Ear Plugs

[Tortuba]

I realize that this is an old thread, but I thought I'd give it a new life.
I'm a weekend warrior, pushing 65 years, playing in a couple of community concert bands. As a result of hearing loss and tinnitus, I've started to wear custom ear plugs while playing with the bands.
While talking to some older member of the bands, I've found that many have hearing loss and also suffer from tinnitus. On the other hand, younger members do not seem to be very aware or concerned about the possibility of hearing loss caused by big, noisy concert bands.
This has made me wonder if any community bands discuss hearing protection with their members or if they provide their members with foam ear plugs (free or low cost) as basic hearing protection.
I'd be interested in your experiences.
In the meantime...
Play Safe!
Wear Protection!

Keith, Toronto.

[ronr]

I have a set made by Micro Sonic. Custom fitted by an audiologist. Great plugs; they do wonders when listening to my kid's marching band. My hearing aids work pretty well too, although they're a pretty expensive alternative at $6K/set. Maybe if I'd used the plugs earlier in life...

[UDELBR]

Here's the thing about fitted earplugs though: tuba players move their jaws when they play, and this changes the shape of the auditory canal. Fitted plugs aren't flexible enough to match this change of shape in the ear canal, rendering them far less effective than when they were fitted.

[Donn]

Just do like Gene does, and create a new row for yourself (as in a band).

I'm sure going to have to do something of this nature, if my tuba is going to be of the bell front configuration. I need to hear better, not hear less. The bass drum wasn't right smack next to me, but more distance would help, and I suppose it would help if the head of the drum wasn't pointing right at me.

There have been times when I really needed earplugs, though. Like a tight seating arrangement a couple months back where my right ear ended up right beside the snare drum at about one foot distance. I have found it really hard to get normal foam plugs in my ear canals, but the left ear is the really impossible one, so in this case I could have made it work if I'd had one. I use plugs for long motorcycle trips, favorite brand is Hear-Os blue, but with as much pinching and rolling as I want, assistance from others, etc., the left one usually ends up resting against the ear canal at best.

[Bob Kolada]

I just use cheap range plugs, work fine for me. I was fitted for some custom plugs in the Army and still have them but I could never actually get them in.

[NCSUSousa]

Stem colors and tip colors are just decorative. The only thing to worry about is size.
They have 2 sizes available on the inexpensive plugs they sell thru amazon - 'standard' and 'large'.
I've also seen a modular plug from ETY that has a 3rd fit option using a foam surround instead of rubber, but I haven't checked that out enough to know if it's smaller than 'standard' or larger than 'large'. I have tried them enough to know the 'standard' is a tight fit for me.

in looking at the ETY•Plugs® High Fidelity Earplugs in amazon, i'm wondering what the different color stems mean? i guess i'm overlooking it on their website.

[Leland]

Here's the thing about fitted earplugs though: tuba players move their jaws when they play, and this changes the shape of the auditory canal. Fitted plugs aren't flexible enough to match this change of shape in the ear canal, rendering them far less effective than when they were fitted.

This is what I didn't like about the Westone earplugs we got in the Marines. We also were allotted a new set every three years because of possible changes in the ear canal's shape.

I've used Westone, Etymotics, foam, flanged solid rubber, and a brand called Earasers. My two favorites are Etymotics and Earasers, with a nod towards Earasers. They don't blot out the "s" sounds like foam or rubber, and they stay in place better than custom earplugs. I can't always hear what's coming out of my bell, but what I want to hear can get masked by other sounds anyway (and besides, if I overdo it, it's already too late; hopefully I've already spent enough time on my own learning how much effort is too much for the horn). But, I can hear my own pitch and articulations a lot better.

Earasers sells two strengths, and the ones with the red filter are stronger. If you're in an ensemble with a full marching percussion battery like I was, you'll need the red filters.

[UDELBR]

This is what I didn't like about the Westone earplugs we got in the Marines. We also were allotted a new set every three years because of possible changes in the ear canal's shape.

Almost all players drop their jaws when playing low or loud, and by necessity this instantly changes the shape of the ear canal. There's just no way a fitted plug can match this constantly-changing shape.

Ear plugs are lame: they DO roll off upper frequencies, despite what the companies claim. This limits our ability to keep both musical and personal contact during rehearsals and performances, as well as drastically changing the way we experience our own sounds. Then there's the occlusion effect: when our ears are plugged, we suddenly hear our bodies' sounds much more loudly: tonguing sounds, breathing, swallowing, etc. It's pretty disconcerting.

The only good thing about ear plugs is that they'll keep you from going deaf.

[UDELBR]

they DO roll off upper frequencies, despite what the companies claim

Yes, they do. However top 'C' of a 2' stop on an organ produces a fundamental pitch in excess of 8,000hz. The ear plugs I wear in no way impact hearing clearly up to that pitch.

Yeah, they do. They drastically effect perception of timbre, but I get the impression you're mainly concerned with intonation. Illustration re: timbre:



This, from here, examining popular musicians' ear plugs.

[UDELBR]

Yeah, they do. They drastically effect perception of timbre, but I get the impression you're mainly concerned with intonation.

Yup. Everything sounds muffled in earplugs, that is their point. So long as you can wear them to protect yourself and hear well enough to play in tune, that's the point, yes?

Noooo. Ideally, they would diminish all frequencies equally; the same as turning down the volume on a stereo. The point is not to "muffle", but to make all frequencies softer.

[UDELBR]

but high frequencies are more damaging than low.

Nope. All acoustic energy is equal. In fact, low frequencies travel through mass easier, so it's easier for them to cause damage. Not trying to be argumentative; just trying to make sure that misconceptions don't lead to noise-induced hearing loss.