Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.percussion Subject: Re: Ear Plugs Date: 15 Aug 1996 06:30:30 GMT I use the roll-up foam earplugs whenever I go out to hear music and sometimes when I play IF I don't have my monitor rig with me. I have some rather significant hearing damage and have invested alot of cash in stopping it in it's tracks! I have my own in-ear monitor mix that I control on stage. It works great for me on my regular gig because I can get a mix like I like AND hear everything at a low volume level. Granted, doing it this way is very expensive ( my personal rig consists of a 16 channel mixer, digital effects, noise gates, dedicated equalization, and in-ear monitors ). But I've found its VERY MUCH worth the investment in gear to be able to hear what I want when I want it and know that I'm not killing my ears when I play! As far as plugs go, 6 db isn't much attenuation at all. When I do pick-up gigs or go hear live music, I pull out the old foam jobs. They cut 29 db which is alot, but I've been using them for years and I'm personally used to the sound and kinda like it! Maybe I'm nuts, but my brain has learned to adjust and compensate for the muddy high end sound. I highly recommend you SERIOUSLY look into your options though, because once you damage your ears, they are damaged FOREVER!!!!! Good luck. Pat Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.percussion Subject: Re: Ear Plugs Date: 15 Aug 1996 18:37:41 GMT I just brought some cheap "hearos" brand plugs with an NRR of 26 decibals and they work just fine. They only cost about $6 and are reusable. You might want to try them. Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.percussion Subject: Re: Ear Plugs Date: 15 Aug 1996 01:14:10 GMT > >Heya, fellow ultra-important band backbones! > >Came to the realization this last month that father Time must indeed be >catching up with me. Have always played very loud music, but it never really >started bothering me until recently; now, even after a simple 2 hour >rehearsal, I find myself all too often saying "Huh?", "What?", "Hmmm?", and >"Sorry, what was that?" for 2-3 days afterward. Whether it's from the >guitarist's Marshall amp directed at my head, the sharp crash of my cymbals, >the crack of my Yamaha Steel snare, or all of the above, after 10 years of >playing clubs, it's time to start protecting myself. I don't believe any >permanent damage has been done, but who knows? > >Anyhow, I bought some earplugs today, finally. Have to check them out and see >how they work; NORTH Sonic II Sound Filters, NR of 6.0 decibels. Think >that'll do? What types do you other drummers wear / prefer? Mike: You should see an audiologist and have your hearing tested. If you've been playing drums with your ears unprotected for 10 years, it's very likely that you have damaged your hearing to some degree. (And the 6dB SPL reduction offered by the Sonic IIs isn't nearly enough protection to avoid future damage). There are earplugs available that attenuate the sound levels entering the ear from between 15dB and 30dB, but leave the tonal quality of the sound virtually unchanged. They're not cheap (around $150-200/pair) and they have to be custom-made by an audiologist to fit your ear canals, but consider this: once your hearing mechanism is damaged by exposure to excessive sound levels, IT CANNOT EVER BE REPAIRED. EVER. In the face of permanent hearing loss, $150-200 seems a paltry sum indeed. (And yes, I use hearing protection when I play. Have been for over 20 years). Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.percussion Subject: Re: Ear Plugs Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 14:24:48 -0700 > Anyhow, I bought some earplugs today, finally. Have to check them out and see > how they work; NORTH Sonic II Sound Filters, NR of 6.0 decibels. Think > that'll do? What types do you other drummers wear / prefer? I've got what may be the same ones, but I don't know about the dB rating. I've had them for years. They aren't bad, but they still overcompensate on the high end. There are also *really* good earplugs that you can have actually fitted to your ear. They are made by Westone, I think, and you have to go to an audiologist to get them. The advantage to these is that they have what is called a 'flat' response, which means that they reduce all frequencies equally, and don't cut the high end disproportionately, which the typical foam plugs, and the Norths do. What I don't like about the Norths is that they become uncomfortable after a period of time, maybe 90 minutes or so. Later, COZ Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.percussion Subject: Re: Ear Plugs Date: 16 Aug 1996 05:03:32 GMT >: There are earplugs available that attenuate the sound levels >: entering the ear from between 15dB and 30dB, you're talking about the er-15 and er-25. last time i checked, westone doesn't make one with a 30 db rating. peace, NiCk Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.percussion Subject: Re: Ear Plugs Date: 16 Aug 1996 02:59:59 -0400 >I don't believe any >permanent damage has been done, but who knows? I believe damage is done if you are saying "What?" I use rolled up tissue (I carry this unbleached kind for gigs and when I'm out listening). The foam jobbies cut too much. The tissue cuts mostly the painful highs from guitars and cymbals, and is comfortable to wear. I figure if a lot of people in the room have naked ears, then it must not be that incredibly loud, and cutting by about 10 dB should be fine. Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.percussion Subject: Re: Ear Plugs Date: 16 Aug 1996 14:39:53 GMT I have a set of UE-2 ear monitors from Westone; they're pro-level in ear monitors. I've coupled that with a Nady PE monitor (wireless) system, all for a total of about 550 bucks. It's a little expensive; but when you consider that you'd have to buy a wedge and amp, then possibly an eq, and other things to run a regular monitor, it's actually a cheaper alternative. The quality of sound is absolutely unbelievable; and I no longer go home with my ears ringing anymore. I strongly recommend checking them out. I think that Westone's URL is http://www.westone.com, if not, do a search for them. -Hope this helps- Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.percussion Subject: Re: Ear Plugs Date: 16 Aug 1996 18:38:41 -0400 Mike- Try those cheap sponge type by E.A.R. rated at 28 -30 decibals- you hear everything but nothing hurts. I've tried the Sonics - they look great in the package, and I'm sure you impressed the hell out of your earwax when you inserted them, but if they don't stop the bell-ringing at the end of the day , go for a rating of 28+. Sam K. Brooklyn,NY Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.percussion Subject: Re: Ear Plugs Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 23:54:48 -0400 What I personally have always done for rehearsals (when you don;t care about looking goofy) is take either 3 or 4 Q-tips (depending on what decibel range you want eliminated and how big your inner ear is), bunch them up into a triangle formation, break them in half and slide each half in an ear. It works out great, and always has. I found that the music sounds better (If rock, worse if jazzy) and that my hearing over the past 9 yrs I've been playing gigs has remained in good shape. You should try it out. I go through only about a box of Qtips every couple months for a couple bucks (much better than the $2-300 plugs mentioned earlier). -Hustler Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.percussion Subject: Re: Ear Plugs Date: Sat, 17 Aug 1996 09:03:17 -0600 Not only is this follish to stick things in your ear, the informaion above is also very misleading. Please do not "estimate" the cost of an item if you don't know first hand how much it really is. You may deter someone from actually investing in ear protection. I just bought SR-15's or ER-15's, whatever, the operative number is fifteen. These are available in 10, 15, and 25 decibel attenuation models. These ear plugs can also be tuned to eliminate certain frequency bands more than others (as I understood my audiologist). They were $120, were not covered by insurance, and were available with or without a shoelace-like "strap" connecting them together. I opted for the strap, decided it was dorky, and simply pulled it out. They were fitted by a foam mold, which felt wonderfully wacky, and took about two weeks for delivery from Columbus OH (as I recall). This price was obtained in the Cincinnati market and I guess prices can vary. Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.percussion Subject: Re: Ear Plugs Date: 19 Aug 1996 00:26:05 GMT >Based on what I've learned in the EV PA Bible, 6 to 10 dB of attenuation >should be enough to protect ones hearing while playing/listening. Point >agreed MidiNE1... Actually, the dB scale represents changes as ratio, not as arithmetic differences, and the sensitivity of our hearing increases as SPL increases. To our ears, the 10dB difference between 40 and 50dB SPL (sound pressure level) is minimal, but the 10dB difference between 120 and 130dB SPL is enormous. There are widely accepted standards that correlate exposure to sound and hearing loss. The 2 things that matter are: 1) how loud is the sound, and 2) how long is the exposure. I don't have the information at my fingertips (I believe that OSHA publishes a chart of acceptable SPL/exposure time values), but needless to say, the louder the sound the less time one can be exposed to it before some hearing damage occurs. Relating this to hearing damage prevention, it is clear that in the case of high SPL (such as many rock bands deliver), a 10dB reduction may not be sufficient to prevent damage, especially considering the long length of time that the musicians are exposed to the sound. Radio Shack makes an inexpensive SPL meter (cat. #33-2050, about $35 US) that can prove MOST useful to musicians wanting to measure the sound levels they are exposed to. Those of you who do so may be shocked at how loud things really are. An example of a non-musical situation of high noise that I was exposed to for an extended period of time: I was on a flight from Miami to LA, seated 1 or 2 rows behind the wing (window seat) of a Boeing 767, which has its engines mounted under the wings. Before take-off the pilot informed us that we'd be facing some strong head winds during our flight. Once at cruising altitude, I noticed that it was much louder than usual, due to the pilot's having to leave the engines running at or near their take-off RPM for the entire flight in order to maintain speed against the head winds. I took-out my trusty 33-2050, and to my surprise measured a constant 88dB SPL at my seat. When I got off the plane after 6 hours my body felt more physically exhausted than I do when I take a 12-hour flight to Japan, so it had to be from the sound levels. I'm pretty sure that 6 hours exposure to 88dB of noise is a no-no according to OSHA. Bottom line: contact an audiologist to get the straight scoop for your individual situation. Better to have too much protection than not enough.