To hear or not to hear.....yep, that’s the question.

[11top]

Are any of you guys worried about your hearing?

I love playing in my band. But, I’m seriously considering quitting. As I type this, I am struggling to hear the TV, and my ears are ringing from last night’s rehearsal. The drums are the first problem, so I bought electronic drums to control volume, but my drummer can’t bond with them. So, I surrounded the acoustic drums with a five panel plexiglass shield, and that helps.

We start out with a somewhat reasonable volume, but it keeps creeping up to the point that it’s definitely harmful to hearing.

I’ve tried in-ear monitors, but can never get the mix right. Ear plugs take all the highs out, and make it no fun. We play classic rock and limited metal, so the music calls for loud.

I feel like an addict; I love playing, but feel like a fool by subjecting myself to harmful decibels.

Anybody else fighting this conflict?

 

[Bill SAS 513]

YES, and yes...bigtime. At 54, and mainly playing bass, I've stood next to a few drummers, and cymbals will kill your ears in no time. And my bands always started practices at low volume, and crept up during rehearsals, too. If I could do it all again, I'd get a plexi surround (or something...blankets, etc...???) to dampen the drums/cymbals, then try to talk with the guitarists...never been in a band that had just 1 , and they seem to compete for loudest. Now, when jamming in the basement, I try NOT to stand close to the amps when messing around, and occasionally still get the ringing after playing for even a short time. Been turning down lately...Is there a way to express this to younger players, where they'll hopefully listen???

PS: I always push for people to wear their instruments higher, to protect against wrist/ nerve damage (carpel tunnel, etc...),

Crap, now I just sound like an old fuddy duddy...

 

[jfb]

I don't play out and I've always kept levels low when playing at home. I keep a big 100 pack of ear plugs in the trunk of my car so I'm always covered if I go to a show. I dislike the aftermath of not having ear protection. I can't imagine it being worth it.

 

[markd21]

Yes, hearing is an issue for me. I wear custom ear plugs made by a company that makes hearing aids. They DO filter out some of the highs, but the positive is that my ears don't ring after practice or a show. Our drummer does all rehearsals using hot rods instead of drum sticks - he's VERY conscious about his hearing also....he also wears ear plugs in rehearsal and on-stage.

The BIGGEST contribution I made to the band was moving from using my tube amp to a modeler. It was not an easy move. I had been using Rivera amps/cabs exclusively since 1990. The Rivera rig was more crucial to MY tone than any guitar. Over the years my number of, and size, cabs reduced from multiples (4x12s) to single (1x12) - but one constant factor remained....

The tube amp had to be LOUD to get the tone right. As my amp was loud, everyone else had to be loud.

Enter the Line 6 Helix. I was VERY skeptical at first. But - long story short - I was able to get my tone, with the right feel, at volumes that helped EVERYONE in the band. Our rehearsals sound great, and our stage sound is amazing. You can hear everyone. People stay close to the stage, hang out while we play....it has made a HUGE difference in our presentation. Our fanbase has grown because our stage sound is more controlled (at least that makes sense since people don't clear the room when we hit the first chord).

 

[Mike Duncan]

Huh?

What?

I'm 44 years old and have to look at anyone who is talking to me or I can't hear them.

 

[drdoom8793]

26 here, trying to avoid having that problem in the future. I just got these and used them at rehearsal last night for the first time: http://a.co/3cK2lEZ They worked great for me and no ringing after! We practice full volume, so I didn't have any issues hearing myself or anyone else. Might be worth a try.

 

[garrett]

I had done permanent damage to the hearing in my left year before I hit 18. So by 1997.

I used some of the Hearos and other readily available plugs, but they always altered the sound too much so I gave them up.

By about 2009 I started getting tinnitus.

By 2010 loud music at shows became painful and I couldn't enjoy it anymore. It finally bothered me enough to spend the dough to get custom molded ear plugs. Best $200 I've ever spent on gear. I was a total idiot for not doing it sooner.

The plugs are required equipment for concerts now. I use them for every band gig. They do alter the sound a little, so I generally go without them for the first song or two to get a feel of the mix and make any amp tweaks. Then they go in for the rest of the night.

I think I've done a good job of curbing any further damage and I enjoy concerts and my own gigs much more with the plugs in.

 

[Callan]

Do you want some help to work on the iem mix?
For my band I'm also the sound guy. I have an x32 mixer (everyone has own mix, ears are stereo). My IEM's are custom moulds for my ears. My 'amp' is a fractal modeller.
These 3 things have made a massive difference to making me comfortable using IEM's live. I'm Happy to help you if you want to go that way.

 

[AP515]

I've been wearing ear plugs at concerts for 30 years. I think I just picked up the habit from being on the range where it's expected.

I've only had 1 drummer that was so loud I was uncomfortable (best drummer I've played with too). It was difficult at rehearsals, but seemed to work well at gigs. We had a small surround that was just enough.

That said, my ears are changing just from age. My left is less responsive than my right which is annoying.

 

[Huggy Love]

Even though I'm a jazz cat I spent most of my life rockin'. AC/DC & Ozzy made up a lot of our sets so yes, it was loud, and I do suffer from some of the effects of it. My left ear flutters when I play my HBs without an amp or when I try to listen to something that's at a very low volume, it can be maddening at times.

The earplug thing is the only way to go, there are some that are designed for musicians to let you hear a better balance of sound. They do alter the sonic perception, but to avoid further damage and to continue playing it seems worth it to me. I recently went to a concert and wore them all night, I got over the alteration of sound and for your ears sake, and to keep on playing you should get over it too.

Good luck & I hope you find some that work for you.

 

[BrianC]

Are any of you guys worried about your hearing?

I love playing in my band. But, I’m seriously considering quitting. As I type this, I am struggling to hear the TV, and my ears are ringing from last night’s rehearsal. The drums are the first problem, so I bought electronic drums to control volume, but my drummer can’t bond with them. So, I surrounded the acoustic drums with a five panel plexiglass shield, and that helps.

We start out with a somewhat reasonable volume, but it keeps creeping up to the point that it’s definitely harmful to hearing.

I’ve tried in-ear monitors, but can never get the mix right. Ear plugs take all the highs out, and make it no fun. We play classic rock and limited metal, so the music calls for loud.

I feel like an addict; I love playing, but feel like a fool by subjecting myself to harmful decibels.

Anybody else fighting this conflict?

What you wrote totally sums up how I feel - exactly. I certainly have taken a hit on the hearing but I don't like many of the options.

One thing that works for me is when practicing alone I do not use my amp but use Garage Band through studio monitors playing along with I Tunes all on my Mac.

At least I am reducing the number of times I am exposed to high volume.

 

[shinksma]

For my current band, we don't get loud enough for that to be an issue (Celtic Fusion, remember - whistles and fiddles, with my elec guitar mixed in using just a small amp most of the time).

However, I have hearing damage from lots of years of playing with my "basement band" when I was in my late-20s and early-30s, but even that wasn't the start - I also had damage from loud rock/metal concerts during my teenage years. I had to take a hearing test when I had a college-years summer job working in an industrial shop-floor environment (so they can monitor for hearing loss over time), and I already had lost some high end in both ears.

I have heard there are "generic" (not custom-made) earplugs out now that don't filter the highs nearly as much as regular "shop floor" earplugs. Just Google and you will see what I mean, and I will mention a couple of brands that I see, but in no way am I trying to endorse or recommend them (nor the opposite) because I have no experience with them:

Eargasm
Etymotic

Does anyone have any experience with such things?

 

[dmatthews]

Are any of you guys worried about your hearing?

I love playing in my band. But, I’m seriously considering quitting. As I type this, I am struggling to hear the TV, and my ears are ringing from last night’s rehearsal. The drums are the first problem, so I bought electronic drums to control volume, but my drummer can’t bond with them. So, I surrounded the acoustic drums with a five panel plexiglass shield, and that helps.

We start out with a somewhat reasonable volume, but it keeps creeping up to the point that it’s definitely harmful to hearing.

I’ve tried in-ear monitors, but can never get the mix right. Ear plugs take all the highs out, and make it no fun. We play classic rock and limited metal, so the music calls for loud.

I feel like an addict; I love playing, but feel like a fool by subjecting myself to harmful decibels.

Anybody else fighting this conflict?

I "hear you" loud and clear.
My lead player and I have battled with this for many years. At 61 it certainly remains on my mind.
We talk about it almost every practice. We try to keep it top of mind. Obviously you must have like minds in the room
Maybe set an arbitrary db level maximum for the room and everybody have a db level meter app on their phone running.
Just a thought.
We have been fairly successful in avoiding the ear ringing scenario. It still occasionally happens, but it's rare.
Good luck. Music is too precious to quit. I plan to play until I can't.

 

[veinbuster]

Yes.
I think I might go deaf from how loud Mrs turns the TV up.

 

[John Beef]

I have lost more hearing being a parent than I have being in rock bands. Since I was 16 I always used earplugs with bands. I knew when it was going to be loud so I would wear earplugs in advance. My kids, especially when they were babies/toddlers, would scream full volume right in my ears whenever they saw the opportunity.

Anyway, the business about earplugs taking away high end is rectified with custom molded musician's earplugs. If you can afford even one PRS you can afford these. Best $$ I ever spent on gear.

https://www.sensaphonics.com/er-series-musician-earplugs-custom

 

[László]

Are any of you guys worried about your hearing?

I love playing in my band. But, I’m seriously considering quitting. As I type this, I am struggling to hear the TV, and my ears are ringing from last night’s rehearsal. The drums are the first problem, so I bought electronic drums to control volume, but my drummer can’t bond with them. So, I surrounded the acoustic drums with a five panel plexiglass shield, and that helps.

We start out with a somewhat reasonable volume, but it keeps creeping up to the point that it’s definitely harmful to hearing.

I’ve tried in-ear monitors, but can never get the mix right. Ear plugs take all the highs out, and make it no fun. We play classic rock and limited metal, so the music calls for loud.

I feel like an addict; I love playing, but feel like a fool by subjecting myself to harmful decibels.

Anybody else fighting this conflict?

I figure it this way; it’s pretty difficult to play and enjoy music if you’re deaf. So I protect my hearing with custom-molded earplugs.

Yes, they attenuate high frequencies (though you can choose the amount of attenuation). But I’ve relied on mine for 20-plus years. You get used to them, and after a while, it’s part of playing out, going to concerts, even hearing my buddies’ bands at the insane levels some play in tiny venues that I have to think are absolutely nuts.

I even use them in the studio, especially when clients want to check a mix at ear-splitting levels.

The trouble with hearing damage is that the first thing you lose are the high frequencies. So you turn things up louder, which, in turn, causes more hearing damage. Which means you have to go still louder and brighter.

It’s a vicious cycle.

If you want to preserve your hearing, and you’re playing out in a loud band, there isn’t much choice. When I go to concerts, or to hear friends play, I bring my earplugs as well. I’m used to them now; I’d rather suffer the loss of a little of the fun, than lose the all of fun permanently.

 

[Atomic]

What..??!!

In all s-ear-iousness, I’ve had tinnitus all my life; I was born with it. I’m lucky to have hearing at all. My dad was born with almost complete hearing loss. I definitely have some hearing loss from years of playing music but I probably have more hearing damage from my years of working in construction and being around heavy/loud equipment than anything. And sirens, and of course shooting but I always wear ear protection when I have to do that.

Most recently though I was building out a new closet in my house and I had an air compressor in there with me. I went to move it, and out of habit I released the air hose without thinking..... PSHHHHHH!!!!!!........ and then there went all the highs. What came back was of course a ringing and an odd new sound. Like a metallic ringing or jingling that happened concurrent with any sound I heard. Didn’t matter what it was. Just the sound of my own voice while I was talking would be accompanied by the ringing. Or driving in my car and hitting bumps.. But the weird thing is that it only happened while the sound was happening.

The doc said that I had a “blast injury” and it caused a “concussion of the inner ear” and that it “may get better.”

It’s died down a bit in the last few weeks but it still sounds like every sound is accompanied by a tiny tambourine in my ear.

 

[Rider1260]

I have tinitus ( ringing ears ) this was caused mainly by work and motorcycling ( loud music didn't help )
Be aware that any sound much over 80db can over time cause damage - Motorcycle riding ( over 100db even with a helmet ) , Lawn Mowing , Airplane travel ( often 80- 90db measured by me ) , Driving with your windows down and many others can cause issue. Long term exposure to elevated sound levels ( over 80db ) are a problem , I now wear earplugs on Planes and when riding and sometimes driving ( Long trips sometimes just my left ear )
Luckly my ringing has not affected my overall hearing its just annoying and make me sensitive to loud restaurants and such but I am able to ignore it for the most part.
Like Les said you get used to the earplugs it just takes time. IMHO force yourself , don't give up music just get used to the sound
At home I play at a very low level ( 60 db ish ) ( except when BrianC comes over )

 

[andy474x]

Are any of you guys worried about your hearing?

I love playing in my band. But, I’m seriously considering quitting. As I type this, I am struggling to hear the TV, and my ears are ringing from last night’s rehearsal. The drums are the first problem, so I bought electronic drums to control volume, but my drummer can’t bond with them. So, I surrounded the acoustic drums with a five panel plexiglass shield, and that helps.

We start out with a somewhat reasonable volume, but it keeps creeping up to the point that it’s definitely harmful to hearing.

I’ve tried in-ear monitors, but can never get the mix right. Ear plugs take all the highs out, and make it no fun. We play classic rock and limited metal, so the music calls for loud.

I feel like an addict; I love playing, but feel like a fool by subjecting myself to harmful decibels.

Anybody else fighting this conflict?

I hear you!

(pun intended)

It's always the drummer, and it drives me bonkers. I've played in bands with a couple of guys who just desecrate their kit every gig/rehearsal, honestly I think they're just fascinated with the (perceived) sound of their own awesomeness.

Maybe that's too critical, they're good players, but yeah, max volume every stroke. You've probably heard me say this before, but I use the Etymotic plugs. They attenuate highs, but not nearly as bad as foam plugs, but on the other side of that conversation, they're cheap enough that I can keep a pair in each gig bag and not worry about losing them. I don't love that dull sound of my amp, although it's not terrible, but I'll say this - every time my ears aren't ringing on the way home and the next day, I'm very glad I wore them, zero regrets about not hearing my tone 100%. If you can't convince your drummer to lighten up, I would really recommend coming to peace with some kind of earplugs, custom, generic, whatever you can justify. Or, just be honest with the guys in your band, tell them you want to keep playing but the stage volume is damaging your hearing, if that can't change you'll have to leave.

I applaud Mark's comments about his band's stage volume - what I wouldn't give to have the guys I play with hear that!!! I mean, when was the last time you heard someone say a local band wasn't loud enough??? I've been saying for years, if we could cut out volume in half, people would be much more likely to listen to us and stay near the stage, and we would sound better. I love it when a band turns the whole thing down, it's such a pleasant listening experience. I'm not saying it can't have some thump, but it shouldn't be so hard for band members to understand that max volumes kill your crowd, at least for bar gigs, etc. A band's members should be able to claim their individual spot in the frequency spectrum so that everyone can be heard, which is a lot easier to do when things are kept at a moderate volume. Heck, with the plethora of pedals and quite good MV's on most modern amps, there's really no reason a guitarist shouldn't be able to get great tone without maxing their power section. I like the tone of my Custom 50 best anywhere between 10:00 and 1:00 on the MV, which is loud, but not pissing contest loud. The EQ responds better when a power section isn't at full saturation and taking over the tone, so when it comes to reaching that sweet spot in the group's sonic spectrum, that's best IMO.

 

[garrett]

I have lost more hearing being a parent than I have being in rock bands. Since I was 16 I always used earplugs with bands. I knew when it was going to be loud so I would wear earplugs in advance. My kids, especially when they were babies/toddlers, would scream full volume right in my ears whenever they saw the opportunity.

Anyway, the business about earplugs taking away high end is rectified with custom molded musician's earplugs. If you can afford even one PRS you can afford these. Best $$ I ever spent on gear.

https://www.sensaphonics.com/er-series-musician-earplugs-custom

Those are what I use. They don't dull the high end (except the shrill, painful sounds, which is good), but they do alter the EQ curve compared to my natural ears. In a couple of gig venues, when I put them in I have trouble hearing myself; my guitar sound disappears into the mix.