| Visit Our Catalog at SteelGuitarShopper.com |

Post new topic Hearing Protection
Reply to topic
Author Topic:  Hearing Protection
Jon Light


From:
Saugerties, NY
Post  Posted 25 Aug 2022 5:54 am    
Reply with quote

Wondering if anyone has tried the (relatively) new D'Addario plugs.

https://www.daddario.com/products/accessories/hearing-protection/dbuds-premium/?utm_source=pr&utm_medium=pr&utm_campaign=acc_dbud

I am (an idiot but....) only just now starting to use protection for the first time. I got Vibes, on a drummer friend's strong recommendation. I'll probably use them on stage this weekend after a week in my practice room.

The D'Addarios are twice the price. Their distinction is that they have a slider that selects -12dB or -24dB . I'm always attracted to choice & options and I'm thinking that being able to choose attenuation level can make the transition to always using protection easier.
But what I don't know is whether it's an option I will even need or use.

Informed opinions?
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Thomas Alexander

 

From:
Ontario, Canada
Post  Posted 25 Aug 2022 8:24 am    
Reply with quote

If I'm recording with a group in a studio setting I use in-ear monitors and 3M Peltor X5A (31db) headphones over top to really isolate the monitor.

For a live performance I have used 3M E-A-Rsoft (33db) and Mack's Slim Fit (29db) earplugs.

Foam earplugs offer the best protection, but you need to know how to put them in properly (most people do not). I prefer foam earplugs over reusable, because in order for the reusable ones to provide a good seal and reduce noise they must be so large that they hug the walls of your ear canal going in and pack wax deeper into your ear. Whereas a foam plug when correctly squished for insertion will slip into your ear with no resistance and 'inflate' (so to speak) directly outward to the walls of your ear canal, so no wax is pushed deeper into the canal.

I know people rag on foam earplugs as tone killers, but once you rehearse with them a few times you get used to how they sound and can control your volume just fine.
View user's profile Send private message
Howard Parker


From:
Maryland
Post  Posted 25 Aug 2022 8:38 am    
Reply with quote

FWIW..

I have -9db pads in my custom molds. -24db sounds excessive, for the types of gigs that I do.

Which is NOT stadium rock! Very Happy

h
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Lee Baucum


From:
McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier
Post  Posted 25 Aug 2022 9:46 am    
Reply with quote

Howard Parker wrote:
FWIW..

I have -9db pads in my custom molds. -24db sounds excessive, for the types of gigs that I do.

Which is NOT stadium rock! Very Happy

h


Agreed. I have custom molded ear plugs and even the -15s are a bit too much. The -9s are perfect.

We no longer have a loud keyboard player or a loud drummer; so, I rarely use the plugs anymore. I keep them handy though. Just in case.

~Lee
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Jon Light


From:
Saugerties, NY
Post  Posted 25 Aug 2022 9:59 am    
Reply with quote

Good info. Numbers are just numbers until I try this in the field. I'll se what I think after this weekend (or next weekend with a much louder band). These Vibes claim -22 but I don't know if I'm jamming them in really airtight -- they seem quite effective but NOT overly so. If I seat them so that I can feel the pressure of an airtight seal, I can't hear squat.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Jim Sliff


From:
Lawndale California, USA
Post  Posted 25 Aug 2022 10:05 am    
Reply with quote

I used Hearos in the xituations where I didn't have in-ear monitors. I used anything from crumpled Kleenex to parts of cotton balls from the 1970's-on (playingg very loud rock) and my last hearing test was perfect.

My point is - use SOMETHING.
_________________
No chops, but great tone
1930's/40's Rickenbacher/Rickenbacker 6&8 string lap steels
1921 Weissenborn Style 2; Hilo&Schireson hollownecks
Appalachian, Regal & Dobro squarenecks
1959 Fender 400 9+2 B6;1960's Fender 800 3+3+2; 1948 Fender Dual-8 Professional
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Howard Parker


From:
Maryland
Post  Posted 25 Aug 2022 10:18 am    
Reply with quote

Jim Sliff wrote:

My point is - use SOMETHING.



Went to hear Junior Brown once with Mike Auldridge. Surprised me when he bummed a couple of cigarettes off of someone.

Proceeded to rip the filters off and jam them into his ears.

h
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Tracy Sheehan

 

From:
Fort Worth, Texas, USA
Post  Posted 26 Aug 2022 6:10 pm     Hearing loss.
Reply with quote

It begins when hearing seems good but you start having a little trouble understanding some words spoken. Your hearing will now go down so gradual you will not notice it until you are almost deaf. My hard earned advice is not to wait until this happens as it will be too late to try and save your hearing. Protect it first thing. And no hearing aids will replace your normal hearing. As in a Hank Williams song,Im not talking just to hear my self.( no pun intened) Tracy
View user's profile Send private message
Floyd Lowery

 

From:
Deland, Florida, USA
Post  Posted 27 Aug 2022 5:21 am    
Reply with quote

My only regret after many years of playing music, I never used any protection for my ears. I urge everyone to use something.
_________________
Carter 12 string 4petals 5knees, Mullen G2 3 petals 4 knees
Alesis QuadraVerb, Goodrich Match-Bro II
Peavy Nashville 400 & Session 500
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Fred Treece


From:
California, USA
Post  Posted 28 Aug 2022 6:48 am    
Reply with quote

I use custom Westone musician plugs for -15dB. They work great. The choice of filters goes down to -9 and up to -30. I didn’t use them enough over the years and now at age 65 everyone mumbles until I put in my hearing aid, then everyone is too loud and I want to outlaw motorcycles.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
ajm

 

From:
Los Angeles
Post  Posted 29 Aug 2022 7:14 am    
Reply with quote

To sort of piggyback on what Jim Sliff said.......

I will N-E-V-E-R go to another concert without TWO sets of ear plugs.
I had a couple of really bad experiences in the past 6-7 years and was lucky that I had them with me.

So I can hear you asking: Why two sets?

If you're enjoying the show, and one of your friends says something, and you pull one out to hear them better, and you happen to drop it in the dark.........

Don't ask if that actually happened to me. ;>))
View user's profile Send private message
Steve Rosko


From:
Georgetown, Texas
Post  Posted 12 Mar 2024 7:41 am    
Reply with quote

I'd like to get some hearing protection. We've all worked hard to achieve "our sound" and I wouldn't want hearing protection to degrade that for me. I see Westone mentioned in this thread and have heard good things about their custom molded plugs with the -9 filter. Is this still a good choice and is good fidelity maintained?
Thanks,
_________________
84 Emmons D10 PP, MSA D10, Goodrich Omni, Little Walter PF89, PF-350 cabs, BlueSky, BJS
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Fred Treece


From:
California, USA
Post  Posted 12 Mar 2024 9:06 am    
Reply with quote

Steve,
The Westones I use provide an even cut. I would not say they “maintain fidelity”. Your sound will sound different, because a 9dB roll off is a 9dB roll off.

I have significant hearing loss in the 5khz and up range. But when I use the plugs, I find I am able to hear upper register notes clearer than I would without them. I think this is because the filters in the plugs cancel the harmonics equally and allow me to hear the fundamental frequency with more (if somewhat less interesting) definition. Also, they cut every other instrument too, so snare drums, ride and crash cymbals, and other high frequencies are less intrusive.

Honestly? It makes playing in a loud band a much mellower and more musical experience. If your band is not playing in the 110+ dB range, then you might not even need them.

I advise you or anyone interested in hearing protection to get their hearing tested before ordering custom plugs. This is usually part of the process when ordering,so don’t skip it. Everybody has some hearing loss by a certain age, so it’s good to know what frequency range you might notice missing when wearing protection.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
chuck lemasters

 

From:
Jacksonburg, WV
Post  Posted 12 Mar 2024 11:27 am    
Reply with quote

I used custom plugs for a few years with a loud band…9db seemed to be plenty of reduction…I found I could hear better with them in…unfortunately, between work and music, I should have worn some type of hearing protection years before…
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Tucker Jackson

 

From:
Portland, Oregon, USA
Post  Posted 13 Mar 2024 7:27 am    
Reply with quote

The best gear purchase ever was a set of custom-molded Westone earplugs. I had to go to an audiologist to get the molds made and the whole deal was a few hundred dollars. Still... the only piece of gear I own that is indispensable and non-negotiable.

Despite their marketing claims to the contrary, they don't have a natural sound. Everything sounds muffled when wearing them. They knock down the highs a lot more than the lows so your steel sort of disappears, but the bass guitar remains. I had to 'relearn' how to hear myself play onstage because it's definitely more difficult. Nothing sounds as cool with the plugs in. Still, wearing plugs and having a muffled experience is better than the alternative.

I started with the 9db filters installed because that's all the volume reduction I needed. HOWEVER, I switched to 15db filters after looking at the frequency charts: The 15's do about the same volume reduction as the 9's at the high end... so all of that addition sound reduction of the 15's is in the mids and low.

In other words, the 15's sound flatter, less muffled, and more natural. Even though they have more overall volume reduction than the 9's, I can hear my (trebly) steel better by comparison because the roaring low-end of the band has now also been significantly reduced.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Steve Rosko


From:
Georgetown, Texas
Post  Posted 13 Mar 2024 7:53 am    
Reply with quote

Tucker: that's very interesting about the -15db filter. My biggest fear is I'm not going to hear my Emmons PP sound Sad
_________________
84 Emmons D10 PP, MSA D10, Goodrich Omni, Little Walter PF89, PF-350 cabs, BlueSky, BJS
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Mathew Peluso

 

From:
Portland, Oregon, USA
Post  Posted 13 Mar 2024 8:47 am    
Reply with quote

I’ve also been using molded ear plugs for several years now. I went with ACS Pro 17’s, since this level of attenuation is the flattest they offer. I believe the filters that ACS use are the same as what Westones use but I could be wrong about that. I added a couple of other filters of differing attenuation to my order but never tried them because the 17’s did everything I needed from the start. I still hear the band and my steel clearly, if not more so. The one thing I didn’t expect is that time based effects sort of disappear a bit so I have to be careful about dialing in reverb and delay. Absolutely worth it though - I had my hearing tested again recently and it has not changed since I started using molded ear plugs.
View user's profile Send private message
Fred Treece


From:
California, USA
Post  Posted 13 Mar 2024 9:02 am    
Reply with quote

It is important to know what your sound is at low volume, without hearing protection. Not bedroom volume, but low band volume. You can experiment with the plugs in and out and take note of where your sound sits in the mix both ways. This can’t really be done in a settings-tweaking bedroom environment. Playing with the band in the rehearsal room or on stage changes your perception of how you sound, as does playing with hearing protection.

When I first got my plugs, my audiologist advised me to wear them (with -15 filters) around the house and get used to how the world sounds with them - in conversation, listening to music, watch TV, etc.

I agree with everything Tucker said, which was much more straight forward than my take.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Lee Baucum


From:
McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier
Post  Posted 13 Mar 2024 9:29 am    
Reply with quote

I found a secondary use for my custom molded ear plugs.

My car has a lot of road noise. When I take a road trip (without Mrs. Baucum) I put in the -9db inserts, put them in my ears, and hit the road.

Now, I can crank the music system way up and hear it just fine, with all the road noise way down low in the mix.

NOTE: Do not remove the ear plugs before turning down the volume of the music system!!

Shocked
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Fred Treece


From:
California, USA
Post  Posted 13 Mar 2024 9:54 am    
Reply with quote

Heh, Lee. I wear mine when using power tools or the Ariens 8hp snowblower on the driveway. Westone makes total sound block fittings for the plugs that work great, and don’t squash your head like soundblocking earphones.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
John Hyland

 

From:
South Australia
Post  Posted 22 Mar 2024 12:55 am    
Reply with quote

Road and blower noise? Try “Noise cancelling* ear buds. I have also read using transparency mode, in the same ear buds, reduces music sound level.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Jack Stanton


From:
Somewhere in the swamps of Jersey
Post  Posted 22 Mar 2024 6:49 am    
Reply with quote

Eargasam-terrible name, great product.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Fred Treece


From:
California, USA
Post  Posted 22 Mar 2024 8:27 am    
Reply with quote

John Hyland wrote:
Road and blower noise? Try “Noise cancelling* ear buds. I have also read using transparency mode, in the same ear buds, reduces music sound level.

Yeah but ear buds look like you have Martian implants sticking out of your head.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Gary Mahalak

 

From:
Michigan, USA
Post  Posted 22 Mar 2024 8:36 am    
Reply with quote

I haven't given the D'Addario plugs a go, but I've been using Vibes and they're pretty reliable. That slider for different protection levels sounds intriguing, could definitely come in handy.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail

All times are GMT - 8 Hours
Jump to:  
Please review our Forum Rules and Policies
Our Online Catalog
Strings, CDs, instruction, and steel guitar accessories
www.SteelGuitarShopper.com

The Steel Guitar Forum
148 S. Cloverdale Blvd.
Cloverdale, CA 95425 USA

Click Here to Send a Donation

Email SteelGuitarForum@gmail.com for technical support.


BIAB Styles
Ray Price Shuffles for Band-in-a-Box
by Jim Baron