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Underground > Radio & Music >

Earplugs?

18:12 / 12.07.04

I went to a gig last Wednesday and since then I haven't been able to hear probably. My left ear is completely blocked, there's an annoying ringing sound and it’s quite painful as well. I'm going to see a doctor tomorrow and I’m sure this isn’t permanent but I have been quite panicky the last few days.
I didn’t go out last weekend and didn’t even listen to my walkman today even though it takes me half an hour to get to college (that’s me walking around for an hour without listing to music – which means that there must be something seriously wrong with me).

Even if it all works out fine I might still decide to be a bit more careful in the future. I don’t want to go through all this again.

So – earplugs anyone? Have you ever worn them at a gig or a club? Were you still able to have conversations with people? Or did they pretend they didn’t know you…

Porn Star Justice

18:16 / 12.07.04

Earplugs are a must. After seeing Dick Dale for the first time, I was ILL the next two days from my ears ringing. Been wearing them ever since, except at my own gigs. My doctor was shocked on how good my hearing is at my age (37) and when I told him I saw live bands every weekend he was stunned. I highly recommend them.

Knowing what I know now, however, I also highly recommend the rock'n'roll suicide, as well.

21:38 / 12.07.04

I've never used earplugs, just because well.. I know it's sensible, but fuck off y'know, I'm there to drown in the sound, not to be scared of it and try to get rid of it! I can't honestly understand how wearing earplugs could NOT ruin your enjoyment of the music.

Although: I don't know whether it's just the type of gigs I'm going to that's changed, or whether I'm just getting old, but gigs seem to be a lot louder than they used to be.. I know that a few years ago if a band played so loud that they hurt yr. ears, everyone would be like "Whoa, they were LOUD!" - it would be sort of a gimmick. But now it's sort of accepted as normal: every noisy band I've seen in the past year has played at that volume. Or is it just me?

But anyway, I'm still clinging to the information (official in the sense that "someone told me once") that permanent ear damage happens as a result of frequency of exposure rather than volume; so if you go to see a REALLY LOUD band once a fortnight and spend the rest of the time letting your ears recover, it'll all be OK, but if you do it every night you might have problems.

Please don't tell me that's a load of crap.

22:34 / 12.07.04

its the high end frequencies that do the damage, as i found out by having a fucking loud ride and crash cymbal to my immediate left onstage for a few years. guess i could have changed sides, but i am definitely more deaf in my left ear, and im only 22. still, doesnt feel very rocknroll though does it?

Red Cross Iodized Salt

22:36 / 12.07.04

Sorry Riz, but even the occasional show can cause permanent damage. Amplified music is often in the 120dB range, and damage can occur after as little as a minute of this. There was a study a couple of years back that showed that something like 45% of people who go to one or more concerts a month and 65% of regular club goers exhibit a degree of sound related hearing loss.

You get used to earplugs after a while, and if you use good ones they'll still allow you to hear the full range of sounds being played.

00:58 / 13.07.04

Yeah, Riz (and everyone else), that's crap. Tinnitus happens when the little cilia inside your ear get flattened or broken due to loud noise. It's the amplitude as much as it is the duration. Good earplugs don't interfere with the sound of a band, and can actually make it sound much, much better. You can still feel that weird chest-vibrating thing from the waves of sound, but you can also, like, hear what the words are. There are debates among sound guys about which plugs are the best, but they all agree that some kind of protection is essential.
Generally speaking, get a brand that is made of a foam that expands in your ear canal. I use one called "Hushers" but there are others. If you want to talk to someone at a show, well, they're gonna have to talk louder than the music anyway, right? Or, you can wait till the set's over, take out the plugs, and wonder why all the un-plugged people are screaming at each other.

10:29 / 13.07.04

I'm sure if we lived in a rational world, something nice could be arranged wherein bands play quieter and nobody needs to wear earplugs..

Real men play on 7 and a half!

As an aside, I thought the sound mix at All Tomorrow's Parties a few months ago was exemplary - it was loud and clear enough to be heard well anywhere in the room, yet never loud enough to inflict pain..

wembley can change in 28 days

11:29 / 13.07.04

Well, it takes a good soundie to remember to keep the volume at a level consistent with the UN charter of human rights and freedoms. Your ears seem to get accustomed after prolonged exposure to noise (unless it's painfully loud) and what was head-shattering before is only mildly noisy in half an hour.

I've been to gigs where pieces of the ceiling start falling because of the volume. I don't know how folks survive them without earplugs! And if you really want to, you can drop a hundred bucks on a pair that are designed for you and will filter out the more harmful levels whilst leaving the sound more or less intact - a musician friend of mine even wears his in Helsinki bars once they get full (and I don't blame him; it's so fucking loud in there sometimes you can't be heard even when you're shouting at someone across the table from you).

I played piccolo for years when I was younger; my right ear is very sensitive to high-pitched loud noises now and I think I'll be deaf in that ear first for sure.

14:36 / 13.07.04

I don't know if this is cognitive dissonance reduction on my part (by no means unlikely) but often when I've worn earplugs I've felt like I've heard the whole thing better because my ears aren't hurting. Although it's worth being careful when you're buying them, as some of them show up under UV light...

16:32 / 13.07.04

I got the all clear from the doctor today. It's nothing permanent (just a built-up of wax - yummy). I'm not going deaf and I can go out as much as I like.

There aren't that many gigs coming up at the moment so I'm going to have a bit of break now anyway. And I usually stay away from the speakers at clubs.

I do love the idea of UV earplugs though.

18:26 / 13.07.04

imaginary mice: sadly, wax buildup is one of the unwanted side-effects of the frequent use of headphones and earplugs. Something I learned the hard way by spending years working in call centres, and the doctors told me I'd have to grin and bear it as long as I worked there.

I usually use those foam expanding ones, only I cut them in half so the cylinder is shorter. That cuts out the nasty high end and reduces volume, but also leaves the sound quality intact and is cheaper in the long run.

Well, I say I do that, but I haven't in years. I guess I see eye-to-eye with Riz on this front. If it's not painfully loud, it's not rock and roll. Might start again now I'm in the band, though.

11:45 / 14.07.04

You can get special earplugs (probably have to speak to your doctor) that are designed for musos and filter out the bad frequencies without inhibiting sound quality - they may be pricey, but having talked to people who wear them at gigs, they seem to be fantastic.

11:53 / 14.07.04

earprotectors

here's some more info. L x

14:07 / 15.07.04

Hearing loss later in life is not the only gamble you're taking. I have tinnitus from playing in loud bands. For those who dont know what it is, it's that ringing you experience after a loud night out, only it never goes away. I'm 34 and can look forward to hearing this noise 24/7 for the rest of my life. If I'm very careful, it might not get much louder. But every year it seems to get a bit worse. You can go to an audiologist and have custom fitted earplugs made that cut out all frequencies equally, and simply "turns the volume down". They're awesome, and if I knew 10 years ago what I know now, I would've acted very differently in terms of hearing protection. You dont get a warning, and you dont get a second chance. I know a few musicians who tell me they wish they'd listened to me when I warned them years ago. Please dont be cavalier about this. IT FUCKING SUCKS.

21:23 / 23.07.04

hey you ever notice like after shows when you talk to the musicians you get kind of like a invasion of personal space? I mean at first it was kind of weird ya know? like your most favorite musician but like this close to your face, but you get used to it. sort of.