5 ms·

as a metalhead and frequent concert-goer, this is something I am INCREDIBLY careful about. I'm one of those people that already has a hard time hearing in envir

as a metalhead and frequent concert-goer, this is something I am INCREDIBLY careful about. I'm one of those people that already has a hard time hearing in environments with background noise for some reason. 1. earplugs at shows or anywhere with sustained loud sound are critical. Disposable foam earplugs are a last resort. If you are a frequent concert-goer, do yourself a favor and AT LEAST get a pair of Eymotic ETY-Plugs or something similar ($13, https://www.amazon.com/ETY-Plugs-Fidelity-Earplugs-Standard-Frost/dp/B0015WJQ7A https://www.amazon.com/ETY-Plugs-Fidelity-Earplugs-Standard-...). They will fit way better, isolate more sound, and sound a TON better; you will still be able to enjoy the show, I promise. 2. If you go to shows a lot, get custom plugs made; just do it. Price will be $80-$200, including getting professional molds made by an audiologist, but it is worth it. I can not even feel mine when they are in my ears, the fit is that good (mine are from 64 Audio, they have a 20% off sale a few times a year). 3. If you spend a lot of time with headphones, be really careful about keeping the volume low. If something sounds too faint, just leave it for a few minutes; a lot of they time your ears adjust and that lower volume you thought was too faint is actually just fine or maybe even still too loud. 4. I acknowledge how ridiculous of a suggestion this is price wise, but if you spend hours a day with headphones on, consider custom molded IEMs. Yes, they are expensive as shit (anywhere from ~$250 to infinity dollars), but they will seal in your ears perfectly. This gives you much better isolation from ambient sound in your environment, so you can listen to music at MUCH lower volumes comfortably. On average, sound quality is MUCH better than the headphones/earbuds you were using before too. Do not fuck about with your hearing.

swsieber 9y ago
I'd like to echo point 3 - I eventually got to the point where I could listen to music on the lowest volume, because I had gotten used to the volume.
- civilian 9y ago
  So, I often listen to podcasts in bed with earbuds. It's night, and it's quiet, and I've found that I actually _bottom out_-- I'm at the lowest volume setting, with the next lowest being "mute", and I wish I could lower it a few more times. I need finer control over volume. (I'm on android, if anyone has any solutions...)
  - analog31 9y ago
    I'll bet you could write an app to do it. My hunch is that the OS provides gradations of volume that aren't available to the regular user interface, and you could override that interface with an app. There. A startup idea, or at least a nice side project for someone familiar with Android coding.
    - civilian 9y ago
      I've found that side projects are successful when they number < 2. :3 Maybe I'll go plant a seed with the android team at my company.
  - jpindar 9y ago
    There are earbuds with an analog volume control slider (not up/down buttons) built into the cord.
  - mnx 9y ago
    Haven't tried it, but there seem to be apps doing this. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=opotech.finevolumev2 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=opotech.finevo...
    - mohn 9y ago
      That looks very promising! I was searching for systemwide EQ apps about a year ago (with the aim of cutting several dB across all frequencies, not actually using it as an EQ) and I don't think I saw that one. I just gave it a try on my 2014 Moto X (which has had weird EQ-related bugs in some other apps) and it worked fine. I was able to make fine adjustments to audio whether it was playing from Firefox, YouTube, or my music app of choice.
  - loco5niner 9y ago
    Perhaps an external headphone amp? I use an old one from my gaming headset days at work. Seems to help since I can set the laptop volume really low and use the knob on the amp to go lower.
  - 9y ago
asteli 9y ago
I've tried a few different attenuator earplugs, and the most compelling I've found are the Earasers. ($40 https://www.amazon.com/Earasers-HEM001-Musicians-Plugs-Medium/dp/B00E2D9HAA/?th=1 https://www.amazon.com/Earasers-HEM001-Musicians-Plugs-Mediu... ). They're very comfortable and low-profile. If you're the kind of person who prefers not to advertise that they're using earplugs (silly I know, but a consideration for a lot of people), these are great, because they're basically invisible when in use. And +1 on the custom earmold. I use mine routinely. I do use the earasers when attending shows with a moshpit, as it's possible to have the filters get dislodged and lost in the fray.
- joshschreuder 9y ago
  I bit the bullet and bought a pair. I have the Etymotics and they've been quite good but not as stable to wear as I'd like. Hope these are better
- jdc0589 9y ago
  How do they attenuate lower bass frequencies? Granted, its pretty tough/impossible for an earplug to do at concert volumes, but my only complaint about most plugs is the lows aren't attenuated as much as everything else.
blunte 9y ago
> I'm one of those people that already has a hard time hearing in environments with background noise for some reason. I bet you're also one of those people who has high attention to detail in life, is aware of most things going on around you, etc. (aka highly sensitive person). I find that moving to another country and NOT learning the language helps :). It makes the background noise non-sensical, and thus relieves a ton of mental effort.
- jshevek 9y ago
  I agree, emphatically. This experience of relief is so great, I think this may be why I'm postponing learning Spanish. I absolutely love the ease with which I can tune out conversations in languages I don't know.
abawany 9y ago
I wish I had your advice when I was trying to deal with the pain of an open-office work environment. Listening to music or white noise for 8+ hours per day to drown out extremely noisy coworkers has left me with very nasty tinnitus. I am hearing it as I type this, more aware of it than I usually am, and I wish I was back to a state where I could just hear the world without the constant accompaniment of a high-pitched 'eeeeeeeeeeee'.
- obstinate 9y ago
  I have read in some places that everyone hears that "eeee" to some degree or another. I distinctly remember being able to perceive that sound even when I was a child, and I have read anecdotal reports from many others. (I did some research on this when I was going through some kind of pseudo-hypochondriac attack.) I don't know how true this is, but it might offer you some comfort. Like pain becoming more acute when you think about it, this sound always seems louder to me when I'm stressing about the health of my hearing. I notice retrospectively that I never notice it when engaged in any other activity, even if it's very quiet about.
  - abawany 9y ago
    My symptoms are a little different, I feel: it is pretty quiet now and I am about as relaxed as I get but it is pulsing away as I type this. It is good to hear (ha) that it might be more common than I realize - everyone else I have talked to about ringing mentions a different experience than mine so it is good to hear that my case is not too out of the ordinary.
mintplant 9y ago
> 3. If you spend a lot of time with headphones, be really careful about keeping the volume low. If something sounds too faint, just leave it for a few minutes; a lot of they time your ears adjust and that lower volume you thought was too faint is actually just fine or maybe even still too loud. One trick I play on myself when I turn down the volume is to first turn it down lower than I want it, then turn it back up to the desired level. That way it feels like I'm coming off a volume increase instead of an overall decrease, and I seem to adjust faster.
tim333 9y ago
Personally I like cheap wax ear plugs - you squish them to the shape you like, and so adjust how much sound they block - but found a key ring holder for them really useful. eg http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Keyring-Tablets-Medicine-Container-Pill-Box-Aluminium-Key-Chain-Drug-Holder/331617530972?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D43782%26meid%3Ddf9d0ff14b1148f9a45f582392a9cc87%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D5%26rkt%3D6%26mehot%3Dag%26sd%3D150701384541 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Keyring-Tablets-Medicine-Container... plugs http://www.boots.com/boots-muffle-wax-earplugs-5-pairs-10114104 http://www.boots.com/boots-muffle-wax-earplugs-5-pairs-10114... You never quite know when your friends will want to meet/go somewhere noisy.

swsieber 9y ago

I'd like to echo point 3 - I eventually got to the point where I could listen to music on the lowest volume, because I had gotten used to the volume.

civilian 9y ago
So, I often listen to podcasts in bed with earbuds. It's night, and it's quiet, and I've found that I actually _bottom out_-- I'm at the lowest volume setting, with the next lowest being "mute", and I wish I could lower it a few more times. I need finer control over volume. (I'm on android, if anyone has any solutions...)
- analog31 9y ago
  I'll bet you could write an app to do it. My hunch is that the OS provides gradations of volume that aren't available to the regular user interface, and you could override that interface with an app. There. A startup idea, or at least a nice side project for someone familiar with Android coding.
  - civilian 9y ago
    I've found that side projects are successful when they number < 2. :3 Maybe I'll go plant a seed with the android team at my company.
- jpindar 9y ago
  There are earbuds with an analog volume control slider (not up/down buttons) built into the cord.
- mnx 9y ago
  Haven't tried it, but there seem to be apps doing this. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=opotech.finevolumev2 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=opotech.finevo...
  - mohn 9y ago
    That looks very promising! I was searching for systemwide EQ apps about a year ago (with the aim of cutting several dB across all frequencies, not actually using it as an EQ) and I don't think I saw that one. I just gave it a try on my 2014 Moto X (which has had weird EQ-related bugs in some other apps) and it worked fine. I was able to make fine adjustments to audio whether it was playing from Firefox, YouTube, or my music app of choice.
- loco5niner 9y ago
  Perhaps an external headphone amp? I use an old one from my gaming headset days at work. Seems to help since I can set the laptop volume really low and use the knob on the amp to go lower.
- 9y ago

asteli 9y ago

I've tried a few different attenuator earplugs, and the most compelling I've found are the Earasers. ($40 https://www.amazon.com/Earasers-HEM001-Musicians-Plugs-Medium/dp/B00E2D9HAA/?th=1 https://www.amazon.com/Earasers-HEM001-Musicians-Plugs-Mediu... ). They're very comfortable and low-profile. If you're the kind of person who prefers not to advertise that they're using earplugs (silly I know, but a consideration for a lot of people), these are great, because they're basically invisible when in use. And +1 on the custom earmold. I use mine routinely. I do use the earasers when attending shows with a moshpit, as it's possible to have the filters get dislodged and lost in the fray.

joshschreuder 9y ago
I bit the bullet and bought a pair. I have the Etymotics and they've been quite good but not as stable to wear as I'd like. Hope these are better
jdc0589 9y ago
How do they attenuate lower bass frequencies? Granted, its pretty tough/impossible for an earplug to do at concert volumes, but my only complaint about most plugs is the lows aren't attenuated as much as everything else.

blunte 9y ago

> I'm one of those people that already has a hard time hearing in environments with background noise for some reason. I bet you're also one of those people who has high attention to detail in life, is aware of most things going on around you, etc. (aka highly sensitive person). I find that moving to another country and NOT learning the language helps :). It makes the background noise non-sensical, and thus relieves a ton of mental effort.

jshevek 9y ago
I agree, emphatically. This experience of relief is so great, I think this may be why I'm postponing learning Spanish. I absolutely love the ease with which I can tune out conversations in languages I don't know.

abawany 9y ago

I wish I had your advice when I was trying to deal with the pain of an open-office work environment. Listening to music or white noise for 8+ hours per day to drown out extremely noisy coworkers has left me with very nasty tinnitus. I am hearing it as I type this, more aware of it than I usually am, and I wish I was back to a state where I could just hear the world without the constant accompaniment of a high-pitched 'eeeeeeeeeeee'.

obstinate 9y ago
I have read in some places that everyone hears that "eeee" to some degree or another. I distinctly remember being able to perceive that sound even when I was a child, and I have read anecdotal reports from many others. (I did some research on this when I was going through some kind of pseudo-hypochondriac attack.) I don't know how true this is, but it might offer you some comfort. Like pain becoming more acute when you think about it, this sound always seems louder to me when I'm stressing about the health of my hearing. I notice retrospectively that I never notice it when engaged in any other activity, even if it's very quiet about.
- abawany 9y ago
  My symptoms are a little different, I feel: it is pretty quiet now and I am about as relaxed as I get but it is pulsing away as I type this. It is good to hear (ha) that it might be more common than I realize - everyone else I have talked to about ringing mentions a different experience than mine so it is good to hear that my case is not too out of the ordinary.

mintplant 9y ago

> 3. If you spend a lot of time with headphones, be really careful about keeping the volume low. If something sounds too faint, just leave it for a few minutes; a lot of they time your ears adjust and that lower volume you thought was too faint is actually just fine or maybe even still too loud. One trick I play on myself when I turn down the volume is to first turn it down lower than I want it, then turn it back up to the desired level. That way it feels like I'm coming off a volume increase instead of an overall decrease, and I seem to adjust faster.

tim333 9y ago

Personally I like cheap wax ear plugs - you squish them to the shape you like, and so adjust how much sound they block - but found a key ring holder for them really useful. eg http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Keyring-Tablets-Medicine-Container-Pill-Box-Aluminium-Key-Chain-Drug-Holder/331617530972?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D43782%26meid%3Ddf9d0ff14b1148f9a45f582392a9cc87%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D5%26rkt%3D6%26mehot%3Dag%26sd%3D150701384541 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Keyring-Tablets-Medicine-Container... plugs http://www.boots.com/boots-muffle-wax-earplugs-5-pairs-10114104 http://www.boots.com/boots-muffle-wax-earplugs-5-pairs-10114... You never quite know when your friends will want to meet/go somewhere noisy.