I've been wearing earplugs to shows, clubs, and raves for at least
eight years now - if I hadn't I'm sure that I'd have lots of hearing
loss. I grew up at a couple of schools for the dead, so I understand
how neato it is to truly hear things - don't throw it away if, say,
you like music or something. Flea from red hot cichlisuite peppers
has got horrible tinnitus also, I've read in a few interviews. He's
not too big a fan of it.
As for which ones are good, I really like my Hearos. They're
squishy foam, really comfortable, and come in a little holster you
can put on your keychain or just keep in your pocket. They make a
few different kinds, I use the "Rock and Roll" ones now, since
they're washable and reusable. The other ones are a little cheaper,
but get dirtier far quicker and you shouldn't wash them. The only
downside of these is that they glow under blacklight, so you get
funny stares from raver kiddies or people who don't go out much, like
the girl in front of me at the Viper Room Funkstorung show who had
never seen someone use earplugs before (it was fairly clear that she
wasn't there for the music, if you know what I mean). I turned
around and there were 4 people using a different kind of
glow-in-the-dark ones, we probably made quite a sight! Just don't
get any wax ones, they get runny and gooey and stop working really
well. Everyone I know only makes that mistake once....
The sticker on my Hearos holster says that they have a website,
www.hearos.com , so maybe you'd wanna check them out. You can pick
these up at Tower Records, or probably just about any musician store
like Guitar Center, Sam Ash, etc.
One last thing - sound people at shows/clubs/etc. are really sorry,
for the most part. After working in the dorms at UCR for a couple
years I seriously could do a better job than most of them, so there's
not way in hell I'll trust my hearing over to one of those fools for
a night. The Plug Research/Press Play night was a welcome exception
to this rule, however - I went without earplugs for about 2/3rds of
the night, until they got far enough in the "we'll keep turning up
the sound" game that it was just too loud for comfort. It still
sounded quite nice, though - thanks if you're reading this!
Cheers,
Ryan
p.s. Standing absolutely still at shows does bug me, though, even
though I understand that not everyone is a dancin' fool like myself.
How could you stay still during Farben's or Pole's set? I don't
comprehend!!
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Any of the squishy foam ones work fairly well. The most important "spec" for
earplugs is the db rating. 25 to 30 db is what I use. You can find them
anywhere- drug stores, hardware stores. If you would rather go professional,
try www.howardleight.com (not sure of spelling, might be
www.howardlight.com)
And to take this thing one step further...I don't even go out without ear
plugs- shows, bars, sports, movies. It probably has something to do with the
fact that I'd like to still be able to hear in the future. The only time I
don't use them is when I'm the one controlling the volume.
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