was that the phone?
Ruminations on that ringing noise….
According to a recent New Yorker article, tinnitus—“the false perception of sound in the absence of an acoustic stimulus, a phantom noise”—is one of the most common clinical conditions in the US. It’s pronounced TIN-nih-tus, btw, not tih-NITE-tis, and comes from the Latin tinnire, meaning to ring. It tends to affect older people, though there has been an alarming increase among young people who have served in Iraq—nearly half of those who have been exposed to explosive noises there now suffer from the condition.
Despite its prevalence, there has not been a lot of research on the subject. Interestingly, it appears that tinnitus arises within the brain itself, not anywhere in the middle or inner ears as one might think.
I’ve been playing drums in rock bands for almost 40 years, and the continuous ringing in my ears has steadily gotten worse with time. Personally, I think riding in noisy vans and airplanes for hours on end has as much to do with my condition as playing shows—a show would last a couple hours, but you might drive six hours to get there, and I know the noise floor in our old van was in the neighborhood of 85–90 dB. Airplanes are loud, too. Lately the noise of my computers and all the external hard drives has started to get on my nerves.
Fortunately, the ringing in my ears doesn’t really bother me most of the time. I’m usually able to ignore it, unlike a number of sufferers for whom it is a major disruption in their lives. I’m trying to take better care of my ears, and almost always wear earplugs when playing these days. And always wear earplugs in clubs when hearing other bands play. I don’t like to do it—I play better when I can hear the subtle nuances of sound “in the air,” but anything is better than losing my hearing.
I’ve tried a lot of different kinds of earplugs, and didn’t really like any of them. Almost universally they cut out the high end of the frequency spectrum, making everything sound dull and lifeless. Worse, especially since I’m usually against the back wall, earplugs can make the lower mids and mid bass so predominant that certain frequencies really stick out—to the point where some songs sound like they’re being played in the wrong key, and that really makes me crazy.
A year or so ago, someone told me about earplugs made by a company called Etymotic Research. They claim to make earplugs with a completely flat frequency response—everything sounds exactly the same, just 20 dB lower in volume. So if your band is playing at 105 dB on stage, pop in a pair and you’ll hear at a level of 85 dB, about the level of a well-lubricated dinner party.
I bought a pair, and to my surprise, when properly inserted in the ear they really work as advertised. Everything sounds bright and normal, just quieter (still not as good as no earplugs, but whatever). My only complaint is that taking 20 dB off the stage volume is just a bit much—the band can sound a little thin, and I have to resist the urge to play harder to fill things up. Incidentally, I can now really hear how lame the mix is for a lot of local bands—too many sound men just turn it up instead of making it sound good.
I want to be clear that I have nothing to do with Etymotic Research. I’m just a satisfied customer. The ER-20 earplugs I bought online were $12, plus $6 shipping. Unfortunately, there are no retail outlets anywhere close to Kansas City. Etymotic also makes Musicians Earplugs, custom-fitted for your own ear canals, and available only through licensed hearing professionals. These are available in -9, -15, and -25 dB models and cost $150–200 per pair.
Comments
I also use the ER-20s. They're much better than the foam earplugs. My only complaint is that, after an hour or so, they start to hurt my ears and get very uncomfortable -- and I already use the small ones as it is.
Posted by: Andrea | March 2, 2009 07:53 AM
Pat, get the custom-fitted musicians plugs. Worth the bucks, easily.
Comfortable, even flatter EQ response than the ER-20s, and your choice of db reduction
I'm just an amateur guitar player, but a set of plugs is the best gear money I've ever spent. I got both the 9db and 15db inserts.
Use the 9db most of the time when playing (we keep stage volume low in my band). 15db is nice for listening to other bands.
For loud arena shows, the 20db filters (or the ER-20's) are probably mandatory.
Posted by: Tom | March 4, 2009 03:07 PM
Thanks, Tom! That's good to know.
To tell the truth, part of what has held me back on the custom-fit earplugs (besides the $$$) is the fact that I'd have to talk to a hearing professional about the state of my ears. Like not knowing the bad news is better--lame, I know.
I'm glad to hear that if I go through with it I'll get comfortable earplugs with a flat response.
Posted by: pat | March 4, 2009 03:46 PM