I use foam ones. Only had two gigs since where my ears have rung a bit afterwards (Motorhead, Loop) as compared to every single gig, where they rung a lot worse.
I feel I left it a little too late as my hearing is pretty crappy compared to everyone else.
I’ve been wearing them for every gig, indoors and out, and every rehearsal for the last 28 years.
Use cheap rubber 3M type and have never found that I’m missing out on sound quality.
I don’t have any trace of tinnitus although I’ve got pressure in my eustachian tubes that can dull sound quality - but that’s congenital and unrelated to noise damage.
Use doc proplugs for rehearsal and some gigs as they still allow a bit of clarity of sound - don’t often / ever struggle with ringing after, but a lot better for sound than the foam ones.
I will sometimes play live with nothing so I can hear myself sing better and get tone better though - depends on venue/sound/monitors
@Owensmaterob had some real nice ones that I would love to look in to and he probably has some insight and opinions.
I’ve worn the ER20s at every gig for the past ten years, love them. I’m probably on my second or third pair. Before I got them I used the yellow foam ones for a while but I found they seemed to cut out various frequencies which for me spoiled the experience whereas the ER20s just seemed to keep the sound the same but turned the volume down.
I started using them as I realised I had permanent but minor tinnitus and did not want it to get worse. I have never suffered post gig ringing ears since using them, I find them pretty comfy as well eg. I’ve worn them all day at the Damnation festival with no issues.
As @elthamsmateowen says, I had some custom-made earplugs (lost 'em, desperately need to get a new pair).
They’re around £135 and worth every penny, but to directly answer your question: yes, something can be dangerously loud even if you’re wearing earplugs.
Earplugs reduce the noise by a set number of decibels. So if the danger threshold for noise is X decibels, and you’re at a gig where the volume is X + 20, wearing custom-made, audiologist approved earplugs that reduce the volume by 15 decibels, you’re still getting X+5.
Ultimately, I plan to have two pairs - one for attending gigs, and a more heavy-duty pair for playing music/practices, where the levels are higher just because of proximity.
Me too…Always on me but I only use them on about 40% of occasions…Leftfield was the last one I think as they have an MBV approach to decibels…using the Elacins it probably actually enhances my listening experience if anything…you can twist them in to the desired levels - so the sound can still be immersive but without approaching painful or fear of the consequences…haven’t had ringing in my ears for years now…
My bro sadly developped tinitus after a night’s clubbing years ago and that helped prompt a bit more care…
Can someone recommend where you get custom made ones at a decent price. I assume that you have to attend in person to get your canals measured? I tend to use the foam ones when I have to, just can’t get the ER20s to stay in comfortably (and tend to get tinnitus with them in anyway). In emergencies when something is louder than expected and not worth losing hearing for) I use a couple of sheets of wetted toilet roll (one for each ear), which is surprisingly effective.
I tried some cheap builders ones watching the Melvins recently, I sometimes carry them with me but just forget / don’t bother. This time I used them from the get-go as I was right at the front and their speakers looked gnarly. Sounded OK, a bit dull, then I took one out to readjust and holy FUCK it sounded so much better at full whack. I think I need some decent earplugs though as the ringing sensation for a day or so is not good news. But maybe something which takes it down a few notches and keeping sound quality, rather than being designed for people doing drilling all day.
This might be useless as you could have the reverse problem, but do you think they don’t fit properly because they are too small or too big? If it is the former, they do a smaller size one - I use them and they are great, I found standard size earplugs just popped out of my ears at the slightest facial movement. If you think they are too small though I am not sure there is a large size, though I have never had need to look to check.
That’s exactly what the Etymotic filters are advertised as doing. Just the equivalent of turning the volume down on your ipod. Do it
I have a few pairs of the ear peace earplugs that I bought at festivals. They were around £10 and I find that they are comfortable and still let me enjoy the gigs in comfort. I used to use the cheap foam ones but found them uncomfortable and not too effective. Would the special moulded plugs be just for actual musicians or are worth paying the premium for us fans?
I use ear peace ones and they’re the best earplugs I’ve used. So much better than ER-20s.
Did you get yours from Elacin and did you have to go to a weird little Harley Street doctor’s to get the mould’s done?
The place I went to had a one-person lift built into the side of the stair that looked about 100 years old and was probably worth the £150 I paid alone, TBH
I have a friend who’s an audiologist so she just brought the moulding kit to a party. Very interesting sensation, having your ears filled with foam when you’re half cut
Really want to get some of them done. You can use them on earphones as well I assume?
Our drummer had that sort yes, but I think when I got mine it either wasn’t an option or I was already spending too much at 150 so didn’t splash out on extra (was like 2001)
Man, now, more than ever I really understand how Natalie Imbruglia felt.
Just ordered some of these. I’ve used ER20s for years so I’m keen to contrast and compare.
What would you recommend between ER-20’s and the EarPeace ones? I want to get some but don’t know which to go for.
I would say they are both pretty similar in terms of sound levels, I have only worn the EarPeace ones to a couple of gigs, but they were black metal gigs! I have fitted the red filters that come with the EarPeace plugs, supposedly the stronger (?) of the two they come with. They seem to put the sound levels at a pretty similar level as the ER20s.
I can’t comment on how comfy they are for long periods of time but they seem softer than the ER20s so I can’t see that would be a problem, also they are more discrete. The ER20s tend to stick out of my ears a bit whereas the EarPeace plugs seem to fit pretty flush.
First impressions are pretty good. I think I’ll be sticking with the EarPeace ones for the time being.