PROTECT YOUR EARS - ear plugs, hearing loss, deafness

N

nick1216

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Does any body know what percautions do you take to avoid this problem. I have custom doctor made plugs but, is this all i can do?

To any one who's listening
 
Re: Tennitis (ringing in the ears)

modern drummer published a very good series of articles on this topic a few years ago. here is the summary. all of you should read it a nd take it seriously. as musicians your ears are as valuable as you hands.



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EAR DAMAGE IS CUMULATIVE

  • What you do to your ears today will BE ADDED to the damage tomorrow. When you are young you think nothing of this but the damage is accruing.


EAR DAMAGE IS PERMANENT

  • There is no cure. So take it very seriously.
  • my dad has had tinnitus in his right ear for twenty years. in the begining it always goes away after a day and so we are fooled into thinking this is going to be the case forever. not so. if you get tinnitus then you are in trouble and need to take immediate and drastic action!


EAR DAMAGE DOES NOT ALWAYS HURT

  • Sometimes there is pain and we vacate the noisy area but often there is no pain. The damage is just as bad either way.


EVERYONE’S EARS ARE AT RISK.

  • Every now and then you meet a super human who says: ‘loud sounds don’t affect me.’ You wait in twenty years time they will be saying: ‘what? Sorry? Could you please speak up?’
  • ear phones are just as damaging. decibles are where they are heard not made. so if it is loud in your ear then it is loud, regardless of whether the speaker is an 18 cone or a 3mm earphone diaphragm.


FOR US DRUMMERS.

The solution is obviously ear-plugs. But they are a bother. They cut out vital frequencies and they diminish our ability to hear our volume levels accurately and so control our dynamics. They get dirty or lost easily too.
i have many pairs in various locations. i don't wear them during the set at a gig but i shove them in as soon as we finish and any other time there is loud music. i also wear them during rehearsals and i avoid ridiculously loud night clubs. i force myself to play my car and room studio at reasonable levels and, where possible i practice drums on a pad rather than a kit.

j
 
Re: Tennitis (ringing in the ears)

Tinnitus: the perception of sound when there is none. Welcome to Drummerworld.

NUTHA JASON said:
The solution is obviously ear-plugs. But they are a bother. They cut out vital frequencies and they diminish our ability to hear our volume levels accurately and so control our dynamics. They get dirty or lost easily too.

I've tried a few things over the years, but these days I iuse the cheap little foam plugs that you get in bulk at your local drug store. They're the kind you twist into a tight cylinder, insert, and wait while they expand to completely block your ear canal. They chop something like 33 dB.

Do they sound good? Not really, but they're dirt cheap and quite effective. And I accidentally discovered something: I put the plugs in, put the headphones on over top, and somehow the EQ balance is much better than with either one ('phones or plugs) alone.

Protect your hearing now!
 
Re: Tennitis (ringing in the ears)

Interesting chart, NUTHA JASON. I never quite equated jazz drumming with a drill press before. Live and learn, eh wot!?
 
Re: Tennitis (ringing in the ears)

i use those exact earplugs too. one day i'm gonna splash out on pro plugs that cut volume but not frequency. but it is not worth waiting. protect your ears now!


i mean quite loud jazz. i think the soft touch of sheepskin kits and brushes has no health risk attached.

here is a pictoral representation of how we lose our hearing. the cochler is a coiled up tube with millions of bunches of hairs gently resting on a stif bonelike membrane. as the organ vibrated the hairs brush the organ and nerves at their roots send sound impulses to the brain. the hairs are stiff and short and brittle. at high decibels they bend snap and break and the less of them their are to touch the membrane the less we can hear. they never grow back or get replaced like the hairs on your arm do ... unfortunately.

j

 
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Re: PROTECT YOUR EARS.

There are clear blue plastic ones I use called ear planes. They turn down the volume and cut out less high's. I reccomend them over the regular foam ones. Also NJ I think it's really bad to not to wear plugs during a show. You have very loud montiors on top of the regular noise you generate with your band. That will catch up with you if you gig a lot.

http://www.take-care.com/hear/hhc/earplanes.html
 
Re: PROTECT YOUR EARS.

I use sound reduction head phones and hardly ever practice over an hour without taking a break for at least a little while.
 
Re: PROTECT YOUR EARS.

the "Rock N Roll Hearos" or whatever they're called that they sell at Guitar Center are really good, they leave in a good balance of frequencies and give you a better idea of what your cymbals actually sound like. Plus they have the little carrying cylinder that is nice for leaving in your stick bag or carrying them to concerts.
 
Re: PROTECT YOUR EARS.

I just wear headphones or earplugs. Whatever works best for you.
 
Re: PROTECT YOUR EARS.

Thanks for the tips. I use my Vic Firth 22db mufflephones when I'm really bashing, but usually i just go without, and dont have any ringing or anything. Should I wear plugs when I'm just playing lightly, or is this excessive? Thanks again for the warning,

Rob
 
Re: PROTECT YOUR EARS.

I wear shooting muffs. They work quite nicely, cutting down 32 decibels, and believe it or not, they actually cut out a lot of the echo I get from my basement. Because there is no soundproofing or drywall in my basement, it can't be absorbed anywhere, but with the headphones, it eliminates them.
 
Re: PROTECT YOUR EARS.

Thanks for the chart NJ, I'd never seen something like that before.
 
Re: PROTECT YOUR EARS.

I use big headphones that hug my ear all over and it muffles the sound pretty well.
 
Re: PROTECT YOUR EARS.

ear phones are just as damaging. decibles are where they are heard not made. so if it is loud in your ear then it is loud, regardless of whether the speaker is an 18 cone or a 3mm earphone diaphragm.
Ultrasone headphones claim to be safer than regular headphones.

http://www.ultrasoneusa.com/press_releases.php
S-Logic also reduces the risk of hearing damage by 40% as the headphone’s transducers are not aimed directly at the auditory canal. Listeners perceive the same volume with sound press levels at the eardrum reduced up to 40%...
 
Re: PROTECT YOUR EARS.

My ears used to get bothered when i first started polaying years ago. I tried ear muffs and head phones you name it. And i just decided that it wasnt worth it. The ear plugs and head phones just made it harder for me to ear my band. This is just my opion i would say just dont worry bout the loud sound yur ears will get used to it. Although if it is herting your ears then dont take my advice take your doctors advice.
 
Re: PROTECT YOUR EARS.

What i do when i play is wear earplugs and then isolation headphones on top of that. Basically it doubles up the protection i can get from the noisiness of playing in a band. It works for me.
 
Re: PROTECT YOUR EARS.

gpinney wrote:

This is just my opion i would say just dont worry bout the loud sound yur ears will get used to it.

but the experts say ...

EVERYONE’S EARS ARE AT RISK.

  • Every now and then you meet a super human who says: ‘loud sounds don’t affect me.’ You wait in twenty years time they will be saying: ‘what? Sorry? Could you please speak up?’
gpinney wrote:
Although if it is herting your ears then dont take my advice take your doctors advice.

but the experts say ...

EAR DAMAGE DOES NOT ALWAYS HURT

  • Sometimes there is pain and we vacate the noisy area but often there is no pain. The damage is just as bad either way.
seems like everyone else on this thread takes this aspect of drumming very seriously ...
i said VERY SERIOUS gpinney! did he hear me? hello? wait....i'll spell it out with flags for him.

jokes

j
 
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