Ears

[erogenousjones17]

Hey folks, got a question about earwear -- and I don't mean Kyler's wooden ear stretcher things. :icon_jokercolor:

I'm talking about hearing protection. For you see, though I rarely practice in a band setting anymore and almost never play out, I've noticed a drop in my hearing and what I suspect may be the beginnings of tinnitus in my left ear. I must have overly-sensitive ears or something, because we don't even play that loud; cripes, we didn't even have a drummer most of the time! But I digress.

So I'm looking to get something to protect my hearing when the band does get together. Once upon a time, we used to wear those orange earplugs they sell at the pharmacy for two bucks, but those just sort of muffle the sound, so I always ended up taking them out anyhow. Any suggestions?

 

[kboman]

It's been a while since I've needed earplugs, but I use these when necessary:

They maintain a pretty good frequency span (not much muffling) and are comfortable. I used them when I went clubbing as well, my ears were very grateful let me tell you.
One cannot really be careful enough with ear protection, it's like with your eyes - you only get one pair and they don't self repair.

 

[swarfrat]

Headphones appear to be the biggest culprit of all. Using something like the Buttkicker can go a long way to helping you be happy w reduced headphone volumes. In fact its a vastly better solution than simply cranking the headphones. It ought to be an OSHA requirement for people who use headphones professionally. I mean it, and I'm not one to sit around looking for ways the govt can protect us.

 

[Jusatele]

I work in construction. and in very noisy enclosed machinery rooms a lot.
I am extremely concerned for my ears, music is my life.
I wear headphone style ear protection at work, can not hear you talking to me I get such good protection,
Reason is, I did not wear protection when I was younger playing on stage, yes it damages your ears
so now I wear really good plugs when I play out, I allow just enough to come through to recognize where I need to be
http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/erme.aspx
can have them made to your spec

 

[llmtelecaster]

The ear plugs you can get at the pharmacy will work fine. Just experiment with how deep you fit them into your ear canal.

 

[dNA]

The ear plugs you can get at the pharmacy will work fine. Just experiment with how deep you fit them into your ear canal.

the shallower you put em in, the less they're blocking out. yes it will sound less muffled, but that's because it's attenuating less high frequencies - the ones that are the most quickly damaged and lost forever.

that being said, I think you quickly get used to how everything sounds with those in. they're the cheapest, simplest solution. And while you may be missing out on most of hte high frequency spectrum, for the most part you hear everything you could need for practice.



Believe me, even if you don't think you practice that loud, you need to be cautious. Most people don't realize just how easy it is to damage your hearing. Damage is not just based on volume alone, but the amount of time exposed to sound at a certain volume. Very high volumes needs a few minutes or less to cause permanent damage. Lower volumes that seem fine can start to cause harm after an hour of exposure without a long break.


whatever levels of noise you expose yourself too, you should take the dual action of protecting yourself with ear plugs or muffs AND making sure to regularly take a break from any extended exposure to high SPLs.

 

[elfro89]

Yeah the damage in cumulative. Any sound that is over 80 or 90 dB will start to cause damage, it will start with the loss of all your high frequencies and all that shite, but don't assume its because of loud noises, you may well just have an ear infection. Never self diagnose. See a doctor.

 

[erogenousjones17]

Don't worry: I'll be seeing a doctor soon, to make sure that it isn't just an ear infection or wax buildup or what have you. And I hate internet hypochondriacs, so I'm not about to become one. Funny story: my roommate in university was a biology student who would routinely use WebMD (and the extensive medical knowledge gleaned from undergraduate bio courses) to diagnose his friends and family with everything from pneumonia to psoriasis. It bugged the hell out of me.

Regardless of whether or not anything's wrong, I've got to start taking better care of my hearing. I've got a couple practices coming up, including one with a drummer whose band I might be joining, so I'll go out and buy some orange drop earplugs for now and look into something a little more expensive if it turns into a long-term thing.

 

[elfro89]

Another thing too man, also think about the volume of your practice, I've found that practicing at a volume you can actually speak over is more productive, mainly because you can hear everyone and immediately point out any mistakes/things that just don't work. At least then you also won't have to worry about going deaf.  :icon_biggrin:

 

[erogenousjones17]

That's a good point too. Of course, I use the term "practice" rather liberally; it's more of a jam in my case, since my "band" currently consists of three guys who get together about once a month to play the same eight or nine songs ad nauseam.  :laughing7: But in a more serious setting, I could see how turning down a bit would be productive.

 

[NLD09]

I had tons of ear infections as a kid, almost all of which were in my right ear. So now my left ear hears differently than the right. It really makes setting faders difficult when I'm mixing my music.

 

[Velcro]

What's that Johnny Cash song about how money doesn't make you happy?

 

[OzziePete]

Jonesey & others

As some of you may know, I wear hearing aids now, have had them since I was in my mid 40s. I have had damaged hearing my 20s, due to large percussive noises damaging my inner ear hairs and causing a mild tinnitus.

If you are noticing some change in your hearing then it is possible that some degradation has already occurred. Ringing in the ears, a dullness in the music etc. yep, your ears have copped a hammering they are injured from. Can they recover? Well I'd tend to say no but I am not an Ear Nose & Throat Specialist so I can't say that, but for your own sake, GET THEM CHECKED OUT. Go to your local Dr. first, get him to check the ears out from his own general view, then get a referral to a good ENT specialist and have a thorough audio-gram done.

While there with the ENT Dr., get some advice about what to wear for hearing protection they will have the best gear or know where to get it.

Hearing loss is a natural ageing process, but if you are younger and not hearing too good it can really be an impediment on your life if not assessed early and care managed.

 

[stubhead]

I'm glad to see (hear?) such adult responses. I have about a 30% lower hearing capacity for very high frequencies - >6K - in my left ear only, and I know it's because of playing bass in half a million bar bands. As a bassist, you're hanging around the back of the stage, and if it's a little dive, the drummer's ride and CRASH cymbals are right in your left ear - hmmmm. And most of the major rock stars who started early are going deaf, Jeff Beck and Pete Townsend among them. Al DiMeola, Paul Gilbert... They do blame headphones and the earlier incarnations of the home studio, everybody had a drum set and if you're playing drums, with open headphones turned up loud enough to hear the music over the drums, goodbye hearing. I have a set of the Extreme Isolation EX29's, and you can actually play softer than normal because they drown out the world so well. If you've got any music at all playing, you can't hear a phone ring, a doorbell.... But they're heavy, and hot.
http://www.extremeheadphones.com/

All the in-ear stuff has to be handled with extreme care, because a transient peak or "pop" can do a lot of damage. In that respect only, open headphones are safer because the pop has somewhere to bleed off, closed headphones are less safe and the in-ears are worst - - just make sure every possible knob is at zero after you've got them in, and turn it up slowly.

I tend to think hearing aids and ear doctors are going to be a growth business - you know when you're sitting at a stoplight, and another car pulls up, and their music is so loud it makes your car start to vibrate? And you look over, and their windows are CLOSED? And there's some junior sitting in the BACK seat, wincing and trying to act cool... And when you can hear someones else's music really well - and they've got headphones on... kids today are wired to their iPods and phones like never before. What?

 

[mayfly]

When I was in a loud rock band, I got custom molded earplugs with 15db attenuators.  They worked reasonably well.

These days we just lower the stage volume and play with a lot of dynamics (i.e. we play quiet a lot).  I've ditched the plugs.

Recently had a hearing test.  No tinnitus and the frequency response goes to 16kHz.  Not bad for a 47 year old set of ears.

 

[stubhead]

And in the category of REALLY Bad News:

Alcohol has the effect of loosening all the little connective tissues that hold the hearing bones in place, and extended amounts of loud noise while under the influence will lead to much faster hearing loss than among teetotalers - you know, all those sober people you see at Ozzfests. And drunkenness also raises the pain threshold for your hearing significantly, so you don't even notice yourself going deaf. It's like, a PLAN or something... <>insert shifty, paranoid emoticon here</>

 

[erogenousjones17]

When I was in a loud rock band, I got custom molded earplugs with 15db attenuators.  They worked reasonably well.

These days we just lower the stage volume and play with a lot of dynamics (i.e. we play quiet a lot).  I've ditched the plugs.

Recently had a hearing test.  No tinnitus and the frequency response goes to 16kHz.  Not bad for a 47 year old set of ears.

Showoff.  :icon_biggrin:

 

[Graffiti62]

I'm only 28, and I'll admit that my ears are far from great. The hearing in my left ear has been fading since about age 12 due to otosclerosis, which means the little bones in my ear that make things work are a little bigger than they should be, and this has caused some tone degregation. In addition to that, ear deformaties run on my mother's side of the family, and that has led to tone deafness. I realized that there was a problem with me when I was able to hear a radio in the background clear as a bell, but I couldn't hear a conversation going on right in front of me.

However, more of the recent problems are my fault. I admit that I didn't take care of my ears in college--too much loud music, sporting events (most notably the auto races I went to when I was a kid) and parties have done their damage. There's now mild tinnitus in my left ear, which comes and goes in the form of a clicking sound. I also have slept with a fan running for a LOT of years. The problem with that is it prevents the healing process. The best way to explain this is when you get into your car first thing in the morning, and you are suprised at how loud the stereo is, even though you know you weren't blaring things like crazy on the drive home. Your ears bounce back on a very marginal scale, and sleeping with a box fan has hindered my body's chances of bouncing back every evening. I know I'm a candidate for hearing aids, and once I have decent health insurance again, I'm getting them.

I also admit that I have this little problem with my ears known as selective hearing as well. This happens to a lot of us married guys, when we hear really only what we want to hear.

 

[OzziePete]

Just a few things that I have discovered ....
Be prepared for some surprises if you get hearing aids.....many jobs now have health standards and if your hearing is not up to scratch (like you need hearing aids) you may lose your job - or made to do another one.

Hearing aids can be a pain in the ear.......both literally and figuratively. When you first get them (particularly if you get In the Ear types), it's like someone is sticking their finger in your ears all the time, but it is amazing how comfortable they feel after a  while. Then you show your inexperience by nearly stepping into a shower with them in or wash your face, when they get so comfortable that you forget you have them in. Water is a big killer of hearing aids, and they are expensive.

The guys who run around in 'doof doof' cars could be headed for trouble too. An audiologist speculated to me that if they are running bass heavy music through a loud system the end result might be hearing loss in the more essential frequencies that we need to hear people talking and a lot of basic sounds. Unlike those of us who's ears are traumatised by the cymbal crashhhhhhhhh which ruins the higher frequency responses to the ear: we still hear the main sound, just can't get good clarity.

From someone who has bad hearing & is regretting it happening, please look after your ears.  ccasion14:

 

[AutoBat]

Heavy bass music actually isn't that bad for you. High frequencies cause damage easily whilst you can run the same volume on a "doof doof" system and be fine.  The wavelengths get dampened in your skull.
Buuuut. Bass intensive music usually has high tones too, so most of that^^ goes out the window.