Ear plugs (for gigs)

Couldn’t find a thread on this.

Anyone got any recommendations? Don’t want to spend too much but good quality ones that won’t fall out please…

I use these.

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Always wore these and they were a great balance of quality<>price.

https://www.elacin.com/universal-hearing-protection/elacin-er20/

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I still use ER20s.

There may be better options around now, but I still have a couple of sets to get through before I look at the market again.

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I have used ER20s for years, very good but I have also used these which also seem good;

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There was this but it wasn’t a very busy thread!

https://community.drownedinsound.com/t/earplug-recommendations/63884/20

I just ordered some Loop Experience off the back of it, should be arriving soon

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I had these for roadburn and they worked well

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I have a particular brand that I’ve been using for playing/attending gigs ever since I developed tinnitus (about 15 years ago). I’ll post them once I return back home and can give the name. Essentially, anyone attending/playing regular gigs should shell out a little more (mine have been £20 a pop) because anything too cheap and cheerful will a) not protect you that much and b) block out too many frequencies. Good ear plugs allow you to hear everything that’s going on, but just reduce the volume of it.

Also, quite weird that I just had a dream about losing my ear plugs (which is quite a common anxiety of mine since replacing them is pretty dear) and I wake up and find this thread! :astonished:

I’ve gone for these too as they’re the most aesthetically pleasing. Didn’t drink last night at a gig as I’ve got a big day at work ahead of me so wanted a good nights sleep.

Ended up lying in bed awake for hours anyway as my ears were ringing like never before. Can only see this becoming more common the older I get so hopefully these will help

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At risk of sounding overly dramatic, these have been life changing for me:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Protection-Musicians-Adjustable-Attenuation-Travelling/dp/B0979GYPSG/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=1FTC3N6Q60WAW&keywords=minuendo+lossless+earplugs&qid=1657869202&sprefix=minnuendo%2Caps%2C73&sr=8-3

Although much pricier than standard earplugs, I think they have been worth it. The difference they make is very noticeable the moment you put them in, and they have little sliders that let you adjust the amount of noise reduction. So if you’re at a gig which is loud-ish but not very loud, or you’re right at the back of a big venue, you can quickly and manually adjust them to let a little more sound in. Or you can be at the front and turn the noise reduction up full whack. At full tilt they do muffle the higher frequencies a little bit, but it’s worth the trade. It’s very rare that I get any ringing at all in my ears after a gig has finished, and the only recent exception has been Sunn O))) but it was far less bad than when I saw them with ER20-or-similar earplugs. And these ones are comfier too!

Maybe worth mentioning that if paying this much, it might make sense to have custom ones fitted with a shape tailor made to your ear canal. But I think those costs more like £200+ and are more of a faff to get hold of (plus I’m not sure how much they reduce harmful frequencies vs muffling all the sound). I have lost earplugs before and the thought of losing ones that expensive is a bit terrifying, though I might try that if/when these Minuendo ones reach the end of their life.

At x7 times more expensive than £20 earplugs are these ones x7 times better? Maybe not quite, but they have made a huge difference to how my ears feel and the ringing I get. In my early-mid 20s I worked a job that had very high noise levels without ear protection, and meanwhile I was going to gigs without earplugs, so my hearing is much worse than average for my age. Standard earplugs felt like they weren’t cutting it and I was getting quite anxious - thinking I’d have to start really thinking about going to less live music, but these have really put me at ease.

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I’ve managed not to do (too) much damage I think but definitely want to get in there ASAP. Think I slightly spoiled the Protomartyr show I was at a few months ago by having to use the crappy little foam ear plugs, but knew it would be too punishingly loud to go without anything

FYI the Loop ship from germany for some reason?? Gave no indication on the page but that’s what my tracking info says. At least that explains the longer expected postage time I guess - hope they get here for Modest Mouse next Wednesday though …

Thanks. Gonna see how I get on with a cheaper pair first but good to know how much these have helped you. One for the future maybe if things don’t improve

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My permanent tinnitus is an absolute pain and is never going away, and I could have probably avoided it if I’d started wearing better ear protection sooner. I don’t want to sound like an alarmist, but consistently wearing proper ear protection is basically the only way to avoid it if you play/attend loud gigs regularly.

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I bought the Loop pro’s, they are £30. Since getting back to gigs from lockdown my ears seem much more sensitive to noise (age related I’m sure!), and think I have mild tinnitus as a result. The Loops seem really good, went to see Richard Dawson last week and my ears didn’t ring (above normal) at all, and while you lose some quality not as much as I would have thought. Wish I had purchased much earlier tbh. They do take a couple of weeks to arrive.

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My earplugs have a string between them, so between bands I can just let them dangle on my chest and not have to worry about them

  • cool af
  • it’s fine
  • look at this dork

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I recently picked these up and am impressed on their first outing.

Saw some heavy metal nonsense at The Underworld and they really stood up. Super comfortable, low profile, and cut the noise well without completely stripping the sound.

Handy that you get 3x, as no doubt I’ll lose one at some point,

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yeah i bought some of these but lost one of the little filters for them. bought these in a guitar shop in Dublin before Low and they’re basically the same

https://www.musicmaker.ie/strings-accessories/hearing-protection?product_id=27834

Mogwai sounded a little bit muffled on these but everything else has been ok

wonder if the Eggz are better, didn’t really get a chance to use them much before losing the filter because i bought them right before covid

keyring design is good if its secure enough

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it’s handy except i take it off my keyring when i’m not going to a gig and then lose them

counterintuitive behaviour

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