Topic: Ears - the most important gear

[checht]

Wow, what a crazy story. Best wishes figuring out the hearing technology world.

~Chris

[yltfan]

I was at a show last week that was way too loud. I found it painful to listen - even with my earplugs. I was curious, so I downloaded an app, and measured a steady 105dB, with peaks over 115dB (obviously, no idea how accurate that is). This was at the back of the room, I'm sure it was much louder in front of the speakers.

The next day, I messaged the club to ask if it was always that loud. I expected a more hostile response, but instead the reply was one of gratitude and apology. They explained that it was a fill in sound tech, and they also thought it was too loud. And then added, "But that being said even with our guy behind the board we really need to be safe for everyone long term. I am going to order a decibel meter now and talk to the team about how we can make it a solve this. Give me a week or two and then any show you would like to come to i would love to put you on the list to hopefully give us a second chance."

I'm not sure this is the kind of response that folks will always get, but it's worth a shot...

[Gutbucket]

That's great.

I wish clubs would make earplugs available to anyone who wanted them, for sale with the beer and merch.. or simply free for the asking. 

Reminds me of the apples of yore at the Fillmore, although I don't think they do that anymore, and they wouldn't fit in folks ears anyway.

[guitard]

I wish clubs would make earplugs available to anyone who wanted them, for sale with the beer and merch... or simply free for the asking.

They were selling the orange foam ear plugs at a big corporate amphitheater I went to last week for $2.  That profit margin probably beats what they make on $5.25 bottles of water that they purchase in bulk for less than 20 cents a bottle.
 
It seems like if there is anyway possible to monetize something that's related to the concert experience, the venues will.

[Gutbucket]

$2 is fine. Glad they had them available. The majority of the cost to a big corporate amphitheater for an item this cheap is going to be dominated by handling/labor and not the cost of the product.  I suspect that mostly covers costs more than being a profit item.

I'm somewhat surprised more places don't offer them to anyone who asks simply as a relatively inexpensive form of liability protection.  Although maybe they don't want to frame it that way.  Might doing so be interpreted as acknowledging that they is liability?  Any legal minds here with a take on this?

[aaronji]

I was in a venue the other day that had earplugs in a gumball-style machine. I think they were €1.50 or €2 and you could use a debit card or coin. Actually, I think most, if not all, Dutch venues have plugs available; often, you can even order some when you are buying tickets.

I bought a 20-pack of foam plugs a few years back and have them scattered all over the place (in suitcases, toiletry bags, jacket pockets, taping bag, briefcase, etc.). Even if I forget my good ones, I almost always have a back-up...

[opsopcopolis]

I see a fair amount of venues of all size either selling or giving out plugs these days. Some just have them sitting on the bar in a plastic container to just grab from, sometimes at merch for a buck or two. Seem them in the bathroom in a condom style dispenser too

[rocksuitcase]

I see a fair amount of venues of all size either selling or giving out plugs these days. Some just have them sitting on the bar in a plastic container to just grab from, sometimes at merch for a buck or two. Seem them in the bathroom in a condom style dispenser too

I'm guessing West Coast or somewhere not where I typically tape in the Northeast?

[Chanher]

I always ask for the Etymotic plugs as a cheap Christmas gift EVERY year, and started stockpiling them everywhere (every taping bag, car glove box AND car console, and a pair near my wallet and keys) that way I never forget. I'm gonna order a bin of the foam ones as I've been using those for shitty openers then switching to Etymotic for bands I like. A bit overboard but worth it IMO. I personally haven't noticed odd frequencies with the Etymotics, my ears (actually the brain) adjust very quickly and I'm guessing compensates for what's lacking. Definite high frequency roll of with the foams.

[vibrioidxire]

What a revolution it was to walk out of a venue with earplugs after the show and be able to hear clearly. It's nice to not have my ears be ripped to shreds during a loud show. I did start wearing them late and ended up with a mild case of tinnitus (gotta sleep with a box fan on or wait for the A/C to kick on and buzz). It's now important to me to keep my hearing safe that I even stole half a box of construction earplugs from my job. They're orange foam tips and tethered with a blue cord.

I'm remembering this one show that I went to last year where I saw this kid (maybe like 14?) lose his earplugs and he was wondering the crowd with his hands over his ears. Even though I was taping both video and audio, I sacrificed the footage for a portion of a song to dig through my bag and give an extra pair of earplugs to him. Never seen such an expression of gratitude from someone.

Also, foam > silicone. Silicone tips have always hurt my ears, and the final straw was trying out the Loop earplugs. The pressure of pulling one out felt like my eardrums were being ripped apart. Thank god they came with foam tips. Felt much better, plus had a similar noise cancellation effect as Shure SE215's. I also say the same with Apple AirPods. I never liked how the noise cancellation felt on my ears (it did do a good job of repelling noise), and the $20 foam tips I got reduced that high pressure feeling + keeping the job of repelling noise.

[fireonshakedwnstreet]

Very important discussion. I have a bunch of foamies in my gear bag. I always offer them to people too. Some shows are scary loud!

[Axe]

Gutbucket — the Fillmore still has apples, and last time I was there I think they were Honeycrisps!!

[Gutbucket]

Oooh fancy apples!
Great to hear that.

[unclehoolio]

It's also worth noting that a typical audiogram only shows a limited frequency band, mainly the range of audible speech. For those who work with music, it might be worth asking your audiologist if they can do full range tests.

I just had an audiologist exam at end of August, and had the extended high end assessment done in addition to the normal one.  See attached merged graphs.

I'm 52, and she said that my curves were normal for my age*, although i do have slightly better than average/normal/expected between 8k-10k.  Slight decrease in sensitivity for my left ear (X's) as compared to right (O's).  This doesn't surprise me, as I have another hobby besides concerts/live music which can also be hard on the ears: scuba diving.  And while it has (like live music) given me many amazing experiences and memories, it has also given me more than a few ear infections--more often in the left than the right (although I've never had any problems equalizing either ear, knock on wood).  I think that structurally my left ear canal/eustachian tube is narrower than right, which plays a role in causation--I have to be very diligent to flush and treat my ears after each dive, otherwise by day 3, I'll have otitis media.  Which is not good when I'm on a 9- or 12-day diving trip!  Also, I grew up in the south and hunted/fired guns quite a bit in my youth, sans hearing protection, so there's that...

(*Note that 'hearing loss' starts normally by the early 20s, which is the age that basically everyone loses the ability to hear the 18k-20k range, due simply to what happens structurally to the ear as we age.  And the drop-off continues moving into lower frequencies as age increases, which is why my audiogram looks like a LPF has been applied at 10k, and also shows <null> values above 14k.)

As for earplugs:  I currently use the Eargasms and Etymotics, but have a slight preference for the fit of the former.  I just had full silicon molds made ($50), but have not yet pulled the trigger on full customs yet--still exploring my options here (e.g. MEE vs TLS)

[goodcooker]

I just made my first ever appointment with an audiologist thanks to this thread. I'm very interested to see the results to compare to what I think is happening. I recently thought one of my speakers had some problems with the tweeter but I think my high frequencies are just way down on that side.

My older brother had to start wearing hearing aids around the same age that I am now. I'm doing alright but this is way overdue.