Ear Plugs

[novastorm]

I started to wear ear plugs now when I do Sound /AV Engineering and I want to look after my hearing and I don't want tinnitus. Any one else do this or recommend any good ear plugs.

I know live sound will harm your ears in the long term even like it may seem OK now it will catch up with you so I want to prevent this.

[Domino]

Moulded plugs make a big difference, but I'd recommend filters for music work rather than ear plugs as such. A Decibel reduction without muffling is what you want to achieve.

 

proguard custom attenuating ear Plugs | Allearplugs.com

[mats]

I bought a big box of earplugs (100? 200? no idea) from a tool supplier years ago and use them for noisy diy jobs. They cost peanuts in bulk and are well worth it. Toolstation / screwfix are probably worth a look.

[TechMonkey]

If you do go for ear plugs you can get test packs to find ones you get on with. I was recommended to do this when I started motorbiking as obviously comfort is a big must.

Something like Trial Packs of Earplugs : Moldex, 3M, Howard Leight Earplugs then buy in bulk as suggested.

[Andrew_C]

But are useless if you are mixing sound.

 

Talk to an audiologist. They can do moulds for your ears, and a suitable level of reduction.

[novastorm]

But are useless if you are mixing sound.

 

 

why are they useless

[Arreks]

why are they useless

 

Because if you block out too much sound you won't actually be able to hear what you're doing, probably?

[Andrew_C]

They don't block evenly across the spectrum. Then you start turning up the bits YOU can't hear, and ripping the punters faces of with too much top.

[CamelMan]

Our drummer got some custom made - they were around £500 but he swears by them. He can head people talking fine but they can cut out the frequencies which hurt / lower the general volume or you can run a monitor cable to them directly. I can find out where he got them from if its of any help.

[Oaktech]

I've got a set of these - in luminous pink from these guys: Custom Ear Protection

[soveryapt]

Agree with the guys above really. You need filter plugs not the bog standard ear plugs if you're working with sound (i.e. you're doing the mixing). If you're (and I mean no offense by this) just a runner and not involved in the mix then you can get away with less advanced solutions and go for the ear defender type approach, but if you're needing to hear it clearly still, but just at a lower volume, then you need to be looking at decent filters.

 

I have a set at home that I use when I'm mixing FOH (or generally when I'm playing in the same room as our guitarist and he's decided to bring a new amp to try out .. GAH! though, I do have some nice IEMs now that helps reduce that so I can hear myself on the keys! lol) but even with the filtered version, I'm not entirely convinced they're good for the mix.

[eraser]

These are ok for budget filters: Alpine Musicsafe Pro Ear Plugs White | Allearplugs.com

[Andrew_C]

I use Alpines on my bike. A few years old now, and still doing a good job.

[novastorm]

These are ok for budget filters: Alpine Musicsafe Pro Ear Plugs White | Allearplugs.com

 

i might get some

[machin05]

These are ok for budget filters: Alpine Musicsafe Pro Ear Plugs White | Allearplugs.com

 

These are what I used to use when I was gigging a lot. Great for reducing overall volume without muffling the higher frequencies, which is what happens with your standard 'screwfix' earplugs.

 

They do a slimmer one if, like me, you have small ear-'oles.

[machin05]

I think it was these ones - http://www.djmmusic.com/p-2672-acs-er20s-smaller-fitting-musicians-ear-plugs.aspx Edited May 21, 2015 by machin05