Not sure if this is the right “room”, but having secured 2 tickets for Nine Inch Nails’ tour this summer (to pretend I’m still a teenager rather than very nearly 50) I am aware that my ears sometimes “crackle” at louder live concerts and my wife has the same phenomenon. I gather that is indicative of some existing hearing damage, which is not surprising.
Can anyone recommend some good quality in-ear ear plugs that are more scientific/effective/musical than just the cheap foam ones or over ear “defenders”? I see that there are various brands available online but where to begin? Any past experience of good/bad most welcome.
Incidentally, not attending for the good of our ears is not an option!
Google Custom earplugs UK
I got a pair of these made for when I was in and out of a noisy workshop.
Last for years wash and reuse.
Protect the ears for the music.
I have had to tackle this since 1997 when a Bowie gig did for me. I’ve experimented with most of the market solutions from ludicrously expensive to cheap; solutions which allegedly lower volume whilst keeping the full frequency range intact and so on. Mrs. H. and offspring swear by Flares. I have tried them twice snd both times they broke for me and made things worse. Overwhelmingly nowadays I will use the relatively cheap silicone things you can use once and mould to your outer ear to get a seal. You can use them more than once but sooner or later you’ll be caught out at a gig with no alternative.
Again flare audio. The solid titanium ones work well for loud gigs…… having slight tinnitus I am obsessive about hearing protection. Hearing is fine so far.
I’ve used Etymotic for years, not expensive and work well, although I do seem to lose some of the top frequencies, but wouldn’t be without them at a gig now.
I have been suffering from a bought of tinnitus, brought on by a medicine. It is thankfully subsiding now, but when I went to see Pat Metheny recently, all was fine until a particularly strident piece, sent my T into overdrive.
There are people who have hearing problems, that I guess these earplugs resolve.
My wife is dragging me along to a concert in June, which will be loud. I might gets some plugs as keeping my ears free of tinnitus, is a top priority. I can control the volume on my headphones/stereo, but at concerts, it is not the case.
I use Eggz ear plugs. Keep them on my key ring so they are always with me.
Edit: a very sensible precaution if you want to continue to enjoy listening to music. My apple watch monitors noise levels and I even wear them at football matches - last match measured > 95 db.
These days I use ACS Custom ear plugs for concerts and for when I play in a rock band.
They have to be custom moulded to fit your ear and you can buy different attenuation filters. So, for example I use a medium/high attenuation filter in my right ear and a low one in my left ear.