[razmablues]

so, my friends constantly bug me about putting in ear plugs at shows and while jamming. it's probably not GOOD for your ear to be hearing those intense frequencies, but is it really THAT bad?

i mean, didn't the boys play that loud for 30+ years and still have their hearing?

what about all the long living heads whove toured for years on end?

i'm basically seeing if any of you folks dont' use earplugs and are okay, and those of you who have suffered from not using earplugs.

thanks in advanced!

[oconnors_35]

I never wore earplugs at Dead shows, but I usually wear them nowadays especially at club shows. I saw The Radiators last night in Boston and didn't wear them and this morning my ears are ringing bigtime! Since the show was on a Boston harbor cruise I didn't think I'd need them...wrong!

[causebass]

I'm 52, been going to see live music for quite awhile (first GD show 4/12/71) and play bass in the best GD jam band (at least in W Pa) theCAUSE. The last 10 years I almost never go to see live music without earplugs in but find it very difficult to play with them. I have a consist noise(ringing) in my ears (tinitus)..all the time but at least at this point it have learned to ignore the noise. My high frequency hearing response is also been compromised. I would love to have in ear monitors for the band so I can control my own volume on stage. Let me also say I play with a drummer that has a amazing ability to drum at normal volume, we practice at a level that is unheard of for most rock bands and that helps takes some of the wear and tear off my ears

please do yourselves a favor, unless it is something very very special, grab some good earplugs and make sure you put them in before the first exposure to any loud music, you will be quite surprised how good it can sound and still have a great time jamming to the music without the long term damage to your ears

my .02

hope you hear what I am saying

www.theCAUSEjams.com

[bucketorain]

it truly depends on what band you are seeing. dead shows, no need, i feel anyway. Their music was so clean that even when it was loud it wasn't too much. i have also seen Rat Dog, Dave Matthews etc and it was ok. I'm a pretty good judge of loud music and if it is going to do dammage.

I bring ear plugs to every concert just in case. For instance, I saw Rush just a little while back and it was loud and sounded like crap, i put in the plugs...

Jamming I most always wear plugs cause I'm that much closer to the music.

[causebass]

have to disagree about not wearing earplugs when the sound is clean..it is not about the distortion it is about the sound level, for sure it was easier to listen to a GD show because of the great sound systems they play with and generally they didn't play at the volume level that other bands play (Electric Hot Tuna made my ears ring for days)...but still any concert level volume will do damage to your ears with long term exposure

[strumminsix]

Bobby's hearing is fucked. He's talked about it.
IIRC the article said he blew his out in the 60s.

Some have speculated Jerry had awful tinnitus which
is part of the reason he used so heavily - maybe not.

Can't speak for the other members but that's what I know.

As far as wearing ear plugs they may suck if you are a singer.
Many ear canals change shape as your jaw opens when singing.

It's something you need to get used to...

I wear them sometimes when playing but often when in a club.

[Hajimemashite!!!]

a few months back my girlfriend went to some concert and stood right next to the speakers and now has constant ringing. this scared me a ton as i go to a lot of concerts and jam in small areas. i got some hearos foam plugs and they reduce sound very well, but seem to deaden the sound, like everything is muffled. so i found this pair made by vater pecusssion, cost like 20 at gc, and they are very nice. the frequencies are preserved more and its much clearer, but not loud. i use them 1/2 the time during jams, and at concerts i wear them when the band is too loud and its not umphreys(they get special treatment from me) but they make a huge difference.

especially when jamming, i tend to stand right by the crash and hi hat and my ears can ring like shit afterwards. with the plugs theres no ringing.

i dont like singing with them in so much, but its not too big of a deal, bc i NEED my hearing.

IMO everyone who takes music seriously should at least own plugs just in case. better safe than sorry.

[mttourpro]

What'd you all say??? Huh...

If your ears ring, it means something was damaged. I've heard that the frequency of the ringing is the same frequency-receptor-area (for lack of a better way to put it) that was damaged---usually a very high one.

It's kinda like a hangover---if you have one, then you drank too much for your own good.
If it happens enough, you could suffer permanent hearing loss of certain frequencies or develop tinitus as mentioned by others.

I can't say I always use them, but I do make a point of using them when I know or think I'll have ringing ears otherwise. For GD concerts, I never had a problem unless I was very close to a PA speaker so I never really used them. Playing live in a small bar with some guitar players and drummers is another story!

If you want to protect your hearing but don't want to cut out high-end frequencies (like foam/tissue plugs will do), buy a set of decibel reducing plugs that have a metal "funnel" inside a rubber plug. They come in differing amounts of decibel reduction too. They're washable and you can vary the degree of decibel reduction by changing the funnels.
I've had a pair that reduce the volume by 6 decibels.
They're over 20 years old and were about 20 bucks back then. Well worth the money.

Also, little kids are more susceptible to hearing loss due to loud noise than older folks---that's why you always hear Cameron of DSO give his speech before they play at gigs with a lot of kids, like at Nelson's ledges....

[razmablues]

damn, i just looked up tinnitus and i think i've had a case from an early age. i always have this wooshing in my left ear, i usually dont notice it unless i'm going to bed.

haha its always funny when you find theres names for little things thats wrong with you... anyway, i guess i should wear the plugs to keep it from getting worse.

anyone who wants good plugs that dont really deaden sound, only reduce volume, look into http://www.earlove.net/ it's great stuff.

[oconnors_35]

Put them in during the first song too because bands usually get louder as the show goes on. Sometimes during the first song you think "this isn't too loud"
and then by the encore it's WAY louder!

Last time I had my hearing checked the Doc said I had trouble hearing low frequencies. I mentioned I went to a lot of concerts and play guitar and he said that usually affects the high end.... so not sure what messed me up.... I'll blame it on those Phil Bombs!

SeanO

[tigerstrat]

There's no way Jerry's hearing WASN'T damaged. He had an incredibly loud stage volume, and played thousands of shows that way.

I use them much more when in the audience, but Hearos high-fidelity plugs are definitely a great investment at around $17. I try not to go see live music w/o them. I wish I could keep them in while playing onstage, but it's very disconcerting and I always wind up taking them out. I guess I need to start rehearsing with them.

[Pete B.]

fwiw, Up untill the advent of gun-powder, the loudest sound the human ear was exposed to was probably thunder, lightining bolts, maybe landslides or earthquakes... that type of stuff.
The human ear was designed by nature to allow for hearing of the lowest audible sounds, as a means of warning of impending danger.
The human ear has not had time to evolve to a point where it can withstand the decibel levels that we expose it too in the here and now, without being damaged.
Unfortunatly, in the here and now, there is no medical "fix" for damaged hearing.
It's a done deal.
imho, It's worth protecting.

Here's an interesting link.
Famous People & Musicians with Tinnitus:
http://members.fortunecity.com/nrbq1/tinnitus.html

[deadguise]

I have a case of tinnitus thanks to years of being a jet mechanic and playing heavy metal for a number of years (Marshal stack), yes, earplugs should be worn when in the audience. I never wear them while playing because it makes me tone deaf and I can't hear nuances. Usually your amp isn't at face level while you play but if there's a stage and your standing in the audience the speakers are often at head level so your ears get the full brunt of the sound projection.

[Rusty the Scoob]

I'll blame it on those Phil Bombs!

It probably wasn't the bombs... high frequencies are more damaging than low ones... guitars and cymbals are the most dangerous.

Me, I'm an earplug believer... I like the foam ones for everything (jeeping, motorcycle power tools, etc), even music. They take out more high freqencies than lows so I can hear my bass better. Guitar center has plenty of choices but Wallgreens & CVS have better prices on some of the exact same plugs.

[old man down]

My first exposure to tinitus came at a very early age. Back in the day kids used to have cap guns with the red paper cap rolls that you'd place in the pretend guns. The caps weren't very loud but if you took the whole rolls and placed them on the sidewalk, and then took a hammer to the whole roll at once , it was a pretty big bang and you were arms length away. I remember that most of the time you wouldn't get a right on the money blow on the roll of caps and it wasn't too loud. But one time I did it perfectly and WOWWWWWW, RIIIIIIINNNNNNNNGGGGGGG.

That's when I first found out about ringing in the ears.

I still have tinitus these days, it sucks, and it is worse if you're stressed out. You can get the level to go down by having a relaxing lifestyle, and it becomes almost un-noticeable. But add a lot of stress to your life and it can be all you hear. Like the Hunchback of Notre Dame movie of old where Quasimodo has to ring the bells in the tower!