Earplugs Advice?

[Thomas de Bourbon]

Anybody have good experiences with using earplugs when playing steel? I've been playing multiple gigs a week in small clubs, and go home most nights with my ears ringing badly. I don't have a problem using them when playing guitar or bass, but since so much of the pedal steel lives in the high end of the frequency spectrum, every time I use earplugs when playing steel I can barely hear myself. I've tried many kinds, including ones made for musicians. I'm young and feel like I'm already losing my hearing.

[Douglas Schuch]

I've tried several of the standard inexpensive types made for musicians, and then got a set of "Earasures". I definitely prefer them to the standard ones.

Standard sets:

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/812uceyWsLL.jpg

I consider any that have those fins to fit in your ear "standard".

Earasures:

https://earinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2 ... Black2.jpg

Their website:

https://www.earasers.net/products/earasers

If I lived in the US I might consider the fitted ones made from a mold of your ear - but then, they are 3-5X the price of the Earasures.

[Fred Treece]

Have you tried real custom made plugs, like Westones? Like Doug said, they’re made from a silicone mold of your own ear canal and fit perfectly. There are filters that fit into them that cut frequencies evenly all across the range of sound.

I don’t play in loud bands anymore, but when I did, I found that using the plugs helped me relax and play better. I was willing to sacrifice some of the frequency range I was used to in order to protect what hearing I had left, after already having done fairly serious damage by the time I was 30.

The custom Westones are not cheap, probably run you about $250-300. It was worth it to me 35 years ago. My hearing is bad now, but at least I’m not totally deaf.

[Ricky Davis]

[Fred Treece]

Use the plugs when you play in a loud band. Adjust your eq to where it needs to be for you to hear it right. When you play in a quieter band, go without plugs and adjust your eq back to where it needs to be. You’ll play more if you don’t leave bands because they’re loud. At least until you’re good enough to get more work than you want and can afford to walk out on the deafening chumps.

[Duane Reese]

There's a company out of Colorado called Decibullz that makes moldable earplugs. I have some of their earbuds but not the plugs. It's a simple process that involves hot water.

https://decibullz.com/

I've found that on a really loud stage, not matter what I'm playing, earplugs are about the only way I can hear myself at all.

[ajm]

Fred Treece said:
"Use the plugs when you play in a loud band. Adjust your eq to where it needs to be for you to hear it right. When you play in a quieter band, go without plugs and adjust your eq back to where it needs to be."

If you set your EQ to where it's right without earplugs for the audience, then
put in the earplugs, then
set the EQ so that it sounds right to you with the earplugs in,
won't it then sound wrong for the audience?

[Fred Treece]

If the band is too loud, a slightly altered EQ of your steel guitar won’t be the first thing the audience notices.

With good earplugs, you won’t have to make much eq adjustment. I hear my sound just fine with plugs in, because the sound of a crashing drummer gets attenuated along with everything else. Bass is more prominent, which can be a little annoying. It is harder to hear conversation, like when somebody mumbles off the name of the next song. That takes some getting used to, but it's not difficult to grab the little puller stems on the Westones and yank one of them halfway out.

What is shocking is when you go on break and take the plugs out and hear the ambient noise in a crowded rocking club. Quick, find an exit!

Stage sound doesn’t have to be a compromise, nor does it have to negatively affect the audience perception of the band’s overall sound. But a loud band will do both. Ear plugs are a survival tool with more advantages than disadvantages.