How do you protect your ears?

[Nolatone Ampworks]

Hey folks,

In my builds I put a lot of emphasis on how the amp behaves at extreme settings, which often means...LOUD!!

I know it's important to use ear protection, but I need to hear what's going on in detail.

Any tricks in accomplishing this without killing your hearing?

[iggs]

I "invested" in a pair of custom molded ear plugs with two filters, one for 15dB reduction and one for 25dB reduction. They attenuate the level but still preserve a lot of the original sound without killing all the high-end detail. I switch the filters depending on the stage size which will determine the overall SPL.

I got mine at a hearing aid centre and I think any hearing doctor will be able to get them made for you.

Few years back I got tinnitus and got scared shitless that I'll loose my hearing (and I used to wear earplugs at rehearsals all the time, but not at shows) so I got those and now the tinnitus has subsided and I wear those all the time, even when I go see other bands play.

[camitchell]

+1 on the custom molds. They are life savers. You can change the db filters as mentioned too. I try not to go to concerts without them now. Much more enjoyable. You lose a little clarity, but nothing like the big foam ear plugs, more like someone turning the volume knob down a bit.

For critical work.... well, it's a compromise... but then so is losing your hearing for the long run.

[pir8matt]

+1 on the custom molds. They are life savers. You can change the db filters as mentioned too. I try not to go to concerts without them now. Much more enjoyable. You lose a little clarity, but nothing like the big foam ear plugs, more like someone turning the volume knob down a bit.

For critical work.... well, it's a compromise... but then so is losing your hearing for the long run.

Another +1 on custom molded earplugs. I have a set with 15db filters in them, I should probably get some 25's, too.

I use regular earplugs if I'm on the recieving end of a show, though, but if I'm playing I need to be able to hear more of whats going on.

[flyingvees]

With tiny nunchucks....:dude

[908SSP]

Richter attenuator. It does nothing but make the amp quieter the tone the feel the texture is all there.

[pir8matt]

Richter attenuator. It does nothing but make the amp quieter the tone the feel the texture is all there.

Awesome! Do they make one for drums and cymbals too? ;)

[Nolatone Ampworks]

Ok, duh. I probably could have recalled hearing about this "hi-fi" earplugs! Doh! That sounds like the way to go (I don't like the idea of voicing my amps through an attenuator...no matter how good it is, but thianks for the suggestion Alex!).

The customer molded ones are pricey though. I see there are several options for less expensive ones that should help a lot until I'm ready to invest more. Any input on which of those are preferred?

Here's a link I found with a lot of them:

http://earplugstore.stores.yahoo.net/nasopl.html

[iggs]

Ok, duh. I probably could have recalled hearing about this "hi-fi" earplugs! Doh! That sounds like the way to go (I don't like the idea of voicing my amps through an attenuator...no matter how good it is, but thianks for the suggestion Alex!).

The customer molded ones are pricey though. I see there are several options for less expensive ones that should help a lot until I'm ready to invest more. Any input on which of those are preferred?

Here's a link I found with a lot of them:

http://earplugstore.stores.yahoo.net/nasopl.html

To be honest, I think I tried every type of earplugs out there and nothing comes close to the custom made ones.

Even the custom ones change the sound enough that I wouldn't be making critical sound decisions with them in, but what I do is take one out, listen for a sec then put it back in, that way I don't kill my ears completely but still have a reference of the sound without them.

Of course, the sound changes completely on where you stand as well so I try and listen from a few different spots with and without the earplugs.

[sysexguy]

of all the gear I ever bought (enough for a nice house in most cities), the best ROI on anything was the $150 spend on custom molded earplugs .....by a great margin

Andy