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DO NOT--- I REPEAT DO NOT --- expose yourself to any further loud
sound until you get REAL HEARING PROTECTION. The ringing is the last
warning you're going to get.
After a particularly loud Bomboras concert in '97, my ears rang 24/7
for three solid months and I thought I was gonna have to live with
it, Pete Townshend-style, for the rest of my life. One day I noticed
that I hadn't heard the ringing and realized I had dodged a bullet by
a hair. I knew there wouldn't be a second chance and went and got
the Etymotics at my local University's Speech & Language clinic for
$150. I have used them religiously since then and they are the
single most important piece of musical equipment I own. They are the
one piece of equipment I WILL NOT GIG WITHOUT and I cannot recommend
them highly enough. They are custom molded to your ear canal shape
by an audiologist and are the only way to reduce the volume while
preserving true frequency response. That's what gives you real
protection, because you'll ACTUALLY WEAR THEM. The generic store-
bought plugs, foamies or the trick ones, are worthless because they
muffle the sound so badly that you inevitably pull them out and
expose yourself to the volume anyway. I know, I tried them all.
I have measured sound levels of 125 db in rehearsal rooms, let alone
what we get on stages. It is ear suicide to expose your ears to that
abuse. I hope your ringing stops, or at least reduces to an
unnoticeable low level, like mine did. But once you get that warning
sign, it's just a matter of time before you have a permanent problem
for which there is no cure. Get the Etymotic plugs (or equivalent)
before you spend another dime on equipment.
Any audiologist can set you up; in the LA area, I can recommend the
Speech & Language Clinic at Cal State University, Northridge. Most
schools have a department like this. Ask to get fitted
for "musician's earplugs" and they'll know what you're talking about.
Rob Woolsey
Detonators
--- In , Zone Fighter <zonefighter@g...>
wrote:
> My band last practiced a week ago. After playing we hung out for a
> while watching our other guitar player's recently purchased Japanese
> monster movie. After watching for a while I commented "good thing
this
> is subtitled, I can't follow a thing anyone is saying" the rest of
the
> band said "I thought it was just me." We discussed it for a while &
we
> all agreed that we had been playing QUIETER then we normally do that
> night (I had actualy made a point to turn down the volume before we
> started playing.)
>
> Well it is a week later and my ears are still going squee. I've been
> really impatient with my kids playing loudly and have had trouble
> understanding TV and the answering machine. It is pretty scary. I
> think it may be time to re-investigate ear plugs.
>
> I've tried plugs in the past and hated them but it is the 21st
> century. I still don't have my Jet Pack but someone must have used
> Roswell technology to design ear plugs that still let you hear by
now,
> right? I checked around and these...
>
> were recommended by a few guitarists on Harmony-Central. Has anyone
> tried them? Does anyone have other types that they would recommend?
>
> What?!
>
> Z
