Moulded in ear monitors/ear plugs vs isolation in ears

[chris perra]

Ha ha.. Thanks Paul.. It's just about consistency for me..It has made life easier for me recording wise as in the past I would have 2 different mental zones while playing. One live and one when recording.. Now they are far more even and recording wise life is much easier and faster to get the results I'm looking for.

On the other hand if I screw my ears up what's the point..

What's good about posting this thread is that I'm thinking about volume levels of the click live. I'm sure I've had it too loud event though it doesn't feel like it.

The crappy thing about tinnitus is that there could be more than one reason for it. Blood pressure, neck, head tension, jaw problems, wisdom teeth moving around causing pressure etc.

It might not even be my ears as they don't seem to be cooling off after gigs like they used to. Going to be a lot of trouble shooting in the next while to see what's up.

At any rate having the click below my snare volume is a good start.

[janne jansson]

"The question I have is is the isolation for in ear monitors that are moulded as good as ear plugs. "

Moulded earplugs are not as good as ear plugs..
If you have moulded silicone earplugs the are some db:s better than acryl moulded.
But if it gets real loud on stage they might not be the ones you should use..
Get the best earplugs there are and use them. Ear Soft FX have the best isolation
You will stop playing dums soon if you don`t take care...
If you use the click just fore time and don`t synk with music, DONT use it..

Take care my friend if you like to play music live with drums...

Janne Jansson

[Jim Richman]

Wear noise reduction headphones over the in ears. Then you can reduce the volume even more. You may look a dork, but better than going deaf.

[chris perra]

I've had "moulded ear plugs", with 25 db filters.. I'm curious about "moulded in ears", with no filters.. Do they offer more isolation than foam ear plugs?.

It may not even be a volume thing... I'm noticing my ears are popping alot ala altitude changes, I'm going to see a ear nose and throat doctor and see if there's anything weird going on not related to volume.

However,..trying to get the best isolation is a good idea regardless.

[Lucas Ives]

Love my Etymotics er4p's (http://www.etymotic.com/consumer/earphones/er4.html). With the rubber flange attachments it's basically a complete seal, better than wearing shooter's earplugs ... somewhere around 30-40 dB outside level reduction. Weckl wore them for a gig once when his Shure's crapped out and told me it felt a little bit like "being underwater" because of the level of isolation so your mileage may vary ... it may be an acquired taste. But I've never, EVER felt volume fatigue after practicing / gigging with them.

Also, yeah, make sure the click is at a sane level. Most click samples are a little harsh on purpose so they cut through the track, but I've found with practice you can make a much lower level work just fine.

(personal $0.02: playing to a click live for tunes that don't have a programmed backing track has always seemed a little odd to me.)

[sjj123]

So Lucas...does someone like Dave who plays all the friggin time bound to have hearing loss issues/damage or is what they use protective for the extreme long run?

I do what Jim says...wear ear protection over the in ears and can turn it down....plus the drums take on a new sound and feel that grows on you over time.

[chris perra]

Went to the doctor.. He pulled out a centimeter of wax from my left ear,, 3/4 of a centimeter from my right.. and I'm on antibiotics for sinus infection which should help with the ear popping.

Ringing is still there,, but the mix ratio of life vs ringing is better haha..