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What do you guys use? I recently got a big-ish amp, and I enjoy the feeling of moving air rumbling your chest, but not at the expense of my hearing. I currently have the cheap foam earplugs you can get at hardware stores, and cut 30 dB I believe, but they aren't really designed with music in mind.

There's quite a lot of options for musician's earplugs if you do a search, but I was wondering what some of you use, especially if you play really loud.

I too am interested. I can't stand the foam ones when I'm playing. I don't mind them for attending a show, but for playing my tone sounds too weird, like the way they cut certain frequencies makes me hate it. I always end up taking them out, much to my ears dismay.

Absolutely encourage everyone to use earplugs.

If you want to live in luxury, get custom molded. They will cost about $200 after fitting and last you multiple years. The standard for the filter is universal, so you can often get one mold (the expensive part) and multiple filters for different levels of sound blockage.

I personally use Westone TRU Universal TRU16. $50 bucks, comfy and unnoticeable.

There are also decent cheaper options out there.

My hearing's weird, so the normal construction earplugs sound/work a lot better for me than the Hearo's I tried. But I dp prefer the ones that are rubber over the foam ones.

I like the foam ones you get from safety suppliers, they cut highs, I like less highs

I use those blue Etymotics (Thank you Boris w/Michio Kurihara 2011).
Everything is crystal clear with those, just less loud. You still can get a lot of highs and lows won't get muffled.

Hearos, for stand alone specialized protection.
FWIW over the past decade, anytime I leave home it's with IEMs. Because the [metro] world is loud and annoying. Damaging to hearing.
I don't want to hear babies cry and kids scream in public tantrums while obnoxious parents let them carry on. Motors and engines take their toll...anytime I use power equipment I have music on, and just loud enough to hear, not drown out the engine noise as that becomes counterproductive.

Treble fatigues my ears at a more rapid rate than low end, so I suspect the worst hearing loss occurs from loud sustained high frequencies, or extreme vibration/pressure from sub bass and resonance (beware of car subs). But sometimes all it takes to really ruin hearing is a superloud momentary burst, like the resulting thunderclap from nearly being struck by lightning.

I've been using Klipsch IEM headphones since the oval-shaped vinyl tips were introduced in the mid 00s. They fit my ears more comfortably and snugly than anything else on the market, short of custom molds. I think they reduce ambient noise by -20dB so it's still possible to hear with them when no music is playing.

DRodriguez wrote:Absolutely encourage everyone to use earplugs.

If you want to live in luxury, get custom molded. They will cost about $200 after fitting and last you multiple years. The standard for the filter is universal, so you can often get one mold (the expensive part) and multiple filters for different levels of sound blockage.

I personally use Westone TRU Universal TRU16. $50 bucks, comfy and unnoticeable.

There are also decent cheaper options out there.

Yeah, kids. Tinnitus sucks and there's no way to get rid of it. So protect your ears and don't be too stupid with loud volumes.

Fuck Tinnitus. I hate it.

I actually like the silicone globs you get for swimming.
You can mould them to suit, adjust them once they're jammed in there to let in a little bit of noise if they're killing too much and you can boil them when they get gross to clean them up.

Of course, I did years of club swimming as a kid to cure my asthma and become Kearon Perkins Jr. so I'm probably conditioned to like them.

Hearos are rad.

I've had 2 sets of custom moulded ACS earplugs over the years and lost them both times... £400 down the toilet. If i was to start gigging regularly again i'd definitely get some more, as my tinnitus is getting progressively worse over time to the point where very quiet environments can become unbearably painful.

I now use ACS ER-20s, they are the absolute pinnacle of budget ear protection. I actually met the guy who designed them and had a long conversation about other types and their downfalls. Foam ones feel like you're underwater, the silicone ones do too. Also if you adjust to let some noise through you are more than likely damaging your ear just as much as not having them in at all, as you are creating standing waves of very high frequencies inside your ear.

I tried more cheapo ear plugs than I care to remember, they all made my sweeet amp and pedals sound like a crap. The screwed up my playing to, cause I had no idea what the hell I was doing.

My search ended when I finally spend a little extra on a pair of custom made ones with the least amount of filtering. Still only use 'em when I really have to, but they're worth every cent over the cheapos solutions imo. I could look up what the company's called, but I think it's a small local (EU) business...

I use custom molded Westone ear plugs. They are amazing for performing. Everything sounds super clear and the custom fit means you won't get the weird bass rattle that shittier earplugs can make.

I wear them to shows most of the time too but sometimes they make things sound too clear and I notice more weird stuff. For example, somehow the filter will turn the music down to a comfortable level, but it will not affect quieter sounds (like talking people) as much. You will actually be able to hear the people around you talking more clearly during the concert. Or even worse, SINGING ALONG. So I always bring a normal pair as backup in case this happens.

So the last band I was in I played bass and only need to hear myself and the drums, the cheapo construction grade ones worked well for me. I never liked how the more expensive ones fit.

ramonovski wrote:I use those blue Etymotics (Thank you Boris w/Michio Kurihara 2011).
Everything is crystal clear with those, just less loud. You still can get a lot of highs and lows won't get muffled.

That's what I use too and I've used them at countless gigs. I'd be surprised if the more expensive options are significantly better.