my poor ears

[daimon]

Last 3 week I had especially busy time and 2 of the gigs were with a vEry loud soundsystems, so I even had a “peep” (I think it’s called tinnitus) in the ears. Also in one of them I had to play (oh gosh:) without monitor, I turned it off myself cause it was apparently defective and mostly produced very noisy mid/high’s, so the volume in the headphones was very high, usually I tend to keep volume as low as possible. This sunday after just a few hours of sleep during a usual rehearsal I realized that my ears are a little bit … I’m trying to find a right word … err, dull! At the time I couldn’t hear as clear as I do usually. Also my headphones (only a cable:) broke a little bit…:)
Now my hearing starts to normalize, and though it wasn’t that big alarm, I realized that I have to take even better care than I did before. Probably I should take some rest.. without loud music. But it's nearly hardly possible:).

[piscaries]

get ear plugs!

you can get custom molded ones, but i think you may have to go to an ear doctor for that. there's nothing more valuable to a musician than his hearing, so protect it at all costs. i'll be seeing a doctor at the end of the month and i'll check into the custom molded earplug thing.

[Sheridan]

without a doubt get some ear plugs. I met kid koala at one of his shows several months back and he was showing me his plugs. he did go to a specialist (I can't remember what their proper name is) and he got some custom molded ones for around $150-200 american. not a bad investment if you really look at it.

[Medea]

Ear plugs are a must, I'm looking into getting some myself. A little too late as I already have permanent tinnitus in both ears but at least I can avoid any further damage. Sort it ASAP as it can just become permanent overnight, one more gig and it could be irreperable - maybe not - but personally I wish I'd realised the dangers sooner. Sleeping when I feel like it isn't an option for me anymore as the noise is too distracting, I have to be exhausted.

[databombers]

Yeah i agree, ear plugs are the one. I'd also advise making. sure you sleep in silence, it's very important to give your ears a break on a day today level. id also go and see the doctor, where they can refer you to see a specalist, that's what i did two years ago and then they check your ears out properly.

[Tomoki]

I´m always using the cheapest option called Oropax,they are out of wax. They cost about 2€ a pack full of a dozen. And it works...The sound is not soo loud.

My doctor told me only to use the Oropax or special made, but these are very expensive and what if I loose them?!

[piscaries]

Try this (http://hearing-siemens.com/00_en/90_Aerzte/92_Technology/924_Noise_Protection/924_Noise_Protections.jsp)

[daimon]

Thanks for your suggestions they are very useful. Though I do use earplugs, standard ones, don’t remember how it’s called, but very cheap, that’s for sure ….
But are there any earplugs, which can be used also during performance? Perhaps I don’t get it…
I should visit a doctor that’s for sure, but I think custom model thing will be quite hard to figure out.
Sorry for you Medea, that’s a pity…

[bitch one]

even better than earplugs - a set of DT100 headphones, as used by alan partridge (and me).

[c s]

i too have become really careful since i had beeping ears for one whole week after i went to a concert. the problem with 'oropax' is that it was made for workers, the sound of music is mainly destroyed by them as the frequency spectrum is distorted. i think that's why the custom made ones are so recommendable, they are filtering according to the human sense of hearing so that everything is more silent but the 'frequency relations' remain the same.

[piscaries]

@daimon

if you follow that link i posted it explains a bit about the custom molded ones and how they have filters in them andy they're designed for musicians so that the sound isn't muffled, but reduced.

[deccard]

hearsafe have a lot of different plugs.
custom molded and more. i got some for about 40$. not custom but a lot better than the cheap wax you get at supermarkets.
washable and with a lil bag you won´t loose that easy.
the normal wax builds pressure over the time in my ears and makes the sound dull...
hearsafe is great. try it. they also got inearmonitoring.

hearsafe (http://www.hearsafe.com/)

[JE:5]

I am definately going to have to get some at some point, since my mum is about deaf in one ear and I think it is hereditory. :(

[Sheridan]

does your mom dj too?

[piscaries]

that would be rad (yes, rad) if my mom was a dj. i bet you she'd kick dj rap's ass (well.. just about anyone can).