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Anybody Use Ear Plugs??


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mrhappy
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 01, 2019 10:53 am    Post subject: Anybody Use Ear Plugs?? Reply with quote

Hey kids... Since I've got back into trumpet my tinnitus has kicked into high gear so I'm finding I need to wear my plugs while practicing. It's kind of a drag and a bit difficult to get used to but I guess it beats going (more) deaf!

I've had to wear plugs on the majority of the gigs that I do since @ the last 20 yrs. so It's not like it's a big surprise or anything but I was trying to get away without.

So... How do others with 'sensative' ears deal with this sort of thing??
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Jon Arnold
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 01, 2019 10:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm in the same boat and I am going to buy a pair of these today.

https://eargasmearplugs.com/collections/eargasm-earplugs-product-line
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kehaulani
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 01, 2019 11:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I wore a plug in my left ear (closest to the drums), and that was it. Never in big band, certainly never in wind ensemble. I wear hearing aids but not on a gig. Tinnitus is something I live with and ignore.
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Turkle
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 01, 2019 1:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I wear them when I'm in the practice room playing really loud stuff. But 99% of my practicing is at a very low volume so it doesn't come up a lot.

I 100% wear them on stage if I'm playing with a loud band.
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cheiden
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 01, 2019 1:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The vast majority of my practice is at very modest volume, and where I practice is rarely very live acoustically. When I play with one particular rock band and get set up next to the drums I'll install one ear plug on the side of the drums. If it's a particularly loud night I'll install the other plug at least when I'm idle. I don't particularly enjoy playing with both installed but I can manage.

For now, I use Etymotic Research's over-the-counter EtyPlugs I got from the local music store. If I needed them more often I'd probably get one of their molded offerings.
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zaferis
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 01, 2019 4:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I carry them all the time. Maybe use them 10-20% of the time.. when things are really loud or sessions are long and the ears start to get tired.

Custom fit ones with replaceable baffles of various attenuation..
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Brassnose
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 01, 2019 11:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I use these. https://elacin.com/de/gehoerschutz/elacin-er/

They are always with me and I use them in most rehearsals and most concerts since I lost some hearing due to an infection. Will get the 9 dB filters, 15 dB is a little too much.
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mrhappy
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 02, 2019 12:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Brassnose wrote:
I use these. https://elacin.com/de/gehoerschutz/elacin-er/


Those look interesting! The ones I've been using are custom molds from Sensaphonic with the ER filters. I don't know if those filters wear out but even the 23db filters aren't enough these days. Maybe my molds are getting worn out.

Did my first session (as a trumpet player... Flugelhorn actually) and it was surprisingly enjoyable and got me to thinking about setting up a practice rig using a mic and pumping a mix of whatever through the phones. Seems a bit elaborate but I already have all the stuff I'd need so Ill probably give that a shot in the next few weeks and see what happens.

The other thing is... I'm kind of planning on 'augmenting' the horn section in a band that I play guitar in and I'd DEFINITELY have to wear plugs on THAT gig so I might as well get used to playing with them in I suppose.
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mrhappy
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 02, 2019 12:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

zaferis wrote:
I carry them all the time.


Yeah me too... I think I'd rather forget my axe than my plugs!!
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mrhappy
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 02, 2019 12:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Brassnose wrote:
I use these. https://elacin.com/de/gehoerschutz/elacin-er/


Those look interesting! The ones I've been using are custom molds from Sensaphonic with the ER filters. I don't know if those filters wear out but even the 23db filters aren't enough these days. Maybe my molds are getting worn out.

Did my first session (as a trumpet player... Flugelhorn actually) and it was surprisingly enjoyable and got me to thinking about setting up a practice rig using a mic and pumping a mix of whatever through the phones. Seems a bit elaborate but I already have all the stuff I'd need so Ill probably give that a shot in the next few weeks and see what happens.

The other thing is... I'm kind of planning on 'augmenting' the horn section in a band that I play guitar in and I'd DEFINITELY have to wear plugs on THAT gig so I might as well get used to playing with them in I suppose.
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Brassnose
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 02, 2019 12:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

They are really good and are molded to match your ear. I also find that with the plugs in I can much better hear my sound in my head - pretty good to adjust my intonation while playing.
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Seymor B Fudd
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 02, 2019 7:11 am    Post subject: Re: Anybody Use Ear Plugs?? Reply with quote

mrhappy wrote:
Hey kids... Since I've got back into trumpet my tinnitus has kicked into high gear so I'm finding I need to wear my plugs while practicing. It's kind of a drag and a bit difficult to get used to but I guess it beats going (more) deaf!

I've had to wear plugs on the majority of the gigs that I do since @ the last 20 yrs. so It's not like it's a big surprise or anything but I was trying to get away without.

So... How do others with 'sensative' ears deal with this sort of thing??


Already in the early seventies I started trying to plug my ears with different cheap plugs - thinking I was clever. However after a brassband concert, in church many years ago, playing the soprano I began hearing a faint high note. Then after a rehearsal with the same band me jumping in as soprano player both my ears suddenly were filled with high pitched noise. I was told by an ear doctor "you should quit playing in bands". Took a time out during the following autumn but just couldn´t stand this. I ended up with Elacin - subsequent tests told me I had to have at least 15dB, even 25! The doc who also played guitar in a fairly good big band said "but no one can play with that amount of damping". Took me a year to crawl up on the racetrack again but here I am today - however nowadays I use Etymotic´s gadgets ( https://www.etymotic.com/consumer/hearing-protection/mp915.html) playing in big bands; however in the brassband I still use the Elacin thing (25dB) in my worst ear and the Etymotic in the best (left); I use the 15 dB; Sometimes I get very frustrated, fiddling with these gadgets, dropping a tiny battery which immediately disappears, following Murphys law - or the Etymotic starting to hum in the middle of a score, telling its time to replace battery etc. Testing your tolerance of frustration.....
This is by no means easy, kind of a handicap beacuse for me sometimes I have difficulties hearing the bassplayer; and of course I miss all the more or less funny jokes flying around all the time (musicians are a weird lot).
So I learned how to estimate my own loudness or the reverse - pitch was never a problem but I guess things like these are personal. Also one has to negotiate the fact that you hear yourself "inside your head" while at the same time hearing the band outside + yourself. Much info!
I have tinnitus all the time but I cannot say that this is a problem - sometimes, well, every time I´ve been exposed to high sound levels the noice inside becomes more evident. The trick is to direct your attention elsewhere, of course not taking away the noice but making it subconscious, kind of.
A difficult to resolve problem is that, very often, the folks in the band that do not suffer from tinnitus, or wear any protection, do not understand the problem. Finally I had to rise and make a speech about this, telling them that "this is a handicap and it is a "bl ---y" wonder that I can go on playing. My doc told me no one could. So please don´t ridicule me for misinterpreting the director, or entering at 17 when the rest of the band enters at 19 etc etc".

But protect your ears! I´ve learned that a surprisingly high amount of players, even in symphonic bands have problems with their ears, tinnitus. Over here the Swedish Orchestral Association has helped develop an app: Ear Guardian - to help estimate when sound levels are too high, how long one can stay exposed etc. It´s available for Iphones.
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fraserhutch
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 02, 2019 8:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Do I wear ear plugs? It depends who I'm listening to.
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kehaulani
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 02, 2019 9:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

fraserhutch wrote:
Do I wear ear plugs? It depends who I'm listening to.

You mean like The Shaggs?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR9d4ESlpHY
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Ed Kennedy
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 02, 2019 9:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

kehaulani wrote:
....Tinnitus is something I live with and ignore.


I hear that. I do the same. I might be lonely without it.
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kehaulani
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 02, 2019 10:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ed Kennedy wrote:
kehaulani wrote:
....Tinnitus is something I live with and ignore.


I might be lonely without it.


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nieuwguyski
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 02, 2019 4:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've had a pair of Westone musician's earplugs for a long time. I use them for really loud amplified gigs with the 15dB attenuators -- I found that 25dB was too much to hear between-song discussion. I've played so many hot, sweaty club gigs with those things I wonder what the diaphram inside the attenuator looks like now.

My mistake was in not wearing them for loud big band rehearsals and gigs, and now I have tinnitus -- which I'm still managing to ignore for the most part. But there are times... I live on four acres in a redwood forest and when all is calm at night it's *quiet*. Every once in a while my wife will ask me, in the middle of the night, "What's that?" And she'll be asking about some faint sound out in the woods that I can't hear over the ever-present ringing. Those are the nights it's hardest to mentally tune out the ringing to get to sleep.
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Joel Payne
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 02, 2019 8:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Learned something potentially useful this year - my tinnitus is worsened significantly by the diuretic I take, furosemide (Lasix). When I'm able to stay off it for a few days, tinnitus decreases to about 1/4 the normal level. Problem is, I can't stay off it for very long, other diuretics are not as effective. So, you learn to live with it.

I wear earplugs for another reason - a trumpet player in one of the groups I play has randomized but major pitch issue, have found that wearing one ear plug on the side he sits on helps !
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mrhappy
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2019 4:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Joel Payne wrote:
my tinnitus is worsened significantly by the diuretic I take


I've heard coffee makes it worse!
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trombahonker
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2019 4:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I use Etymotic Music Pro electronic ear plugs that attenuate sound levels as needed:

https://www.etymotic.com/consumer/hearing-protection/mp915.html
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