5 ms·

see my other comment. I wish they didn't start by forcing you to have tinnitus to begin with. I'd use foam inserts if they were given out at concerts and club

see my other comment. I wish they didn't start by forcing you to have tinnitus to begin with. I'd use foam inserts if they were given out at concerts and clubs etc - but not if I'm the only one bringing them with me, that's ridiculous. tinnitus is caused by people listening to music that is too loud. Music is too loud at most venues, if you are standing where you are meant to. EDIT: people don't like this comment, and point out that in many places inserts are available. All the same, the general clubs that I go to where I live, don't have them, and, more to the point, nobody else wears them. it's a social problem and perhaps a marketing problem. many bars / clubs are too loud and I as a consumer haven't been solicited to pay for a solution on-site. (even if this exists.) others I'm with don't wear anything either. The responses here have convinced me that I likely should invest in some and bring them with me - but I don't like that I'm the only one doing so, and it seems kind of anal. i'm just being honest about how I feel. it would be easier if they were more readily available / being sold, and if everyone were using them. I like to be cool and do the same thing everyone else does. just being honest.

abakker 10y ago
I've learned that it is just necessary to bring foam earplugs to a lot of events. (even movie theaters now). In general, if the performers are wearing them, you probably should be, too. Your health is not a good place to think about being worried about what other people aren't doing to protect theirs.
- samstave 10y ago
  I always have these available around my house... I used to carry them with me everywhere. I started using them in the 90s rave scene in SF. I would go to a party and would always bring earplugs with me, extra ones and hand them out. Especially to people who appeared to have had... a little too much. Sometimes handing a plastic bag of earplugs to someone who has had too much is a great thing from them as it helps them center a bit more. I personally think that all concert ticket windows should hand these out with each ticket purchase/pickup.
  - abakker 10y ago
    I used to do this at Ska concerts in NY. I am a woodworker and always have a gigantic box of them at home, so it was easy to fill a ziplock. One time I got grabbed by a bunch of bouncers and forcibly expelled from the venue - they thought the purple earplugs were drugs. Once they realized they were super apologetic and we had a good laugh about it.
- dawnerd 10y ago
  You should look into something like these instead of regular foam. http://www.etymotic.com/consumer/hearing-protection.html http://www.etymotic.com/consumer/hearing-protection.html I got a pair for EDC after realizing the foam earplugs were ruining the music. These reduce the volume with minimal muffling. Also pretty cheap considering they'll last a long time. I picked them up at guitar center - they can help you get the right ones.
  - greglindahl 10y ago
    I second this. I've mostly used datacenter earplugs over the years, which really mangle music. These earplugs are sold to musicians and are really great for music.
  - ericabiz 10y ago
    Absolutely. I have a pair of these and they go everywhere with me. Movies, concerts, sports events--anything with loud sound--these are perfect. They're small enough to tuck away in my purse so I never forget them.
  - mi100hael 10y ago
    For those that use earphones a lot at work or on public transit or whatever, I also highly recommend Etymotic's in-ear isolating earphones. They are basically those musician's earplugs with a small driver in the tip. They reduce external noise on-par with foam plugs, so I can listen to my music at much lower volumes rather than cranking the volume of the music to drown out my surroundings. The sound quality is quite good as well. I have the hf3 model and they are by far better than any other earphones I've used that are sub $200.
    - iamatworknow 10y ago
      Their headphones are great in terms of the quality of sound they produce, but their durability leaves a lot to be desired. I've used both the MC5's and HF5's and both ended up with shorting out on one side (HF5) or falling apart (MC5) on me within just a few months.
- dEnigma 10y ago
  It's insane how loud some movie theaters are nowadays. My first experience with this was three years ago in Hong Kong, watching "Pacific Rim". At first I thought it was a technical problem and looked around me to see how other guests react, but nobody seemed to mind, apart from our small group of Europeans. I seriously contemplated leaving because it was almost unbearably loud and I was worried about my hearing. Lately I've had similar experiences here in Austria, so it seems the trend is moving towards louder movies in cinemas, though I really hope they at least make an exception for children's movies, since it would be a shame to submit them to such a loud environment for hours at a time. (not that it isn't bad for grown-ups too, it's just especially worrying with children)
  - pbhjpbhj 10y ago
    What gets me is how arbitrary sound levels seem. I'd expect sampling in the theatre to set the volume level to avoid hearing damage and make the levels comfortable but what appears, to me, to happen is the projectionist sets the sound level - so if you get a projectionist that is [seemingly] practically deaf then the volume level is far too high. Went to a kids show, some disney tripe or other, volume was painful for me and made my youngest at the time cry ... movie theatres clearly have a thing about being loud but surely that doesn't help to make them a place anyone wants to be. Yes, I went out and spoke to someone and had the sound level lowered, it was still loud; I'm sure it was beyond the safe working volume set by Health & Safety Executive [UK] though. Amazed that it's not monitored and set automatically.
aaronblohowiak 10y ago
Most venues and festivals I have been to have free ear plugs
- logicallee 10y ago
  that's cool - maybe I go to different places. I'm in Europe and go to just general concert venues or clubs etc.
  - tonfa 10y ago
    Don't know if it's mandatory, but I think every concert I've been to in Switzerland has had free earplugs (foam and sometimes better ones). They also often have tinnitus prevention posters shown. In practice many people use them (and a bunch of people bring their own better earplugs). I find that really nice (and wish more countries would do the same).
marcoperaza 10y ago
>I wish they didn't start by forcing you to have tinnitus to begin with. I'd use foam inserts if they were given out at concerts and clubs etc - but not if I'm the only one bringing them with me, that's ridiculous. No one is "forcing you" to have tinnitus. And what's so "ridiculous" about protecting your own hearing? We are responsible for our own self-destructive behavior, like going to concerts without ear protection. Almost everyone's done it, but let's not blame other people for our own recklessness.
grhino 10y ago
tinnitus can be caused for other reasons than loud music, some that are not that well understood. Any sensorineural hearing loss can be accompanied by tinnitus. Autoimmune inner disease (AIED) and meniere's disease can bring about tinnitus. Tinnitus sucks. I think the best guess is nerve cells in the inner ear firing improperly and generating a random noisy signal that gets interpreted wrong by the brain.
- randlet 10y ago
  I've got otosclerosis which causes tinnitus too. It sucks, but thankfully you get used to it somewhat and listening to background music brings me a lot of relief.
- logicallee 10y ago
  all right - sounds like you know a lot about it. Is it fair to say most tinnitus in the world is preventable, and most (as a percentage of people suffering from tinnitus) have had as a direct cause loud noise? (So that if they had had earing protection, they would not have tinnitus.) open-ended question.
  - grhino 10y ago
    Hearing protection is worthwhile. I don't know if we understand tinnitus well enough to say whether most of it is preventable.
wrigby 10y ago
Just bring them with you. Better yet, invest in a pair of better earplugs[1] - they have a flatter frequency response, so the music sounds way better than it does with the foamies. Most venues will also either give you or sell you (for $1) a pair of foam earplugs at the bar. Do it. 1: http://www.etymotic.com/consumer/hearing-protection.html http://www.etymotic.com/consumer/hearing-protection.html
telekid 10y ago
I keep a pair of high-quality earplugs[0] on my keychain. They're completely invisible and always there when I need them. I find myself using them about once a week. Nobody is going to protect your ears for you. [0] http://www.earasers.net/ http://www.earasers.net/
- overcast 10y ago
  I love earasers. Best I've used so far. Super comfortable, tiny, and discreet. No one even knows you're wearing them, and they work so well for concerts, without making everything muffled. I use them for everything with noise at this point,mowing the lawn, snowblowing, etc.
mikegerwitz 10y ago
My tinnitus is hereditary, from my father's side. I have a constant ringing that my mind usually filters out unless I think about it, but some nights it can be pretty "loud". I quote the word because I can hear even the slightest sounds like the ticking of a watch in another room in complete silence, while at the same time being overwhelmed by the ringing. I had a hearing test done a couple years ago at a neurological institute to try to diagnose other issues (migraine-related), and my hearing was higher than they could measure. So it's not damage. It's quite fascinating. I've gone to only one concert in my lifetime, and I don't listen to loud music. I haven't been around loud equipment for any length of time.
- corysama 10y ago
  Does it get louder when you clench your jaw? Sometimes tinnitus is due to teeth/jaw issues. Sometimes people report tinnitus getting worse or better after getting teeth removed or jaw work done. For a variety of reasons, I'm starting to think my ringing is at least partially due to pressure on my teeth and jaw. Now I need to find a TMJ specialist who will be willing to try to figure out what might help.
  - mikegerwitz 10y ago
    That's an interesting observation! Yes, it does, and it's a higher pitch. That might be something to explore; thank you for that. I also grind my teeth aggressively at night (which I wasn't aware of until ~1y ago when my wife told me).
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
stcredzero 10y ago
The foam earplugs are pretty cheap in bulk. I've brought bags with me to concerts and given them out. (I want to help make the world safe for acoustic music.)
sixothree 10y ago
My tinnitus was caused by a movie theater. It was the first showing in an imax theater and I was seated in the top row (probably directly under a kicker).
Symbiote 10y ago
At the concerts I go to, at least 1/4 of people standing near the front will be wearing earplugs. Sometimes it's the majority. Perhaps that's the scene (metal, northern Europe). Most venues will sell for 1EUR, or give away, free foam plugs, but most people have better ones.
CalChris 10y ago
I've stuffed paper towels in my ears in spinning or zumba classes. The loudspeakers are in front of the students blasting right at us. The teachers are behind them and generally younger.
compiler-guy 10y ago
tinnitus is a symptom with many causes. Loud noise being just the most common--and least treatable--cause. Another cause is otosclerosis, which is preeminently treatable. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otosclerosis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otosclerosis If you have tinnitus, don't assume that nothing can be done. See an audiologist.

abakker 10y ago

I've learned that it is just necessary to bring foam earplugs to a lot of events. (even movie theaters now). In general, if the performers are wearing them, you probably should be, too. Your health is not a good place to think about being worried about what other people aren't doing to protect theirs.

samstave 10y ago
I always have these available around my house... I used to carry them with me everywhere. I started using them in the 90s rave scene in SF. I would go to a party and would always bring earplugs with me, extra ones and hand them out. Especially to people who appeared to have had... a little too much. Sometimes handing a plastic bag of earplugs to someone who has had too much is a great thing from them as it helps them center a bit more. I personally think that all concert ticket windows should hand these out with each ticket purchase/pickup.
- abakker 10y ago
  I used to do this at Ska concerts in NY. I am a woodworker and always have a gigantic box of them at home, so it was easy to fill a ziplock. One time I got grabbed by a bunch of bouncers and forcibly expelled from the venue - they thought the purple earplugs were drugs. Once they realized they were super apologetic and we had a good laugh about it.
dawnerd 10y ago
You should look into something like these instead of regular foam. http://www.etymotic.com/consumer/hearing-protection.html http://www.etymotic.com/consumer/hearing-protection.html I got a pair for EDC after realizing the foam earplugs were ruining the music. These reduce the volume with minimal muffling. Also pretty cheap considering they'll last a long time. I picked them up at guitar center - they can help you get the right ones.
- greglindahl 10y ago
  I second this. I've mostly used datacenter earplugs over the years, which really mangle music. These earplugs are sold to musicians and are really great for music.
- ericabiz 10y ago
  Absolutely. I have a pair of these and they go everywhere with me. Movies, concerts, sports events--anything with loud sound--these are perfect. They're small enough to tuck away in my purse so I never forget them.
- mi100hael 10y ago
  For those that use earphones a lot at work or on public transit or whatever, I also highly recommend Etymotic's in-ear isolating earphones. They are basically those musician's earplugs with a small driver in the tip. They reduce external noise on-par with foam plugs, so I can listen to my music at much lower volumes rather than cranking the volume of the music to drown out my surroundings. The sound quality is quite good as well. I have the hf3 model and they are by far better than any other earphones I've used that are sub $200.
  - iamatworknow 10y ago
    Their headphones are great in terms of the quality of sound they produce, but their durability leaves a lot to be desired. I've used both the MC5's and HF5's and both ended up with shorting out on one side (HF5) or falling apart (MC5) on me within just a few months.
dEnigma 10y ago
It's insane how loud some movie theaters are nowadays. My first experience with this was three years ago in Hong Kong, watching "Pacific Rim". At first I thought it was a technical problem and looked around me to see how other guests react, but nobody seemed to mind, apart from our small group of Europeans. I seriously contemplated leaving because it was almost unbearably loud and I was worried about my hearing. Lately I've had similar experiences here in Austria, so it seems the trend is moving towards louder movies in cinemas, though I really hope they at least make an exception for children's movies, since it would be a shame to submit them to such a loud environment for hours at a time. (not that it isn't bad for grown-ups too, it's just especially worrying with children)
- pbhjpbhj 10y ago
  What gets me is how arbitrary sound levels seem. I'd expect sampling in the theatre to set the volume level to avoid hearing damage and make the levels comfortable but what appears, to me, to happen is the projectionist sets the sound level - so if you get a projectionist that is [seemingly] practically deaf then the volume level is far too high. Went to a kids show, some disney tripe or other, volume was painful for me and made my youngest at the time cry ... movie theatres clearly have a thing about being loud but surely that doesn't help to make them a place anyone wants to be. Yes, I went out and spoke to someone and had the sound level lowered, it was still loud; I'm sure it was beyond the safe working volume set by Health & Safety Executive [UK] though. Amazed that it's not monitored and set automatically.

aaronblohowiak 10y ago

Most venues and festivals I have been to have free ear plugs

logicallee 10y ago
that's cool - maybe I go to different places. I'm in Europe and go to just general concert venues or clubs etc.
- tonfa 10y ago
  Don't know if it's mandatory, but I think every concert I've been to in Switzerland has had free earplugs (foam and sometimes better ones). They also often have tinnitus prevention posters shown. In practice many people use them (and a bunch of people bring their own better earplugs). I find that really nice (and wish more countries would do the same).

marcoperaza 10y ago

>I wish they didn't start by forcing you to have tinnitus to begin with. I'd use foam inserts if they were given out at concerts and clubs etc - but not if I'm the only one bringing them with me, that's ridiculous. No one is "forcing you" to have tinnitus. And what's so "ridiculous" about protecting your own hearing? We are responsible for our own self-destructive behavior, like going to concerts without ear protection. Almost everyone's done it, but let's not blame other people for our own recklessness.

grhino 10y ago

tinnitus can be caused for other reasons than loud music, some that are not that well understood. Any sensorineural hearing loss can be accompanied by tinnitus. Autoimmune inner disease (AIED) and meniere's disease can bring about tinnitus. Tinnitus sucks. I think the best guess is nerve cells in the inner ear firing improperly and generating a random noisy signal that gets interpreted wrong by the brain.

randlet 10y ago
I've got otosclerosis which causes tinnitus too. It sucks, but thankfully you get used to it somewhat and listening to background music brings me a lot of relief.
logicallee 10y ago
all right - sounds like you know a lot about it. Is it fair to say most tinnitus in the world is preventable, and most (as a percentage of people suffering from tinnitus) have had as a direct cause loud noise? (So that if they had had earing protection, they would not have tinnitus.) open-ended question.
- grhino 10y ago
  Hearing protection is worthwhile. I don't know if we understand tinnitus well enough to say whether most of it is preventable.

wrigby 10y ago

Just bring them with you. Better yet, invest in a pair of better earplugs[1] - they have a flatter frequency response, so the music sounds way better than it does with the foamies. Most venues will also either give you or sell you (for $1) a pair of foam earplugs at the bar. Do it. 1: http://www.etymotic.com/consumer/hearing-protection.html http://www.etymotic.com/consumer/hearing-protection.html

telekid 10y ago

I keep a pair of high-quality earplugs[0] on my keychain. They're completely invisible and always there when I need them. I find myself using them about once a week. Nobody is going to protect your ears for you. [0] http://www.earasers.net/ http://www.earasers.net/

overcast 10y ago
I love earasers. Best I've used so far. Super comfortable, tiny, and discreet. No one even knows you're wearing them, and they work so well for concerts, without making everything muffled. I use them for everything with noise at this point,mowing the lawn, snowblowing, etc.

mikegerwitz 10y ago

My tinnitus is hereditary, from my father's side. I have a constant ringing that my mind usually filters out unless I think about it, but some nights it can be pretty "loud". I quote the word because I can hear even the slightest sounds like the ticking of a watch in another room in complete silence, while at the same time being overwhelmed by the ringing. I had a hearing test done a couple years ago at a neurological institute to try to diagnose other issues (migraine-related), and my hearing was higher than they could measure. So it's not damage. It's quite fascinating. I've gone to only one concert in my lifetime, and I don't listen to loud music. I haven't been around loud equipment for any length of time.

corysama 10y ago
Does it get louder when you clench your jaw? Sometimes tinnitus is due to teeth/jaw issues. Sometimes people report tinnitus getting worse or better after getting teeth removed or jaw work done. For a variety of reasons, I'm starting to think my ringing is at least partially due to pressure on my teeth and jaw. Now I need to find a TMJ specialist who will be willing to try to figure out what might help.
- mikegerwitz 10y ago
  That's an interesting observation! Yes, it does, and it's a higher pitch. That might be something to explore; thank you for that. I also grind my teeth aggressively at night (which I wasn't aware of until ~1y ago when my wife told me).
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]

stcredzero 10y ago

The foam earplugs are pretty cheap in bulk. I've brought bags with me to concerts and given them out. (I want to help make the world safe for acoustic music.)

sixothree 10y ago

My tinnitus was caused by a movie theater. It was the first showing in an imax theater and I was seated in the top row (probably directly under a kicker).

Symbiote 10y ago

At the concerts I go to, at least 1/4 of people standing near the front will be wearing earplugs. Sometimes it's the majority. Perhaps that's the scene (metal, northern Europe). Most venues will sell for 1EUR, or give away, free foam plugs, but most people have better ones.

CalChris 10y ago

I've stuffed paper towels in my ears in spinning or zumba classes. The loudspeakers are in front of the students blasting right at us. The teachers are behind them and generally younger.

compiler-guy 10y ago

tinnitus is a symptom with many causes. Loud noise being just the most common--and least treatable--cause. Another cause is otosclerosis, which is preeminently treatable. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otosclerosis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otosclerosis If you have tinnitus, don't assume that nothing can be done. See an audiologist.