Why would someone choose not to wear hearing protection?

[DavedrumsTX]

I'm sixty-three years old, I've been playing in bands since I was sixteen and gigging regularly since I was seventeen.

I started wearing some form of hearing protection when I played back in the late nineties, when I was in my late thirties. That was the first time that I ran across an older bandmate that was experiencing hearing loss. I intended to continue doing this for a long time and to me it just made sense to protect myself.

I wear plugs when I practice daily at home, at rehearsals, and of course at gigs. I have a spare set of plugs in each car, in my stick bags, etc...

This past weekend one of my bandmates mentioned that his wife thinks that he is getting a little deaf and is pushing him to go get his hearing checked. Another bandmate casually mentioned that he has been dealing with tinnitus for many years. Neither of them bothers to wear any sort of hearing protection, they are both intelligent guys.

I'm trying not to judge, but I don't understand the resistance to taking care of oneself.

I'm not using anything crazy expensive. I like Vic Firth plugs, which cost $18.95 a set. Zildjian sells a set that is almost identical, in different packaging. They are cheap, but effective. Once you get used to wearing them, you can't imagine not doing it. At least that has been my experience.

View attachment 583628

I don't want to be preachy, I'm just trying to spread the word and help my friends. The guy with tinnitus wears it like a badge of honor, I don't get it. I thought that I'd throw the topic out here. If it helps any of you out to think about it, that is a win.

Amen brother!!!! I am 60 and have been playing drums since I was 8 years old in everything from concert band to high volume rock gigs.

On top of that I flew jets in the Air Force, used power equipment, attended concerts for all the hard rock bands of the 70s all without hearing protection.

Like you, I suffer from tinnitus. If only I had known. Since 2009 I have been using hearing protection gigging and all noise high environments. I only use IEMs live and do not use wedge monitors.

I plead to everyone, please protect your ears!!!!

 

[Mobey]

When I was 40 a audiologist told me I had the hearing of a 70 year old and told me unless I changed my evil ways I would be deaf before that. Went to a specialist audiologist dealing with musicians who told me if he had to create a machine to destroy hearing it would be a drumset! In fact he said the worst culprit was the hihat because of the intensity and frequency it produced. He recommended ER 25 ear plugs which drop the sound equally across the freq band by 25db which is just like turning down the volume. All details are still heard. Now nearing 70 I can still hear well with the use of hearing aids but sure wish I had been educated enough about hearing loss when I was young enough to protect against it. Cheers All!

 

[cribbon]

If you play with your mouth open and make strange animal type noises while you play you won’t get ear damage. You won’t get any gigs either!

Somebody forgot to tell Elvin that.

 

[Framecode]

I've been wearing some form of hearing protection since my days in HS marching band. If we were rehearsing indoors it was almost a necessity.

My entire band uses IEMs during performances, and for practice I use my old reliable Etymotic plugs. The rest of them don't wear anything at practice, which I find insane. I hit one rimshot without protection on and it was shocking how loud it was!

This is why I don’t use them for jazz/improv stuff. I never want to be disconnected from the actual dynamics. Playing in a rock band is another story.

 

[CSR]

Asking the hive mind for suggestions.

I’m 69, wearing hearing aids for 10 years because of high-frequency hearing loss. They are digital, prescribed by a hospital audiologist, and expensive.

I wear hearing protection when mowing, running machinery, and practicing, but not playing live (unamplified).

I play in a couple of concert bands, an orchestra, and two big bands, among lower-volume jazz gigs. The 16-18 piece big bands are the problem.

I need to be able to hear verbal directions and changes by the big band leader seated several feet away. Can’t hear those with ear plugs. Can’t take the time to take out plugs, insert hearing aids, remove those and insert plugs in mid-number. My iPhone decibel meter reads a peak of 106 over the hats.

I bought shooter’s range cans which both amplify low decibel sounds (verbal) to an acceptable level, while lowering high decibel sounds to an acceptable level. On drums, they work great.

The problem is with the ride cymbal. I imagine the stroke sound builds to the point that the decibel ceiling stops it. The next stroke sound does the same. All I hear from the ride is a WaWaWaWa sound. Very difficult to play over that. The company says that’s just the design of the ear muffs.

My audiologist knows how much music means to me…I’ve played over 55 years. I asked him if I should give up playing. He says to keep playing until I’m not playing anymore. 75? 80? 85? He hopes technology will keep up with my hearing loss, which it has so far. Each set of hearing aids are better.

Serious suggestions as to how to protect my hearing while allowing me to wear hearing aids to hear “audibles” and an acceptable ride cymbal sound? Any workable suggestions greatly appreciated.

Many thanks to member Dcrigger to encourage me a decade ago to start wearing hearing aids.

Protect your hearing, kids. We didn’t know that in the 60’s and 70’s. The mark of a good gig or concert were ringing ears the following morning.

 

[cribbon]

This is why I don’t use them for jazz/improv stuff. I never want to be disconnected from the actual dynamics. Playing in a rock band is another story.

+1. When I'm playing rock, I always wear them; when I'm playing cocktail-level jazz, I don't need to.

 

[Monday317]

I'm sixty-three years old, I've been playing in bands since I was sixteen and gigging regularly since I was seventeen.

I started wearing some form of hearing protection when I played back in the late nineties, when I was in my late thirties. That was the first time that I ran across an older bandmate that was experiencing hearing loss. I intended to continue doing this for a long time and to me it just made sense to protect myself.

I wear plugs when I practice daily at home, at rehearsals, and of course at gigs. I have a spare set of plugs in each car, in my stick bags, etc...

This past weekend one of my bandmates mentioned that his wife thinks that he is getting a little deaf and is pushing him to go get his hearing checked. Another bandmate casually mentioned that he has been dealing with tinnitus for many years. Neither of them bothers to wear any sort of hearing protection, they are both intelligent guys.

I'm trying not to judge, but I don't understand the resistance to taking care of oneself.

I'm not using anything crazy expensive. I like Vic Firth plugs, which cost $18.95 a set. Zildjian sells a set that is almost identical, in different packaging. They are cheap, but effective. Once you get used to wearing them, you can't imagine not doing it. At least that has been my experience.

View attachment 583628

I don't want to be preachy, I'm just trying to spread the word and help my friends. The guy with tinnitus wears it like a badge of honor, I don't get it. I thought that I'd throw the topic out here. If it helps any of you out to think about it, that is a win.

Real men don’t wear ear protection; they suffer gladly through tinnitus and say, “Eh?” a lot in conversation.

Only Girly Men wear hearing protection save themselves and their hearing from high noise levels. They also pay rapt attention to their wives and/or Significant Others, bragging about their fantastic sex lives at bars where real men say, “Eh?” a lot in conversation…

 

[drummaman1]

Hey Krupa did that, and Ray Brown was also known for making noises when he was playing bass ... come to think of it, a lot of musicians do: Milt Jackson on vibraphone, Oscar Peterson on piano and the list goes on.

Have you heard recordings of Elvin when he’s playing? I dig it.

 

[michaelocalypse]

I had tinnitus before I started playing, and I've had instances that clue into it not being noise related, although I don't know what causes it either.

I've mostly never worn hearing protection. One reason is that I hated how it made everything sound bad. Another reason is that they were typically painful in some way or another. I care less about things sounding bad now, and most of the discomfort of headphones has improved over the years, but I still get a pressure issue. I've mentioned it to doctors, including an ENT, and the response is, "It's noise. It's always noise." And I know that's not true, so they've not been of help, as usual.

All that being said, I never practice and I probably actually play much less than most people, so it's much less of an issue.

 

[fredpasta]

In high school I would wear ear muffs or plugs at rehearsals, whether for marching band or a garage band, but any time I was performing I would go without hearing protection. It took me until my early twenties to realize just how dumb that was and I've not played without protection in about ten years.

I'm a very powerful player and I never have any trouble hearing the mix or live instruments over myself or my hearing protection.

Hearing tone, inflection, intent, or anything else you need from your instrument or other players doesn't require anything more than concentration and practice. Active listening is just as easy with hearing protection as without.

Plus, your hearing is gonna get fuzzed out before long and any perceived benefit of playing without hearing protection is out the window after thirty minutes. It's just irresponsible and ignorant to play without hearing protection. Same as smoking or binge drinking.

Speaking of preachy and judgemental ...

 

[mtarrani]

For reference this is one of my most used pieces of gear - an SPL (sound pressure level) meter that measures the dB levels when I am practicing. I also use this at rehearsals for our band. Notice how close it is to my kit, and also notice that the reading displayed in the photo is a quiet room. I use it to measure my consistency of dynamics at various levels from PPP to FF, and those at various tempos. I also use it to make sure that my FF is never over 95dB. When used as a rehearsal tool we usually have it at a greater distance from our loudest sound source, but cap it at the same 95dB level (although in both my woodshedding and the rehearsal scenarios the peak is allowed to spike higher.)

 

[repete]

I'm sorry 'repete'.

Again, this is not predictable. It's not like you can plan to not wear protection for ten years, then start so as to save you hearing. It can happen in your first year of playing, or take 20 years abuse. Tinnitus can occur after one event.

Understood completely - I have friends that have been playing longer and louder than me with no issues whatsoever - I am pretty it's tinnitus I have but because its not constant maybe I don't, every now and then there is an erratic ticking sound in my right ear. Not loud but just annoying enough -

 

[Fibes]

I'm sixty-three years old, I've been playing in bands since I was sixteen and gigging regularly since I was seventeen.

I started wearing some form of hearing protection when I played back in the late nineties, when I was in my late thirties. That was the first time that I ran across an older bandmate that was experiencing hearing loss. I intended to continue doing this for a long time and to me it just made sense to protect myself.

I wear plugs when I practice daily at home, at rehearsals, and of course at gigs. I have a spare set of plugs in each car, in my stick bags, etc...

This past weekend one of my bandmates mentioned that his wife thinks that he is getting a little deaf and is pushing him to go get his hearing checked. Another bandmate casually mentioned that he has been dealing with tinnitus for many years. Neither of them bothers to wear any sort of hearing protection, they are both intelligent guys.

I'm trying not to judge, but I don't understand the resistance to taking care of oneself.

I'm not using anything crazy expensive. I like Vic Firth plugs, which cost $18.95 a set. Zildjian sells a set that is almost identical, in different packaging. They are cheap, but effective. Once you get used to wearing them, you can't imagine not doing it. At least that has been my experience.

View attachment 583628

I don't want to be preachy, I'm just trying to spread the word and help my friends. The guy with tinnitus wears it like a badge of honor, I don't get it. I thought that I'd throw the topic out here. If it helps any of you out to think about it, that is a win.

I'm also 63 and have been laying since the late 70's and fortunately never had a hearing loss issue. I've also been mixing with speakers and headphones for the last 7 or 8 years and I have no issues there as well. There are self tests you can do with a pair of headphones and get an idea about your hearing health. Just do a search for it and you can have a fair idea. I think some people lose their hearing, others can play loud as hell for decades and not be affected. So I personally would not recommend earplugs to prevent hearing loss without knowing anyone's situation, however the on-line tests are free and I guess if you don't have the desire to know that, what's the point.

 

[Core Creek]

I’ve met tons of musicians who don’t use hearing protection. I think first and foremost most of them don’t have very sensitive ears. I recall a bassist I played with 20 years ago who said he has a ton of wax in his ears, so loud volumes don’t bother him. I wonder how his ears are doing today.

I’d also argue most people are way too short sighted to give it much thought until there’s a problem. Much in the same way people will eat unhealthy for years and years until suddenly their metabolisms slow down and they have health issues.

Another point, I play with a bunch of older guys (10-15 years older than me - in their late 50’s/60’s) and I don’t think any of them use hearing protection. If anything, I think the band tends to play at a reasonable volume. The songs and gigs we play don’t require super high volume and I guess as they get older, they stay pretty quiet, and don’t have any issues. I still use ear plugs with them just in case… plus I have extremely sensitive hearing.

I for one noticed a ringing in my ears in my teens and quickly started using gun muffles when I practiced, and foam plugs when I played out, and the issue went away. 22 years ago I invested in molded ear plugs that I still have and use regulary. Back then they were super expensive ($350) but were worth every penny and luckily I don’t have any major problems. I’d say my hearing went from exceptional to average over the 36 years I’ve been playing music.

 

[Carlos McSnurf]

As teen I played year or two without hearing protection until I went to some super loud concert. The night after was unforgettable, I felt like all cathedrals in a world were ringing in my ears.
Since then I use earplugs in every loud situation. On rehearsals and gigs I play with IEM. I have some kind of hearing damage anyway from all these +30 years of playing - hypersensitivity for some frequencies.

 

[Tornado]

Tinnitus is a complex problem that has many causes. As many people have it that have not been exposed to loud sounds like we have, making the link a little fuzzy. I do think think mine is a result of high school drumline as well as early life rock bands since I've had it since then, but there are other factors. High blood pressure, smoking, and alcohol are also leading causes. Don't ignore those factors and attribute it solely to playing drums. At least get that stuff checked out.

 

[FlowTom]

What I notice about bands made up of people my age (60's) is: the overall mix sounds good, the drums sound fine, the room volume is spot on, but the bass player is too loud.
The band members aren't aware of it. They can't hear it. Especially if they're doing their own sound. They've lost some low register acuity.

I had a teacher who led rehearsal groups. After a long career spent playing music, his constant direction to the ensemble was that he couldn't hear the bass or the kick drum and wanted them louder. He had fabulous ear training and could call out any note or chord that anyone was playing at any moment. But he could no longer hear the low end as well as the rest of the audio spectrum. Everyone else in the room could hear the bass and kick just fine.

I had an interesting thing happen recently. I went to a band's live broadcast from a radio station performance studio and didn't bring any hearing protection with me. I thought it would be a low volume show. But they were way too loud, with the drummer leading the way. With my tinnitus, I thought I would need to leave after one or two tunes. But I hung in there till the end. After I left the studio, I was driving home and noticed my tinnitus was gone. Unreal. It stayed gone for awhile. But now it's back. If anything, I thought it would be worse after enduring that high volume level.

 

[Houndog]

Up until 4 years ago I had my hearing checked every year …
I don’t wear earplugs while playing music . I have very high wax build up and it’s like wearing plugs constantly.
My hearing always checked out good .
But I’ve had tinnitus for many years …

Doesn’t make sense ???

 

[TheElectricCompany]

Speaking of preachy and judgemental ...

I'm sorry my post made you feel small and embarrassed. I hope that doesn't prevent you from wearing hearing protection.

 

[bigbonzo]

Those of you that say that you have high wax buildup, don't you ever clean your ears?