Ear Plugs and Clubbing

I went to a pub back in April which was the first time I was in that sort of environment since I developed T back in January. I was not wearing ear plugs on that occasion. I was only in there about 10 minutes and had to leave as my ears were hurting and since then I have had an increase in my T which I am still hoping is just a spike.

I want to go clubbing in a few weeks plus my favourite cousin is getting married in a month and she will have a band etc and I want to protect my ears in the best way possible so what are the best type of ear plugs to buy?

 

I have used foam ear plugs in the past at weddings and concerts and never had a problem. I have also used the silicone ones for my own wedding.

 

I would advise you getting custom made earplugs to offer the best protection if you're serious. Earplugs can protect you but I have heard of people getting spikes even though they used protection. If I am honest I would advise you not going if you don't want your T to spike.

 

I meant don't go clubbing, but of course attend your cousin's wedding. It is a lot easier at wedding to avoid loud music - not so much at a club

 

@wagonwheel ---I play in a wedding band and I have had many many 4 hour gigs that I got through with no spike either with my ER-25 filtered custom made earplugs (molds by microsonic, filters by ETY) or using 33 db NRR blue foam plugs made by "Hearo" ...Just always protect.

 

I live in a small town in rural Ireland and I don't have access to buy custom made,also I have very little money right now so I was wondering would the following ear plugs protect me from loud music?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000UJ8RHE/?tag=tinntalk-21

if not can can you recommenced any ear plugs that I can purchase from Amazon/bay or sites like that?

Thanks for the advice thus far

 

@wagonwhee

ER-20s are good. but if you really want to be safe go with some foam ones that attenuate over 30 db. I just got home from a five hour wedding gig. I used my ER-25s half the night, but for the loud last set i used the 33 db Honeywell Bright orange ear plugs.
Good luck.

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alpine-MusicSafe-Pro-Filter-Plugs/dp/B000VO8PR0/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1403418230&sr=8-16&keywords=ear plugsplugs

Get these instead. You can change the inserts for varied levels of protection, depending on the environment. I'm one of those geeks who research everything before I purchase anything. The ER20 are good, but the way I look at it, is these can be used for every type of environment within reason.

When I can afford it I'll look into customs. Until then, I think these are the best generic earplugs available. I haven't tested them yet. Luckily I'm 34 now, don't like clubbing anymore, don't like fireworks, don't really like live music. But if I go to the cinema, a wedding (mine next year ) or do any DIY, I'll make sure to have them in.

Ps. if you really can't afford anymore than £10, then the ER20s are your best buy.

 

Hi I'll be starting uni this year and will be going out more, I've had tinnitus for over half a year and have got to point where I'm sort of 'used' to the noise level and would hate to increase it, however I still want to be able to go out, if anyone could reccommed good ear plugs (prepared to spend more for better quality) I would really appreciate it, thanks

 

Foam ear plugs would give the best noise reduction. If you don't like the way they look you can hide them: http://bloglocation.com/art/invisible-foam-ear-plugs-hide-foam-ear-plugs

Or if you don't care about people seeing that you're wearing ear plugs you can get custom musician ear plugs like ACS PRO26 https://www.acscustom.com/uk/products/hearing-protection/pro-series

 

Custom made, for sure. Hands down.
You can switch filters depending on the situation, I have a set which I use for my intercom (job wise), filters for music (-15 db) and some heavy duty industrial filters for loud things. (-27 db). You can get other filters as well but always check the reduction on the whole spectrum. Sometimes the difference between -15 & -20 are the same at some frequencies for example.

Even though I have to say, since its all new for me, I didn't went to a party yet. So I am not sure how easy talking is with these.

 

@phoebe Even the best earplugs in the world won't stop a person's tinnitus getting worse if they don't take proper precautions when wearing them. Please read the post below. Also, click on the links at the bottom of the page and read the articles on tinnitus.

Tinnitus, earplugs and nightclubs.

Someone that has tinnitus I believe they should try and live a normal life as they possibly can. This includes going out to clubs, concerts and other venues of entertainment where music is played if they wish to. For some, tinnitus can be difficult to live with without putting further restrictions on their life. However, I also believe taking the necessary precautions is absolutely vital, in preventing noise trauma to the inner ear, which could make the tinnitus louder and more intrusive.

Unfortunately, in some instances a person can be left in a hit or a miss situation, as there is no way of knowing if they have put themselves in harms way until after enjoying a night out, find their tinnitus has become louder and more intrusive over the coming days. One hopes this will be a temporary spike but there is no guarantee this new level of intensity won’t become permanent and could require a visit to ENT. Sorry to sound so sobering but these are the facts as I see it.

One way of protecting yourself from inner ear damage is to wear noise-reducing earplugs when going to nightclubs or concerts. They will reduce external sounds, in this case music and fortunately won’t impair sound quality, which is so important to most people attending these venues. The earplugs are available in various degrees of attenuation from as little as 9 decibels right up to 25 and even higher. If money is no object, one can buy custom moulded earplugs with the full knowledge they are getting the best ear protection that they can afford.

A word of caution to anyone that might not be in the know. I believe no level of ear protection is one hundred percent safe; so one still needs to be careful when attending nightclubs and concerts and not get carried away in thinking, wearing earplugs is completely safe so anything goes and you can stand next to the speakers all night or right up near to the stage where the music is booming out. Some people might not be aware, if music is loud enough it can still be transferred to the inner ear and reach the cochlear and cause damage via the Mastoid bone. This is a hard piece of bone behind each ear. It is honeycombed and has air pockets within it. Please don’t think that it’s only midrange and high frequencies that can cause harm. Low bass frequencies, which cause vibrations, will do the same.

Go out and enjoy yourself and have fun but at the same time be prudent and respect your hearing.
Michael

PS: further reading is available at:
https://www.britannica.com/science/ear/Transmission-of-sound-by-bone-conduction

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-a-personal-view.18668/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/hyperacusis-as-i-see-it.19174/

 

I posted this in a dating thread the other day which might help ☺ If you want the best, get custom made and be careful!

-
I looked pretty hard but use these for my ear protection. All of them are almost invisible.

- Earasers Musician Earplugs
Very discrete and good for a medium volume location such as a noisy restaurant. These offer the best experience if you want protection but also want to hear your date/partner well. Keep in mind they are the most expensive, and the rubber they are made of seems to deteriorate.

- 3M E.A.R Clear Earplugs
Seem to offer more volume reduction than the Earasers, especially in the low end so better if you're at a bar that plays music with more Bass.

- Killnoise Clear Earplugs
Very similar to the 3M plugs, but slightly less discrete. Their longer nose allows you to move in/out of the ear to create more/less filtering if required.

I keep the 3 sets in a small little pouch on my keys that the Killnoise plugs came in

Lastly, I have 1 more pair coming from kick starter which is EarDial: They are shipping to me this week so can't comment on their ability to protect, but they are supposed to be around 20DB reduction which would make them similar to the Earasers, but look like they have a better seal as well. They have an app even for your iphone/android that will tell you if you're safe as well.

 

The earaser doen't protect enough for clubs. They only reduce 5 dB in the low frequencies. They may work for slightly loud bars but that's all.

Could you tell me how visible they are compared to the eardial ? I think the earaser are almost invisible.

 

I'd say for clubbing don't take any risks and use foam ear plugs. For conerts if you wan't to enjoy the sound use high db reduction custom ones

 

Clubbing with tinnitus...all I can say to you is good luck.

To me having tinnitus at a young age is a wake up call. I didn't contract tinnitus until well into my life which is more normal.

I would love to hear from those on this forum that still have a high frequency of clubbing with tinnitus.

 

I haven't been to clubs but have been to a few concerts, i don't make a habit of it though lol.

 

If you protect yourself, what is the danger?
And moreover, she got T by an ear infection, explain: 'wake up call'.

 

nobody should be concerned with whether ear plugs are visible.

DO NOT cut them or paint them or anything like that. Just wear earplugs. Use it as an opportunity to educate your friends if they ask.

Foam earplugs have THE SAME noise reduction levels are capped silicon molded plugs. In fact, you're likely to get better protection out of the molded plugs because you can guarantee they're inserted correctly.

Spend the money and get the good ones. Your audiologist sells them.

I have been to many loud bars (two with DJs) and a rehearsal studio with 25db filtered musicians plugs (custom made). I have had zero issues. I do not go to clubs anymore, however I'd happily go to a concert at a large arena with mediocre seats.

http://www.audiologyonline.com/articles/making-the-case-for-custom-12959

 

Well, that's what I thought as well.
Went karting last week, and I had to chose between my custom made ones, which I never used before (so I was afraid I didn't get them in right), So I took the foam ones.
Afterwards I compared the difference. The foam ones were advertised as -34 db (srz or something). My custom ones: -27 db, I can fairly say that the last one were around three times better. And yes I plugged them in as intented.

 

Why should I not paint them ? Is there a specific reason or is it just to spread awareness ?

 

custom plugs with a cap (not a filter) are 33db of reduction (from Westone) I doubt the full plug from any other company is different.

 

I'd never put paint or anything like that into a sinus passage that I have issues with. Seems like a foolish risk.

 

which ones were 3x better - your post isn't clear on this as Im reading it.

 

The custom ones. (with industrial - 27 filter)

 

I agree completely. The article I posted above breaks down why rather well. Customs are the best money I spent in years. I wish I bought them 10 years ago - I'd have perfect hearing.

 

@JurgenG were they petrol karts? I went karting last year but they were electric motors so it wasn't that loud so I didn't use plugs.

 

As @Michael Leigh pointed out, it's good to keep on living and do the things you enjoy. In addition, I have to agree with him on the fact that earplugs are unfortunately never a 100 % guarantee of safety. So if at any moment you feel that it is too loud and your ears are not liking it, do trust your instincts. Really! My mild tinnitus turned into a reactive nightmare after going into a concert for two hours and I had a quality pair of earplugs in my ears. I felt it was strangely loud and was worried, but still stood there thinking "I got earplugs, what could go wrong - I was fine after other similar concerts".

Nightclubs can be as loud as concerts, so I would be extremely careful - even when I understand it is very important to be part of all that. Since if T gets worse, to the stage where it is reactive and/or loud, perhaps with hyperacusia... well, then that is gonna stop not only going to nightclubs/concerts, but also going to a crowded pub, movies, restaurants etc. At least this is how I see it. So in order to have those fun things in your life, always wear high NRR earplugs and don't trust them blindly; if it feels loud, it is loud.

Sorry for all the scaremongering, just thinking that "better safe than sorry" is the key here since this condition can possibly affect us for the rest of our lives (fingers crossed for a cure, tho!)

 

My EarDial has not arrived yet, but my understanding is they are invisiable like the earasers. Earasers do protect more in the higher end as that's where most damage occurs, but I would wear the killnoise or 3m plugs if you're going to a night club.

 

I'm so saddened by the incident which caused my tinnitus, that wearing earplugs to a "club" would feel like bringing condoms to a rapists room.