Earplugs at Concerts, Do you wear them? Options

[Somber_Eyes1]

I don't but I should. Especially with MY bands.

[slainte]

some of the venues in portland have ear plugs for sale when you pay your cover. not a bad idea.....but i prefer to go with out.

[Jennyfoo]

The Chameleon in Lancaster has what looks like a bubblegum dispenser - but it sells earplugs instead.

[Pokey]

I only wear them when I'm on stage performing with a band.
If I'm going to see a band then no .. but it depends though, if I see a band somewhere local in Melbourne I'll usually buy some for $2 at the vending machine and put them in when people are talking to me because it's easier to hear that way.

[mhg]

I've never even thought of it to be honest. I don't go to that many gigs. I saw the Chili Peppers in a stadium a couple of years back and I was fine as it was open air and we were in the seats a way back from the stage. A month later I saw Live in a tiny venue and I was deaf for about 3 days afterwards! Like Pheezy said, it's a bit scary wondering if your hearing is going to come back.

wore em once standing in front of a speaker at an AC show, thought I'd be able to handle it but when they started playing my eardrums began to vibrate, I was so happy the guy in front of us was nice enough to share what he had. I'm sure I would be reading sign language right now if it wasn't for him. Haven't worn em since then. I do enjoy the loudness of the music it somehow adds to the energy of the show especially when it's live.

[NectarDan]

I wear than occassionally, especially venues where they crank up the bass. The Recher Theatre in Towson makes my ears rings for days if I don't put plugs in. I usually never wear them out outdoors shows though.

[mikkel]

never used them, but maybe I should...

[sherocker]

reading all of this i'm really starting to think about using them...cos, who wants to become deaf?

[rock0n13]

With the amount of gigs that I go to (74 this year so far) wearing earplugs is something that's pretty much essential for me. If I don't have them in nowadays, I feel bare and feel really guilty, because I know I would have fucked up my hearing a bit more.

During my course at SAE (School of Audio Engineering), we had a hearing test and earplugs done for us for approx AUD170.00. The earplugs provide me with 20dB (or 30? I can't remember) of reduction (doesn't muffle or alter the sound like the foam ones), and I don't have ringing ears after a show. I still enjoy the show to it's full potential (even moreso in some cases), and can actually hear people the following morning.

The earplugs were well-worth the money, let me tell you (they were that expensive, because they're moulded to your ear canal). If I ever lost them, I wouldn't hesitate in forking out another $100 or so to get another pair done for me.

After Homebake last year, I had left my earplugs at home, gone to the Hopetoun Tent to see The Hot Lies, The Scare, Wolf & Cub and The Grates, which were all getting louder (particularly Wolf & Cub - they're a LOUD band), and it took me at least a week or 2 to get my hearing back to normal.

The longer your ears ring, the more damage you have done.

So, with all of that, I'd strongly recommend earplugs (foam or specially moulded), especially if you're a regular gig goer, like me.



This post has been edited by rock0n13: Nov 10 2006, 10:05 pm

[Alex]

You did SAE? Cool, did you get a job involving audio engineering afterwards?

[rock0n13]

Nup.

But I don't want to do audio engineering much anymore. I can use it with what I wanna do (open a live music venue and start up a management company with friends), but yeah.

It was a waste of money though. Don't do it, if you're thinking about it.
Go to TAFE or something. I should have done that instead.
Could have kept my 10 grand and still be where I am today.

This post has been edited by rock0n13: Nov 11 2006, 10:22 pm