When is the last time you had your hearing checked?

[Fun Bun]

A year ago.

[max]

I've been meaning to do it, and to get some custom-fitted ear plugs. It's just one of those things that I never get around to. :cry:

Resolution: do this in the next two weeks.

[Fun Bun]

Hey, man I just bought some universal fit musicians ear plugs and I like them better than the custom molds I have now! I guess the audiologist didn't take the imppression properly. The custom plugs I've got now don't even seal and they cost me $150. The $10 pair of musician plugs feel comfortable and they have a nice tight seal.

It's amazing how far behind musicians are as far as taking care of their bodies compared to atheletes. Fighter pilots have eye checks and physical fittness check a lot but musicians never think to get thier hearing check until somthing goes wrong.

www.westone.com is where I bought my plugs.

[Andrew]

I'm only 18, and I took one of those "free" hearing tests at a miracle ear office (they are usually intended for the elderly, but I took advantage of the "free" part). I am borderline "needing aid." Obviously, that isn't a good thing. I am in the process of saving up enough money for custom fitted earplugs, but for now I use a special kind of earplugs that I bought online. I can't remember the site, but they specialize in really really good earplugs. I know the company's name starts with the letter 'E'....maybe someone on the forum can help me out here.

[Anonymous]

What?

[Andrew]

Huh?

[Bill Mecca]

not since grade school, but I have to, starting to hear a bit of something when its quiet.

Funbun, back when I was a TV News anchor we had IFB in ears for monitors,(the same things with the clear spiral tube that the Secret Service uses) had to mix up the stuff in a cup, roll it into a wad and shove it in our ear, leave it there like 10 minutes, take it out put in on a screw in a box and ship it off to someplace in Wisconsin. I got it back and it didn't fit right, i sanded part of it, and only then realized it wasn't going in right, OPERATOR ERROR! I stillhave it, not very useful these days, someday my grand kids will open a box of Grandpa's stuff and wonder what the heck it is...;-) I'll just look down and smile.

I have the musicians plugs from Etymotic Research, but hate the way the little things stick out,,,,they work well though, not bad for $12.

[Andrew]

Yes...those are the ones I have the Etymotic Research earplugs...they are GREAT earplugs!

[arsenic87]

haven't needed to since I don't work in a high noise environment. Already lost about 10-15% in each ear due to working in an engineroom and a couple of loud rock concerts. I don't think my sax will do any damage.

[Fun Bun]

With musicians especially classical or jazz combo type stuff it's not that we are exposed to large quantities of sound but that we are exposed for such long periods of time. If your practicing 3 to 5 hours per day then over the course of several years is the same as listening to a fighter jet for a few minutes

Any situation where you have to raise your voice above normal speaking level means you need ear plugs!

[scoros]

I definitely recommend going to an audiologist and getting a custom molding of your ear done then sending it off for custom ear plugs. They take a while to really get comfortable with and they are a bit expensive but in the music business your ears can make or break you. Its never too late to save what ever is left of your hearing. Thos drummers and guitar players aren't getting any softer.

[Gandar]

Looong time ago. I bought my first earplugs few weeks ago, because I went to play in a band where is lots of electronic instruments, ie. guitar. Before that I played only in small groups, so no need for any. My earplugs are Etymotic Research -plugs, they were 21 euros and they are great.

[casalborgone]

I was going to reply "What was that question again? Would you mind repeating?" but a couple of wags have already beat me to it. Wouldn't you know?

Actually I do have a (possibly) useful comment. I have had two pairs of musicians' earplugs fitted by an audiologist both of which used the same Etymologic Research (or whatever the name is) inserts which reduce the sound by either 15 or 25 dB, depending on which insert you select. The first pair of molds into which the inserts were inserted were cast in a hard plastic material. The hard material fit my ear canals fairly well but did not always seal completely so that the performance of the earplugs varied over time. I returned to the audiologist a couple of years later and was advised that the ear canals do change shape over time and that the molded part of the earplugs (or for hearing aids) need to be recast and replaced periodically. So I had a second set of plugs fitted. This set was cast in a flexible, rubbery material which fit my ear canals in a much better way and have sealed perfectly every time. I have been using them for a couple of years and they work well always.

So be sure to specifiy to your audiologist that you want your custom molded earplugs to be cast in a flexible, rubbery material rather than a rigid material.

[WG]

I'm long overdue since I've developed constant Tinitus over the past year. It's a high pitch ringing in the center of my head. I think the cause of it was sitting in front of 4 bones and 4 trumpets for the past 15 years. It really became more pronounced after Hernia surgery with general anaesthetic and large doses of antibiotics. I chaulk it up as "occupational hazard".

[Joseph Boucher]

eh? Last time my bearings were checked? What are you talking about? You sound like my wife.

[BayviewSax]

what?

[mpavao]

nothin wrong with my hearing, man, i can here that tinnitus loud and clear!

[kennyj]

A friend of mine was just diagnosed with a weird hearing disorder.
Instead of a ringing in his ears, he is constantly hearing a dog barking.

Its been diagnosed as Rintintinnitus.

ii-V-I
kenny j

[singlereed]

Pardon? Oh, sorry - it's twenty five past four!

[CluelessEPA]

My personal choice in Earplugs is Mack's (moldable silicon) found in most drugstores. Very reasonable and comfortable. I used them in noisy mills all the time. Foam ones always made my ears itch. Never tried expensive custom ones.

[jazzbluescat]

Speak up, son. I say: Speak up, son! [/b]