What ear plugs ?

Having now got tinnitus in one ear I thought it about time I protected my ears at concerts, clubs etc. So any recommendations for ear plugs? Brief google search has thrown up generic or customs ones.

eg generic ear plugs

tks

I use the bog standard yellow foam ones and found these to be the best.

I’ve tried a few pairs of funky shaped silicon ones from the local chemist, but they were pants and didn’t do anything.

Note – I only use them for sleeping when my neighbour decides to be noisy, but they did a good job at the F1 too!

I’ve got tinnitus in both ears, as loud as a quiet TV and I’ve only been out clubbing/to gigs about 40 times in my life I think. Protect those ears all you can, as it’s endlessly annoying when you get it seriously, seems to affect balance to some degree, and seems to make my hearing uber-sensitive to future damage.

Obviously I can’t vouch for their specific performance, but these seem to work well – not quite good enough for stopping an angle grinder hurting my ears (well, it’s noise!) but certainly knocks down most of the noise and leaves peoples voices understandable. They’ve been suggested by some music techys I know:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Elacin-ER20S-musicians-hearing-protection/dp/B0034ZI9AQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1288613028&sr=8-2

if you’re in the audience and aren’t headbanging away… standard foam ones should be cool

if you’re the kind of person to thrash your head around then:

THESE[/url]

are great. make sure you go into a music shop and buy the right size for your ear. the little coloured plugs change the frequency range so very handy for vocalists etc.

hope that helps 🙂

Another for the yellow foam, I used to use them when I live in Madrid (city). I’d cut them so half wasn’t hanging out.

I sleep with wax ear plugs in because they can cut out 90% of noise that bothers me, the foam ones didn’t block enough. The latter would be more suitable for concerts.

I used to wear ear plugs when I rode my BMW (sold now) and tried a couple of mixed sample packs to get the most comfy ones. You can get 10 or 12 different ones to try.

edit: I used the yellow EAR ones for years, but there are far better ones available now

I use those Er20 ones mentioned by coffeeking, they have a better sounds as they attenuate the frequencies an even-ish amount. Washable after use. Wore them to a satriani gig recently, and could still hear the band perfectly, with no post-gig ringing.

The foam ones are cheaper, the sound isn’t as balanced, but they do act as great ear buds!

Tks all

if you’re in the audience and aren’t headbanging away

my days of headbanging at concerts are a long, long time ago so now I just jump up and down until middle age catches up with me and my legs get tired ….

I’ve tried the foam ones with varying success but the others seem a good price for what they provide.

I use er20 ones but also have some cheap foam ones always on hand incase I forget the decent ones. If you play in an orchestra or band then it will be well worth getting some custom fitted ones.

More googling bought up this site[/url] for the foam ones.

Just dont overdo the noise damping, 35db is a huge amount to cut-out, useful if you want to stop machinery noise, etc, not good if you want to hear the event at a slightly reduced level. 20db should be fine.

Laserlite are the best I have used. I also use the max Ear ones – both on the link from daveGr

Bio Ears are good and very comfortable, but they stop you hearing anything… which is probably not what you want

http://www.boots.com/en/BioEars-Soft-Silicone-Earplugs-3-pairs_39424/?CAWELAID=334495493&cm_mmc=Shopping%20Engines-_-Google%20Base-_—_-BioEars%20Soft%20Silicone%20Earplugs%20%203%20pairs

If you want to push the boat out, the custom fit jobbies are Elacin (same bunch as make the ER20s) – also on DaveGr’s link. You can get them for various degrees of attenuation – 9db (ER9), 15db, 25db – tho’ once you have one type you can swap in a different attenuating filter (tho’ those aren’t cheap at something like 70-80 quid, iirc).
Expensive tho’, £170-190 inc fitting, depending on where you go…tho’ I *think* there’s a cheaper route via signing up for the Boots Hearing service (no extra cost) – it appears to bring it down to the 140 quid mark.

A mate and his wife bought a set last year – they go to a lot of noisy gigs too – they had them in time for Download and were pleased with ’em.

I’ve got a pair of the ER20s, but they seemed to have a little too much attenuation – but p’raps I ought to persevere with them a bit more, I suspect one’s brain does a bit of gain correction once they’re in !
I’ve also tried the Alpine Musicsafe jobbies (phil’s link) – they come with a selection of filters – but they tend to cut more out at the top end (actually ,so do the ER20s:
http://www.hear-more.com/musician.htm

The Alpines have a smaller flange than the ER20’s so feel better if you’ve a small lug’ole – I bought the ER20s for my OH but she found them uncomfortable, but it’s probably possible to trim the flange (carefully !)

My OH tends to use some Max foam earplugs – I bought a big bag years ago when I was still riding a motorbike.

Bio Ears are good and very comfortable, but they stop you hearing anything… which is probably not what you want

Oh hello……..

http://www.wickes.co.uk/Ear-Plugs/invt/186939

My surfer’s ear is starting to be a problem so gonna get some of these:SURF PLUGS[/url]

Any good?

I find foam ear-plugs the best all rounders. Comfortable and work very well.

My company also provided me with custom made silicon ear plugs. Something like, £80 to have done … nowhere as good as the cheap as chips foam ones.

In spite of keen gig going when a teenager, I retained fantastic hearing.

Then one night in a nightclub in Newcastle in the first few weeks at university and I developed the most appalling tinnitus. It did subside, but I’ve “suffered” for the last 15 years. As a result, I have always worn earplugs at nightclubs and gigs subsequently. Just the cheap yellow foam ones, or the brown versions of the same available from Boots.

I find the attenuation fine – mainly because they kill the top end, which always sounds to me like it’s screaming. As such, I enjoy the sound much more.

My tinnitus *might* be due to a lot more gig going a handful of years ago, but I suspect it’s more to do with mp3 player use – despite being careful about the volume, and using some rubberplug-style earphones to give decent isolation – ie if you’re sitting next to me on the train you won’t hear a thing.

>I find the attenuation fine – mainly because they kill the top end, which always sounds to me like it’s screaming. As such, I enjoy the sound much more.

Reminds me of seeing Slayer at a festival last summer…I quite enjoyed it ‘cos I couldn’t hear the solos 😉

2nd or 3rd the laserlites comfiest to wear- but I suppose it’s all down to ear shape and preferences. I bought a mixed bag to try out different shapes and sizes.

I’ve used the little yellow foam ones for ages, cos I get them supplied at work, but I find they irritate after a while, so at work I just use my Ultimate Ears ‘phones to cut down machine noise. For gig I use flanged silicon ones which are a lot more comfortable for me. I’ve found these:
http://www.sensorcom.com/product.asp?P_ID=1348&PT_ID=321
which are designed for gigs and clubbing, and they do a bunch of other ear protectors too if you search through their site. I’ve just ordered some Puresound eartips for my UE’s to give a better fit for my ears. A lot cheaper than £89 for custom fit ones.