mastodon at the garage in glasgow... the bass was hurtful.... i've been to fuckloads of gigs... as well as playing them myself and now have the "shoot me" type tinittus that coma mentioned

I now have Tinnitus, not the sort that makes me want to pull my brain out but enough that it irritates me when there is no other sound. Earplugs may be something i try if it gets worse....I do seem to suffer for a couple of days after a gig where my ears are really buzzing.

Too many gigs in small venues i guess and too much volume on my walkman in my school days. My mum did try to warn me but did i listen!

I used to put my MP3 player on full volume, but it sounded like shit so now I put it on 20 instead of 25. Not sure that makes any difference for my future deafness tho

The only time I don't use earplugs is when I do the sound myself.
Otherwise, I use earplugs when I am the system tech or playing with other people.
I have moulded earplugs, which means that it cuts 20dB on ALL frequencies. They're very good!

Never worn earplugs...but I think they'd've been a good idea for Sounds of the Undergroud and Taste of Chaos (so the crappy bands that I didn't want to hear wouldn't be damaging my ears). But I am getting keener on the idea...the last few concerts haven't left me with ringing ears, which is concerning. Or maybe it's a good thing?

Is turning down the band a possibility??

I wonder how that would blow over

Works nicely here in Finland

I can go to full gigs that last 4 hours and not even have a slightest wooze without earplugs. Of course, if you go to concerts a lot (say even once a month), then it's always better to wear earplugs.

Luckily (?) for me, I can only go see 1-2 concerts a year, they simply don't play up here, and going south to watch gigs costs a helluva lot (180 euros per gig including train tickets etc).

As for earplugs that attenuate frequencies evenly, Elacin is very popular among Finnish musicians:

http://www.elacin.nl/elacin_en/index.html

It is custom made for your ear. Yeah, it costs a lot, but it's very very good

But I am getting keener on the idea...the last few concerts haven't left me with ringing ears, which is concerning. Or maybe it's a good thing?

It's a very good thing, sensible volume politics on the venue When you leave a concert with even the smallest amount of ringing, you have just damaged your ears and it is permanent and escalating.

The more times you get ear ringing, the closer you get to permanent tinnitus. It will never fade and there is no cure.

For the rest of your life, you will hear a constant
"iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii"

It won't quieten or vanish, it will always be there.

I always wear earplugs, to concerts and when rehearsing with my (loud) band. It was difficult to get used to, because you're so used to the specific sound of your own band, for instance, or (in my case) the way my entire drumkit sounds. But I kept on wearing them and now I won't have anything else, I actually feel my kit sounds better now with earplugs in
I have Alpine ones, those rubber caps with the things sticking out, I do believe they cut off some frequencies, but not so much that it bothers me. Anyway, if you have a decent monitor you'll never have a problem keeping track of what you (and others) are playing.

my $0.02

I once put my ears right next to the speakers when SYL played Glasgow. My friends thought it was hilarious, so did I but damn what a migraine. Still, it was rock n roll.

Still, it was rock n roll.

That's all that matters

I once put my ears right next to the speakers when SYL played Glasgow. My friends thought it was hilarious, so did I but damn what a migraine. Still, it was rock n roll.

And now you'll never hear the bass bombs on "Alien" ever again.

i honestly think the real debate here is BUTTPLUGS. HAHAHAHHAHAHA! IM THE BEST!!!! WOO!!!

ehem...

anyway i dont see anything wrong with them (earplugs that is). if they help you keep your ears intact then use em. i dont use em and after gigs i always get that annoying high pitched squeal in my ear that you cant get rid of...

anyway i dont see anything wrong with them (earplugs that is). if they help you keep your ears intact then use em. i dont use em and after gigs i always get that annoying high pitched squeal in my ear that you cant get rid of...

Also known as tinnitus and is the sign that your hearing has just been damaged

There's nothing cool about not using earplugs.

I always take care with my walkman. Damaging your ears is simply not worth it. People like Pete Townshend are nearly deaf now, and thousands more rock and metal musicians have poor hearing and tinnitus due to the volume at which they play.

I don't play gigs yet so I'm okay on that front.

[djskrimp]

I now have Tinnitus, not the sort that makes me want to pull my brain out but enough that it irritates me when there is no other sound. Earplugs may be something i try if it gets worse....I do seem to suffer for a couple of days after a gig where my ears are really buzzing.

Too many gigs in small venues i guess and too much volume on my walkman in my school days. My mum did try to warn me but did i listen!

I, too, have tinnitus, but not because of the music. I've been using earplugs since I went to see a Dokken/AC DC concert in Germany in 1988. I developed tinnitus well after that being around jet planes throughout my Air Force career. I still use earplugs to concerts because my tinnitus would KILL my head if I didn't. I can hear the music just fine when I am attending a concert, or if I am performing. I don't know why anyone would want to have the music THAT loud, anyway, because it would seem to me that it would be difficult to appreciate the instruments individually if that much noise were bombarding your brain.

As for frequency-specific earplugs; I've never used them. The rubber stem earplugs that my Dad gave me from when he was in the Army work just fine.

I once put my ears right next to the speakers when SYL played Glasgow. My friends thought it was hilarious, so did I but damn what a migraine. Still, it was rock n roll.

And now you'll never hear the bass bombs on "Alien" ever again.

Probably lol. The headache made me puke.