to many - 5 or so a year maybe and generally spaced out rather than all at once. I think the 3 or 4 I went to close together relatively soon after Mogwai were the straws that broke the camel's ear. It's still the only gig I've ever been to that had signs up warning it was loud, and they had earplugs available on request. I didn't realise quite how loud it was until afterwards.

If I get slagged I'll play the old card.

Just play the "I'm not an idiot" card. There's nothing cool about being deaf.

You're 100% right, I was just kidding. I do wonder why some bands set up so bloody loud too.

Reverend · April 2017

http://www.superdrug.com/Superdrug/Superdrug-Earplugs-20-Pairs/p/649851

I use these. I tend to play loud enough for my amp to sound good, and with a drummer who is not holding back. Earplugs are essential.

andyp · April 2017

Mixed results from the gig on Friday... the earplugs definitely reduced the volume but it still sounded muffled to me. Not quite sure what to make of it. The gig wasn't loud for a gig, but the place was bouncing and it was quite a small room so the noise level in general was very high and it was really noticeable when I took them out. I think given that my left ear is still a bit woolly afterwards that I do need to wear plugs from now on, and it was a touch painful at the time without the plugs in. All this does is tell me that my left ear is a genuine problem now. Mrs. P was with me and didn't bat an eyelid at the noise, and she doesn't go to gigs often at all so it can't have been that bad, but I would've struggled without the plugs.

I did feel massively self-conscious wearing them despite them being very subtle, I know this is daft but it's the truth. Which leads me to these that I've just seen these advertised (and although I hate clicking online ad's, I did click it) and they look pretty good. It's obviously an issue other people have too as these are coloured to be as invisible as possible.

https://www.earpeace.co.uk/collections/high-fidelity-hearing-protection/products/ear-plugs

CarpeDiem · April 2017

I'd be doubtful that these earplugs would be better than your ER20's. If you're hearing is muffled in your left ear, I suspect the volume exceeded the ER20 threshold. My ACS Pro 17's are translucent, so still visible, but they work for me and at higher volume levels to my ER20's. Personally, I'd prefer not to suffer tinnitus and would laugh off any mickey taking. Also, consider how many band members wear ear protection, which in ear monitors also provide. As to your wife's hearing being ok after the gig, she may not have subjected her hearing to the same noise levels as you over the years.

Deijavoo · April 2017

Mogwai did that to my right ear in 2001 at Leeds Met.

Saying that, seen them about 12 or 13 times now so only got myself to blame.

ACS I got measured up for last year at the Guitar Show with 17 filters do me grand.

andyp · April 2017

Yeah, these were my thoughts too. I'm determined not to let this get any worse as it's pretty mild in the scheme of things. I'll stick with the plugs I've got but if it happens again I'll need to up the ante a bit and get some "better" ones.

Hoof · April 2017

It seems the best advice from reading this is simply don't go to Mogwai gigs!

I got myself a set of ACS custom moulds with 15dB filters in. They take the damaging edge off while still being loud and clear enough for the music to excite the senses. I've worn them to every rehearsal and most gigs for the past 7 years or so. I'm due a new set and will not heistate to invest the money again.

Jalapeno · April 2017

ER20s (or isolation earphones if using IEM). Mild Tinnitus in my right ear from drummer's crash cymbal - no more of that ! I always keep a few plectra in that little jeans pocket, added a pair of ER20s too for adhoc gigs we go to - always have a pair for gigs/festivals. I even use the ER20s for jazz gigs now we have a fairly robust drummer (though I'm generally nearer the ride cymbal

.

Also, I think it's a middle-aged man thing too that your midrange gets totally f*cked after about 45-50 - I can't hear a bloody thing in a noisy restaurant with the hordes "chatting". Not sure what to do about that other than protect hearing in general.

Lebarque · April 2017

If you push ER20's right in, the sound can be muffled, but at a really loud gig, you just have to endure this. More often than not, i pull mine out a bit and fiddle around with them until I've got a balance of sound quality and attenuation. It's different every time.

andyp · April 2017

Jalapeno said:

Also, I think it's a middle-aged man thing too that your midrange gets totally f*cked after about 45-50 - I can't hear a bloody thing in a noisy restaurant with the hordes "chatting". Not sure what to do about that other than protect hearing in general.

Aye, this is happening to me too... but I'm 37. It's not too bad, but it;s noticeably worse after the last 2-3 years.

Some good advice folks, thanks.

sgosden · May 2017

Hoof said:

It seems the best advice from reading this is simply don't go to Mogwai gigs!

No. That will never be the advice. Amazing live band.

I've had the planet waves version of the ER20's which worked well for standing in crowd, but not so much for on stage. muffled the sound a bit too much, and fell out when I moved about. No idea where they've gone now, presumed lost in action.
for the price i'll get a couple of sets of ER20s to give em a go

rockmonster · May 2017

I had become really noise sensitive to the point that gigs were painful -cymbal and snare would make me wince and I couldn't concentrate on what I was doing so I went down the ACS route and never regretted it. They are wired to start with but if you 'plug away' at them you get used to them. I suffer from low frequency tinnitus which is kinda weird - when it's really quiet (in bed early morning) it sounds like workmen are digging a hole in the road 2 streets away! (Jack-hammer going on and off!) I now physically can't do a gig or rehearsal without them! I would have had to stop gigging if it wasn't for my ACS plugs! I would recommend all gigging musicians get them now before any more damage is done. Expensive but what value can you put on avoiding going deaf I say! Highly recommended!

EricTheWeary · May 2017

I've been meaning to do something for years. Got some cheap Senner ones on an Amazon deal coming in the post. Really just for rehearsals, they are the thing that worries me most.
Re the middle aged/restaurant thing: I was on a training course last week and they do exercises were you have to discuss stuff on your table. I now find it so hard to listen to the people sat next to me with other chatter in the background, I was close to leaving. I said how difficult I found it to someone else there but they weren't having the same issue.

mudslide73 · May 2017

Rabea gets his ears done (maybe a freeby in return for this lovely video, who knows?). It's worth watching though to hear Jonno's story and to see the moulding process. It's scary what we've exposed ourselves to really.... Walkmans, discos, clubs and car stereos before you start thinking about the rehearsals and gigs.

As an aside when Jonno did my moulds at the Birmingham show the room was so loud I miss heard "3 to 5 minutes" as "35 minutes"!

sgosden · May 2017

mudslide73 said:

Rabea gets his ears done (maybe a freeby in return for this lovely video, who knows?). It's worth watching though to hear Jonno's story and to see the moulding process. It's scary what we've exposed ourselves to really.... Walkmans, discos, clubs and car stereos before you start thinking about the rehearsals and gigs.

As an aside when Jonno did my moulds at the Birmingham show the room was so loud I miss heard "3 to 5 minutes" as "35 minutes"!

I'm looking at getting some of these done.

which ones do you use @mudslide73 , how do you find them?

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