The importance of ear plugs

[Joerox]

Hi all,
I've actually been toying with the idea of starting a thread about the aforementioned, but internships and facebook apps got in the way.

Alright, back to topic.

Fellow softies and guests who are reading this, I am creating this post to remind (i.e nag like your grandmother) us all about the merits, and importance of protecting our ears.

As musicians, we create music, and we use our ears to decide whether we have created something gd or not. Unless you are immensively talented on the other side of Beethoven, it would be very difficult, if not impossible for you to write something when your hearing is gone.

We need our ears not just to enjoy what we have played, but most importantly, to listen to others in your band as well. You can't rock out in a band, if you can't even hear the rock.

Take Paul Gilbert, for instance. He is always seen with his earphones. He wears them because his hearing has pretty much detoirated to the point that he NEEDS those earphones to even play. Do you really want to reach that stage for the sake of the cranked up marshall sound and hearing those bar chords in all their distorted glory.

I for one, love those distorted chords just as much as the other guy, but I don't want my ears to crap out on me.

The easy solution? A pair of earplugs.

I'm sure that we are familiar as to what a earplug is, and we know the benefits of wearing them.

But why do't others wear them? I have identified, and shall attempt to debunk the reasons why a large lot of us still refuse to wear them.

First up is the assertion that "It doesnt look cool? Well, guess who uses earplugs live on stage? Steve Vai endorses Hearos (at least, the last I checked, he did), and uses them live on stage. Like him or hate him, Steve Vai has good showmanship, and his wearing ear plugs does not diminish his ability to look cool on stage. Wearing earplugs prevents you from getting headaches due to the excessive noise, and you will thus feel more comfortable and your ability to deliver increases.

Furthermore, if you, like me, formed a band at some point purely out of teenage angst to be different and unique, I generally take it that you want to be known to have a unique style of some sorts, not a unique disability to do a certain something.

The second reason is that they are expensive. Well, you can buy really cheap ones at about $1.80 a pack, and they are REUSABLE. Use them twice, it costs 90 cents per use. Use them thrice, they cost you 60 cents per use. I'm sure I have no further need to elaborate on math, so I will carry on to talk about the better quality earplugs that cost (gasp) $20+!!!!! OH NO!!!!!!!!
But, let's be honest, what can you do really have spent that ear plugs cash, of say $25?
I'd say maybe:
1) A nice CD that isnt in the jap / korean section of HMV
2) Two nice old cds from some bargain bin
3) A few packs of guitar strings
4) about two glasses of double shot baileys

is it really that worth it to scrimp and save on this?

Alright, the old man feels tired now, I'm off to bed.

 

[visa]

in super worse case scenarios, take a piece of tissue, split the two parts, fold them nicely and stuff your ears.

we don't realise how much ringing and damage we take at live gigs- it's massive.

protect your ears, they're part of your livelihood! or hobby-hood or fun-hood. Hearing loss is a sad thing to have when it's preventable.

 

[lester_music]

actually not just as musicians we are constantly exposed to loud noises that are bad for our ears

Movies, factories, markets, vehicle, renovation, construction...all these could also deteriorate hearing..cause they can be above the safety threshold of noise level....

SO...invest in a pair of earplugs....bring it along to the Movies...hahahaha

 

[dir]

haven't you heard, having tinnitus is the cool thing these days!

 

[AzNjT]

we're talkin about LOUD, like Arena Loud. if your saying your going on tour for the next year and playing constanly with that Volume then yes you should.

When you have ear plugs on stage you might miss a few beats here and there but if your good you'll be able to keep the Time yourself.

Just use other ways of sticking stuff into your ear.

 

[Donaldsps]

For me,I would rather get those ear plugs from hardware stores,those cheap ones.But one thing is,I always forget to bring earplugs while goin gigs and somemore I stand really near e amps and speakers at gigs most of e time due to the need to shoot photos.Can't image how much damage I've done to my ears already.

 

[blueprintstudios]

this topic has been covered before. you guys might wanna read these old threads.
SOFT = Music In Singapore - Search Results
(or search tinnitus)

but I might wanna highlight this, ppl who take their hearing for granted. imagine you're "hollow/invisible man" . you turn invisible. your eyelids are transparent. so even when you're asleep, you'll see your surroundings until the lights are off or the blanket's over you. that is suffering. tinnitus is imagine hearing this "EEEEE" noise in your head for 24/7 (yes 24/7) and you think it's irritating, you close your ears, YOU HEAR IT EVEN MORE!

and you wanna experiment how it affects your life? I highly recommend you try this , I've personally tried before, it's interesting, buy a $2 earplug from any musicshop. push it straight into your ears. no air nothing. then go to a DIY shop and buy an ear muff, those they use for lawn mower / grass cutting for about $15-$20. then wear them ontop of the earplugs.
so great.. you hear minimum sound from your surroundings. you mainly hear your joints/neck creaking and your breathing and your mouth chewing when you're eating. you think it's gonna be about you? see how much your social skills deteoriate by the day with it. people get sick of talking to you and they GET SICK of you "yelling" at them cos you can't hear! you'll have no friends, you can't hear music (imagine life without music) , and all that danger you're in in your daily life when you walk on orchard road and some bike/car whizz past you by almost hitting you cos you can't hear for nuts.
so you play in a band? you think you want that "slash guitar tone" or "flea bass" ? so what? you can't even hear properly what makes you think you can get the tone you want when you can't enjoy it?

I mean yes, our technology has reached to a point where china man gets into car accident and gets a penis implant (and gets depression after that), but our brains do not have XLR inputs, no microphone in the world is going to replicate your hearing.

90¢ worth

 

[kdash]

no one can overemphasize the importance of ear plugs. great comments posted

and go get a set of ear plugs today if you haven't.

 

[Joerox]

I'm sure that this has probably been covered before, but the problem is that we still many people, especially the younger ones who do not see the importance of this. Many a youngster still comes out from jamming studios complaining of headaches after jamming, and a trip down to the jamming studios actually scare me!

Well, to answer some of the comments in the post based on my opinion,

a) I haven't made it a habit
- Well, research (can't quote statistics off hand) shows that it takes about 6-8 weeks to form a habit, and 2 weeks to break one. It's going to be a tough first month thats for sure, just like me starting an exercise routine to strenghthen my back and lose weight.
My take is that we should try to make it one, as like many a softie has said, your ears are important, unless you are beethoven, and as talented as we think we are, it is statistically improbable for you to be as gifted AND impactful as him. It may be wise for you to behave just like the rest of us slightly more normal people.

b) If i wear earplugs, I can't hear the rest of the band
- Some jamming studios have badly placed amplifiers, like some of the rooms at Wee Lee for example. The simplest solution is that EVERYONE in the band (including the drummer) TURN DOWN the volume. Most of the amps in jamming studios are more powerful then the P.A system, so you will actually be able to hear the nuances of your singer better by turning down as well. Yet another fringe benefit other than saving your ears.

Another reason why you may not be able to hear anything is due to the fact that cheap earplugs actually muffle the mids and lows more than anything else, rendering the wallop of your bassist and drummer to the phantom zone.
Solution? Buy mufflers or better ear plugs that reduce the decibel level across the frequency spectrum evenly.
How? Don't go to starbucks for about 2-3 times. Resist that urge to buy that Mastodon CD this month or something. Get yourself earplugs today! =D

Some alternatives other than earplugs.
High Quality headphones: Come on, you like your ipod and you like your music, and you are probably more willing to spend $100 on a nice pair of Audio-technicas / Seinnheisers than 1/5th the price on earplugs. So why not get them, and BRING these earplugs along with your ipod to jams. The better ones, like the HD 205 I use, actually reduces some sound from the atmosphere.

In ear monintors: Can't hear the band cuz of huge stages? In ear monintors are the great, so you can hear everything without having to stand in front of the woofer. They also pad the sound like ear plugs do.

 

[blueprintstudios]

to 2nd joerox's "b) If i wear earplugs, I can't hear the rest of the band"

to me that's bullshit excuse by young kids. can't hear? earplugs have DIY volume control also you know? a.k.a pulling it out abit/halfway, allowing "SOME" sound to leak into your ear. I got huge earholes so i got no choice but to shove it in all the way to filter out. (and do wash your earplugs often. bacteria.)

 

[Revelt]

Great post. Props to you.

But honestly, it's pointless. These kids will NEVER take care of their precious senses. Singers smoke, guitarists bust their ear drums. All to common.

You might convince a select few here to wear earplugs on stage, but what happens after the gig? They blast their mp3s into their ears. I don't get it. I really regret blasting music. Now I have to turn my ipod slightly louder (I try to limit myself to half-way volume max). But the damage has been done. I might sound like a pussy grandad to you, but since I play the piano casually, I can really feel the difference. I really hate it when my musician friends (piano, orchestra etc.) can here something in the background and I cannot. Too little too late I guess...

 

[deathism]

since we're on this topic..


why not suggest a few types of ear plugs for use?


*particularly those capable of reducing a few decibels of noise.


i've been wanting to get ear plugs for jamming..sick of using my in-ear earphones Creative EP-630..it blocks out ALOT of ambient sounds. and i hafta pull it out a lil to be able to hear my band...

oh guess wad..half way they'll drop out..


so yea..it'll be great if those who are in the know, could recommend noise cutting earplugs, rough price and where to get them..

:mrgreen:

this isnt even worth 1c..

 

[kdash]

great suggestion. some of my friends use the army earplugs (the foam, coloured ones) when they play. cost should be very affordable, even free if you buy using army credits from E-mart.

 

[blueprintstudios]

well my logic when it comes to buying earplugs.


for lawn mowing/grass cutting = earmuffs or those cheapo earplugs sold at DIY stores.

for loud amps/drums = musician earplugs , hearos etc.

for m16/sar21 , grenades level of loudnes = SAF endorsed earplugs.

for low flying aircraft and aircraft engines = is the one i'm using , cost me $27 with 4 silicon sound barriers bought from paya lebar airbase during my NSF days.. and yeah so far I can't imagine anything louder and more hearing-damaging than an aircraft engine.

then again if anyone wants to really protect and really comfortably fit into their earplugs. go to an audiologist and get your ear molded. be prepared to spend a bomb though.

20¢ worth

 

[Revelt]

Wah. Cool man. I always wanted the airbase-grade one. 60 decibels right? Totally cannot hear normal voice. I want to get a pair... Any idea how? Preferably it doesn't involve me going into airforce.

 

[Joerox]

Perhaps we should have the moderators make this post (or the previous ear plug one) a sticky?

I think that it is only right. We promote jamming studios to others on this forum, encourage them to listen to local bands, but we don't tell them how to protect their ears; a musician's MOST imporatant asset IMO.

It's true that not everyone is going to listen, but then again, we need people who have been there and done that to tell it to the younger ones, cuz angsty teenagers with no real cause to fight for will only listen to ex-angsty teenagers who have hopefully found a cause to fight for.

Before I get flamed by the younger generation, I'd just like to say that I'm 23 this year, and I started playing since i was 12 +. I hit the jamming studios a year later with my friends and we were playing punk and metal.

I'm sure the others who have posted here have had similiar experiences, and I can gurantee that none of these guys who have joined me on my side of the debate are talking smack wrt this issue.

 

[blueprintstudios]

haha i threw away the manual (yes it had its own manual) ages ago so i'm not sure how many db. i no longer have access to paya lebar airbase as a civilian. so you either gotta get someone who's from there or somehow get the supplier's name/contact.

 

[Revelt]

Haha. All the army people leave liao... So sad. I wanted to ask my friend's dad to kope gas mask for me, but sui sui he also left.

 

[deathism]

BPS: where to get those musician's earplugs or those hearos?any idea how much it'd cost?

 

[RazrAsh]

the one's the army currently gives out are good enough for jamming use. all ambient sounds come through and it only cuts down the volume.