Save your ears ~ please !

[RickP]

No rant there, just wisdom.

We started cutting stage volume many years ago, much aided by moving to a drummer using V-Drums. Without that high noise floor of acoustic drums, we were able to cut our stage volume in half. I credit that for my still-normal hearing after 4+ decades of band participation. When we have to do festival gigs and share monitors with touring bands, I cringe at the crispy-high-end monitor mixes those guys have to have to hear anything. It’s sad.

I’d go crazy if I had constant ringing. I know players who deal with that, and I truly feel for them. No gig is worth that to me.

 

[Daryl Jones]

I've had tinnitus for about 30 years now. Didn't even really notice it much until I had to get an audiology test for flying. That was 24 years ago and I had a 28% deficiency in my right ear. Being a meat cutter for 30 years prior I stood beside/operated a high speed meat saw. Audiologist said that was the reason, not loud music.
I saw The Who and Deep Purple in the early 70's at am old sports venue in Edmonton. Even at the know-it-all age of 16 I found it too loud. We went outside for a (ahem) about mid way of The Who and about 30 feet outside the door we still had to yell at each other.
Mid 2000's herself and I plus her brother hopped in my plane and went to The Hip at the Coliseum in Edmonton, and I swear it was the loudest concert I've ever been to. We left during the 3rd encore (likely a mistake given what happened to Gord) since we couldn't take any more. Taking off from CYXD I had to get ATC instructions repeated three times my ears were ringing so badly.
I'd like to say I've learned but sadly not. Like I mentioned, I still race without wearing my plugs probably half the time. I actually wear them more often at the track by the International airport. Not for the jet traffic or on my bike, but in the pits when the top fuel dragster are running! The drag strip is right beside the road course.
Too soon old, too late smart.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Also, shave your ears every once in awhile.

Especially as you get older and your vision starts to go, and maybe you don’t enjoy looking in the mirror as much.

 

[alantig]

Also, shave your ears every once in awhile.

Especially as you get older and your vision starts to go, and maybe you don’t enjoy looking in the mirror as much.

And if you never enjoyed looking in the mirror?

 

[Gtrbldr]

I have always shied away from places that are too loud. Something with a lower tolerance for impulses. However I used earprotection for band practice since my early twenties. Tinnitus is one of my worst fears and I guard my ears ferociously.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

And if you never enjoyed looking in the mirror?

Then start kinda slow. The grass is probably deep

 

[JasonE]

I have had tinnitus for many years now. Mine gets pretty loud at times. I am surprised that I still have a very wide hearing range still at my age even though I have the tinnitus. I have played in loud bands and run sound for loud bands for years. If I am working with a loud band, I get the sound dialed in within the first few songs then I put earplugs in. I have a few sets of the frequency tailored plugs that I use. I also use them when riding on my motorcycle. I had a factory job back in my 20's that was a loud place and they had no ear protection requirement in that place. They did get there while I worked there but that was after a few years of nothing.

Some places I have played and mixed at like it loud. I remember one night where I was walking around with my iPad adjusting things and the singer came out and met me near the bar during a song. She said, it sounds great, now make it loud... She told me when to stop turning it up. I went right back over to the board and put my earplugs in. I wish I had started this habit in my 20's. I probably wouldn't have the level of tinnitus I have now, or maybe not had it at all.

 

[EdSevered]

I've had ringing in my right ear since The Police concert at Alpine Valley, WI in 1985. I believe it was the Ghost in the Machine tour. We had something like 30th row, center tickets. Great show, I think, but now I'll never be able to forget I was there, like a have many of the other concerts I've been to.

 

[HANGAR18]

Apoligies if this seems like a rant ..

A small piece of advice after 60 years in the music world .. If you are going to play loud PLEASE .. get some in ear monitors !!

Ears are one part of your body that doesn't really heal well once damaged ...

At last nights show , a prog ~ metal band , the lead singer asked me " can I have the vocals real hot 'cause I'm kinda deaf. He was using a Shure SM55 super cardiod mic ( which we have in house as well ) which has got a lot more juice than an SM 58 , and leaning WAY into it . I set him at max allowed ... He still wanted more . The Boss said " please have them turn it down a bit I can't hear the orders for food&drink" . So .. at the next song break I pulled it down a notch and told them .. If you can't hear your vocals , turn your amps and drums down... of course not....

I like the band , and the volume is part of their gig , and the house was packed. They are good kids , and I've worked them before .. so I talked with them after the show about "in ears".. Both of the guitarist have tinnitus now ...in thier MID 20'S ... They have 25 guitars .. but don't take care of thier hearing ... " Yeah they are on the list ...but you know ...""

I let them know what's ahead , and the music they love to play so much may just take away thier ability to hear it ..

Wise words. Thankfully I've always worn hearing protection while playing drums (which for me began in the 70's). Later in the 80's when I would go to see rock bands in the night clubs in Florida, I perfected a technique of rolling wet toilet paper into shapes, basically the size of cigarette butts and improvised my own ear plugs. The last time I used that trick was in more recent years when I went to my first ever NASCAR race. I had no idea it would be that loud at Richmond International Raceway.

 

[Greywolf]

I was lucky to work in a production facility that was super stringent, so we got out hearing checked regularly and plugs were always there.
That was shortly after I went electric , so I learned a lot about industrial safety that came in handy .

 

[Tucson Thump]

May 1968 Cream concert. I had a cold and my ears were stuffed up. Less than five minutes and they were cleared, and I was sitting in the balcony.

 

[gush]

I have very bad tinnitus. I have to have TV on in bed to fall asleep otherwise the ringing drives nuts and I won't sleep.

I should have worn ear plugs back in the 80s playing music but I didn't so here I am.

The other part of that is motorcycling.

As a sport bike rider for many years i wore full face helmets.

The switch to Ultra Classic forced the need for half helmets. With big fairing and big windshield I don't get enough wind to stay cool enough for full face helmets but ALSO creates noise from wind buffeting which a huge problem for my ears.

I like shorter windshield for summertime riding but it puts the "dirty" air at ear level and it can be brutal even with earplugs.

 

[Mike J.]

Back in the late 70's and early 80's I played full time and plugged my ears when I played. Starting in '86 I spent the next 30 years working in noisey CNC machine shops and wore ear plugs every day. Glad I did because I still developed tinnitus. I can only imagine how bad it would be if I never plugged my ears during my gigging and CNC shop years. Even though I have it the ringing isn't anything that drives me crazy.

When I played, the only time I wouldn't have the ear plugs in was during our sound check. That way i could get used to the sound of the room, get my tone set and I could "reassure myself" of the way things sounded. You'll be surprised how fast you can get used to it.

 

[JasonE]

I have very bad tinnitus. I have to have TV on in bed to fall asleep otherwise the ringing drives nuts and I won't sleep.

I should have worn ear plugs back in the 80s playing music but I didn't so here I am.

The other part of that is motorcycling.

As a sport bike rider for many years i wore full face helmets.

The switch to Ultra Classic forced the need for half helmets. With big fairing and big windshield I don't get enough wind to stay cool enough for full face helmets but ALSO creates noise from wind buffeting which a huge problem for my ears.

I like shorter windshield for summertime riding but it puts the "dirty" air at ear level and it can be brutal even with earplugs.

Sounds familiar. Mine has many causes. Factory work in my younger years, playing loud guitar for many years, shooting with no ear protection when I was younger, I have been a motorcycle rider since I was 17 and have had a wide range of bikes and used to ride with no helmet at all when I was young. I have been riding a CVO Street Glide for the past 3.5 years. I have had a number of Harley's in the past decade, two at a time for a while. One was an Ultra Classic.

 

[GoodeBrew]

I could use some advice or recommendations, if anyone has any.

I’m half deaf; well, better than half now I suppose, but since I was very little I’ve been fully deaf in my right ear. In my 40s now, I have a ‘normal’ amount of hearing loss that comes with age, but still hear fine out of the left ear for the most part.

I played loudly as a kid, but I’ve done a decent job with protecting my hearing. I use hearing aids now sometimes, it gives me a little boost for some frequencies and transmits sound from my right over to my left (stereo to mono).

That said, I can’t quite hear my playing in a mix. When I last tried playing in a band setting I couldn’t pick my sound out of the mix. I was hoping there is some way that I can send my playing (mic’d amp) to a ‘monitor’. When I say monitor, I’m hoping for some kind of in-ear monitor where I could mix in a bit of the rest of the band and more of mine. I think this is probably feasible, I just don’t know much about it.

The hard part that I haven’t been able to find is something that also protects or limits the volume. Do any of these IEM’s provide enough of a seal in the ear to protect from excessive volume from the rest of the band? As an example, I’ve tried the Bose headphones that I thought sounded great; I ended up swapping for AirPod Pros that work a little better for me, and do have the ability to protect up to a certain decibel level.

Any suggestions that I could try, or am I asking for too much?

 

[jak3af3r]

Do any of these IEM’s provide enough of a seal in the ear to protect from excessive volume from the rest of the band? As an example, I’ve tried the Bose headphones that I thought sounded great; I ended up swapping for AirPod Pros that work a little better for me, and do have the ability to protect up to a certain decibel level.

Any suggestions that I could try, or am I asking for too much?

I bought a set of Shure SE215 8.5 years ago when I was in college because the ensemble I was in required the band to be on ears. Those aren't exactly the nicest out there but they're relatively cheap and have 2 types of ear pieces. One is like a regular headphone piece and the other is like a foam earplug that blocks out a ton of outside noise. Each of those two come in 3 sizes.

Later on, a couple of my road gigs were ears only and man the ability to control the mix was so nice because I would set it up so what bled through the passive earplug piece was the baseline and I would just up my guitar a tiny bit. I played all my stage monitor gigs with earplugs and they went in before I got on stage so the experience between the two was pretty seamless.

And here's a crazy story.

One of the drummers I played with was apparently actively trying to destroy his hearing because I could hear the click track from his IEMs on stage with my earplugs in.

 

[CandidPicker]

Like many, I've got major league tinnitus that has gotten worse with age. Not so much because of loud volume at concerts or headphones / earbuds, just by sitting in front of my computer monitors and FRFRs at room volume. My computer monitors are much quieter than my FRFRs, so the effect isn't as bad.

Fortunately, I can still hear normal room conversation if my back is not turned nor running water in the sink. Other than that, (my only 2 issues with hearing well), the only time I might ask someone to repeat what they said is if they spoke too quickly originally. (Can't always be swift to hear, but try to speak slowly so others can process what's being said.)

 

[archtop]

For those who ride motorcycles: find out if your state allows plugs while riding or weal a full helmet as wind noise, especially at 65+ mph, does a lot of damage. Long rides last longer than concerts.

On a recent trip to Las Vegas we tried to see an acrobat show but the audio was so loud the speakers were distorting and our ears were aching. not sure why they felt that volume was appropriate, but most folks want the “experience’ and loud seems to be part of it.

 

[Maertl513]

Due to my job as a soldier dealing with shooting and live demolitions (I got a vital qualification as an EOD/IEDD operator, though I'm OF-4) ear protection is absolutely common to me.

It's always fun to watch crime movies or military fiction, when the persons in the plot shoot or blow up things without taking a glimpse of care to their ear drums.

 

[deepender]

I bought a set of Shure SE215 8.5 years ago when I was in college because the ensemble I was in required the band to be on ears. Those aren't exactly the nicest out there but they're relatively cheap and have 2 types of ear pieces. One is like a regular headphone piece and the other is like a foam earplug that blocks out a ton of outside noise. Each of those two come in 3 sizes.

Later on, a couple of my road gigs were ears only and man the ability to control the mix was so nice because I would set it up so what bled through the passive earplug piece was the baseline and I would just up my guitar a tiny bit. I played all my stage monitor gigs with earplugs and they went in before I got on stage so the experience between the two was pretty seamless.

And here's a crazy story.

One of the drummers I played with was apparently actively trying to destroy his hearing because I could hear the click track from his IEMs on stage with my earplugs in.

Or maybe, it’s already too late for him.