Members Walters9515 Posted February 3, 2012 Members Share Posted February 3, 2012 What does the pro use for ear plugs? to play live gigs? When I play live gigs, my ears ring for weeks I use HEAROS 32NRR ear plugs and other kinds from guitar center and they still make my ears ring What type of ear plug brands are the best for live gigs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ryan. Posted February 3, 2012 Members Share Posted February 3, 2012 Pros control their stage volume, use IEMs, and protect their ears no matter where they are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members big69 Posted February 3, 2012 Members Share Posted February 3, 2012 Go to an audiologist and get them to make you a pair of musician's earplugs. They're pricey, but apparantly well worth it. Myself, I use Surefire Sonic Defenders and they work like a hot damn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Walters9515 Posted February 3, 2012 Author Members Share Posted February 3, 2012 I went to the audiologist and plaid $150 dollars but it only filters out 25db and My ears still ring for weeks after playing a live gig I guess i need stronger ear plugs that fit tight and solid plus more than 32db Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ryan. Posted February 3, 2012 Members Share Posted February 3, 2012 Bro you probably have tinnitus. Join the club! Ringing for the rest of your life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 WALTERS! How have you been? I agree with the suggestion to go see an audiologist. They will take impressions of your ears that they can use as a mold for making custom-fit plugs. You can get various types of inserts for the custom plugs, with different levels of sound attenuation. If you're using Hearos 32NRR plugs and your ears are still ringing, you're either not inserting them correctly, or you're playing REALLY loud or your ears are exceptionally sensitive. Either way, it's time to call in a pro - so go see the audiologist. I'd go all-in and get good plugs made with built-in speakers so you can use them as in-ear monitors too, which should also help in terms of "how loud" things are. You only get one set of ears, and hearing loss is irreversible, so it's crucial that we as musicians take good care of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members big69 Posted February 3, 2012 Members Share Posted February 3, 2012 Yeah that's probably tinnitus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LSDis4me Posted February 3, 2012 Members Share Posted February 3, 2012 WHAT??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SweetOblivion Posted February 3, 2012 Members Share Posted February 3, 2012 I like the etymotic plugs. They seem to do a good job at lowering volume while still retaining a pretty clear sound. I already had tinnitus when I got them so i can't comment on how well they work at prevention though. I'm just using them for damage control Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Walters9515 Posted February 3, 2012 Author Members Share Posted February 3, 2012 Hi Phil how u been? Do they make ear monitors with built in ear plugs also? I went to the audiologist and plaid $150 dollars but it only filters out 25db and My ears still ring for weeks after playing a live gig My ears are exceptionally sensitive or I have tinnitus The Ringing goes away for 2 weeks but once I play a gig or go to a club even if i am in there for 1 min and go outside my ears will ring for weeks I don't know much about ear monitors, because most gigs I play at don't mic up the amplifiers cause they are small stage gigs. I would think ear monitors would be bad too because the whole mix is going direct into your ears without having ear plug built in, it would give my ears tinnitus or ringing after a gig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Walters9515 Posted February 3, 2012 Author Members Share Posted February 3, 2012 Why I would think ear monitors would be bad is because if the microphone start to Feedback it would go direct into your ears cause your ears to ring. The type of tinnitus ( ringing in my ears ) is my ears don't ring before the gig, Its after a certain db or loudness even if its for 1min it will trigger ringing in my ears So I have been worried about ear monitors because of microphone feedback going direct into my ears will trigger ringing in my ears even if the feedback happens very short The gigs i play at there is feedback and squeals that happen because of the bad PA mixers at the clubs , so i don't want to use ear monitors because i am worried about that going straight into my ears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 Why I would think ear monitors would be bad is because if the microphone start to Feedback it would go direct into your ears cause your ears to ring. I would NEVER use an in-ear monitoring system that didn't have some serious limiting (from a compressor / limiter) inline to protect my ears from this very sort of thing, and neither should you. The type of tinnitus ( ringing in my ears ) is my ears don't ring before the gig, Its after a certain db or loudness even if its for 1min it will trigger ringing in my ears So I have been worried about ear monitors because of microphone feedback going direct into my ears will trigger ringing in my ears even if the feedback happens very short The gigs i play at there is feedback and squeals that happen because of the bad PA mixers at the clubs , so i don't want to use ear monitors because i am worried about that going straight into my ears. I understand - again, by putting a good limiter on the aux send that feeds the in-ear monitor system, you can prevent it from going above whatever threshold (maximum volume level) you want to set it at. The limiter will keep it from going any louder, no matter how loud the signal going into the limiter gets. This is crucial with in-ear monitoring systems in order to protect your hearing. If a 25dB set of plugs isn't enough to keep your ears from ringing, I can't really offer you any other suggestions... maybe wear a muff-style pair of hearing protectors over the top of your earplugs. That's what I do when I go target shooting... I wear plugs AND muffs; each of which is rated for over 25dB of attenuation. If 40-50 dB of reduction doesn't provide enough protection, I don't know what to suggest... sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SpectralJulian Posted February 4, 2012 Members Share Posted February 4, 2012 Try to get in touch with Roger Miller from Mission of Burma. He's pretty easy to get ahold of, I think this is his official myspace http://www.myspace.com/rogercmiller Mission of Burma broke up in the 80s because of his tinnitis problems, and when they got back together he had firing range ear protection as seen in this pic: Also notice he has a shield between him & the drums, better seen here (I think he just uses earplugs for smaller shows, or the drum shielding is enough but the headphones are overkill now): If your 32 DB reduction earplugs aren't protecting you, it's either that you're wearing them wrong (the need to go into the ear canal for that much attenuation) OR it could be that there's more to the problem than just sound entering through your ear canal. It's not like your ear canals are the only place that sound reaches your ears through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members V Posted February 4, 2012 Members Share Posted February 4, 2012 I know this seems like a dick thing to say but, really, you should turn it down. If you're having that much of an issue, so is the audience, most likely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pepperduck Posted February 4, 2012 Members Share Posted February 4, 2012 I know this seems like a dick thing to say but, really, you should turn it down. If you're having that much of an issue, so is the audience, most likely. My thoughts exactly. Its funny how many bands come through my place (200 Capacity BTW) with marshall half stacks and want to crank their stuff. They never realize that they sound like {censored} because NONE of them can hear whats going on and the audience isn't enjoying themselves. We once had a bill with one band like the example above. After they played a bluesy type player came on with a Roland Cube 30. He blew them out of the water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members V Posted February 4, 2012 Members Share Posted February 4, 2012 Yeah, in my experience the actual sound of the show is best at a moderate level. Once you hit a certain level the space just fills up with a bunch of crashy harsh indistinct treble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members houseofglass21 Posted February 4, 2012 Members Share Posted February 4, 2012 I wear those hearo plugs sometimes when I lose my good filtered earplugs. If you still have ringing wearing Hearos you aren't putting them in far enough. My band is very loud and I never have ringing after practicing or playing a gig wearing hearos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scolfax Posted February 4, 2012 Members Share Posted February 4, 2012 To the original poster, if you can, please take my advice. I am speaking from personal experience and if someone had told me this when it counted I really hope that I would have listened. I'm not a doctor or anything. But I didn't pay attention when my ears did exactly what yours are doing now. In my opinion, you are very very close to having the ringing never stop. The last time I heard true silence was November 9th, 2009. If I knew then what I know now, I would have quit my band and taken 6-12 months off from playing guitar and going to shows. I have custom musician's plugs, and got them before the ringing was permanent, but by then it was too late. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dap99 Posted February 4, 2012 Members Share Posted February 4, 2012 Sorry to beat a deadhorse, but, yeah, if anyone is wearing NNR 22-32 and still have ringing in your ears, you're definitely doing it wrong. My old man works around machinery so he'll give me a big ass box of earplugs for xmas. I've never had problems w/ 22-25NNR before either practicing w/ loud bands or going to see loud bands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Walters9515 Posted February 4, 2012 Author Members Share Posted February 4, 2012 Where do u get these custom musician's plugs? What should I the filter on them be?Are they isolated also? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 Where do u get these custom musician's plugs? What should I the filter on them be?Are they isolated also? The filter should be whatever your audiologist recommends - I'd say the strongest one they have available from the way you're describing your situation. Look in the local Phone book, or do a google search for "nameofyourcity audiologist" and call and make an appointment with someone. http://www.etymotic.com/customfit/index.html http://averysound.com/as.noise_protection_earplugs.html http://www.elacin.nl/gb/en/page/354/elacin-music http://www.earinc.com/ http://www.sensaphonics.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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