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Glancing at the article, this seems like a baroque approach to a problem with a much more elegant solution. I’m a professional musician and audio engineer and
by Slow_Hand 3y ago
Glancing at the article, this seems like a baroque approach to a problem with a much more elegant solution.
I’m a professional musician and audio engineer and for years I’ve been using custom earplugs that I acquired through a visit to an audiologist. They took an impression of my ear canals and within a week provided molded custom-fit plugs. These plugs provide passive attenuation spec’ed to my preference (-15dB, -20dB, -30dB, etc) and they do so in a way that attenuates evenly across the frequency spectrum, rather than over-attenuate the high frequencies like foam earplugs do, so that you don’t experience muffled sound. They’re comfy and work flawlessly. I’ve never taken them out due to discomfort.
- stavros 3y agoI got some off-the-shelf ones, so they don't fit as well as custom molded ones, but I've still never had discomfort. I love them, I wear them everywhere, as they make sound levels much more comfortable.
- cactusplant7374 3y agoI have been thinking about getting custom ear plugs for the AirPod Pros as the tips don’t fit my ears. My use case is that there is a lot of dangerous noise in the third world and I want to protect my ears when running.
- astrange 3y agoThere's several third party tips for those with different materials. I use Crystal.
- cactusplant7374 3y agoThanks for the recommendation. Looking into it.
- thebigman433 3y agoCan I ask how much something like this is? Ive been considering getting something similar, partially for work, and partially for going to concerts without having to worry about damaging my ears.
- amluto 3y ago$200-$300. You can DIY the impressions or get an audiologist to do it. Westone is the major brand if you want your audiologist to do the whole thing.
- arrakeenrevived 3y agoThey're not custom made, but I recently bought a couple pairs of "Vibes" and "Loop" earplugs and they are easily the best <$50 purchase I've made in the last year. I prefer them to Etymotics (one of the other commonly recommended earplugs). I carry them everywhere with me and even wear them at places like restaurants to mute the noise. I can't recommend them enough. Vibes: https://www.discovervibes.com/new-products/vibes-high-fidelity-ear-plugs https://www.discovervibes.com/new-products/vibes-high-fideli... Loop: https://us.loopearplugs.com/ https://us.loopearplugs.com/
- bradknowles 3y agoI need either big thick closed cell foam earplugs, or earplugs with a silicone triple flange. Over the years, I've tried everything I can find, and nothing else seems to work. Etymotic seems to have the best triple flange ear tips I've found, but the earphones themselves are fragile and easy to break. Shure has good in-ear monitors, but their triple flange ear tips are too hard, and hurt. But the Etymoic eartips will fit on the Shure IEMs. But none of those are noise cancelling, and none of those are wireless. So, for the purpose of blocking out sound at night while trying to sleep, none of that helps.
- teeray 3y agoCarrying them everywhere has definitely been a pro move for me. The number of times I’ve been caught in a super loud bar or a restaurant with surprise loud live music makes the paltry burden of having them on my key ring worth it.
- pkkm 3y agoFor people who can't afford custom earplugs, you can find a lot of earplugs with good sound clarity if you google "musician earplugs" or "concert earplugs". You may have to try more than one brand before you find something that fits well, but it will still be cheaper than the custom option. I like the EarPeace plugs, though it's not because of sound quality but because they're discreet and I find them comfortable.
- giantg2 3y agoI've seen the custom ones (non-electronic) go for $25. So it might not be as expensive as some people think. It depends on where you go to get them. Independent people who do it on the side are the cheapest.
- andrei_says_ 3y agoCould you suggest some sources?
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- wodenokoto 3y agoYou have to look locally. You have to go there physically, so there is no Amazon-type recommendation to give
- giantg2 3y agoIf you go to something like a local IDPA match and ask someone people wearing them, you might get some recommendations.
- nerdponx 3y agoI've been a fan of Hearos for many years. Helped me preserve my hearing through many loud band practices and shows.
- kazinator 3y agoI've never had a problem with sound clarity at loud concerts with ordinary foam plugs. I wouldn't use anything else when cranking an amp. Flat frequency response in plugs is nonsense, because due to factors like the Fletcher-Munson curves, there is no correct profile. Foam plugs attenuating more of the high end means that you hear a lot of bass: and in one way that is subjectively pleasing, because due to Fletcher-Munson, the unattenuated loud sound sounds bass-heavy. Thus some of that aspect of the sound is preserved. People who are cork sniffers about flat frequency responses should be going to Bach concerts, not rock concerts. I heard Chick Corea's Electric Band (with Gambale on guitar at that time) via foam plugs. They sounded fine. I heard every note clearly from every instrument. Most people don't give a shit about flat response. Just about every time I've ever rented a car, I had to correct the stereo from cranked treble and bass, reduced middle, back to all zero. No two speaker systems sound alike in the first place.
- lukasb 3y agoExpensive, time-consuming, and after multiple trips to different audiologists I never got a good impression of my right ear. If it works for you though (I'm probably a rare case) I'm sure it's great.
- lovelyviking 3y agoHow much -DB one needs for complete quietness? May be it is possible to tell from a lot of experience?
- TaylorAlexander 3y agoAccording to some website I found, 30dB is a pretty quiet room and a rock concert is around 120+dB so you’d need -90dB to hear quiet at a rock concert. However even if you completely blocked all sound through the ear canal you’d probably get sound going through your skull so there’s just a limit to what’s going to really work.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- broken-kebab 3y agoThere's no such thing as complete quietness for a human to experience. Not getting external signals brain immediately, and unavoidably starts to hallucinate noise
- karlgrz 3y agoSeconded, I play in several very loud metal bands and I went through this same process around 2016 and my earplugs are still going strong. I love the option of changing the filters at will. Well worth the time and money, for me.
- RowanH 3y agoThis is what's used a lot in motorsport as race cars are insanely loud. Mine was pumping out north of 120db at one point at a 1m static noise test at 4500rpm (went to 7600rpm... and you sit less than 1m from the exhaust..) I had full impressions done with custom in-ear monitors and I've never been happier. Makes plane flights absolutely tolerable too. In-ear monitors vs sleeved (like eytomtic slip-ons) are much better practically day to day as the wires exit flush with the bottom of your earlobes (needed for getting helmets on and off) which means beanies, sleeping on a plane etc you can rest the side of your head on something without wires/end of the monitor. Around $700NZD / $300USD done here in NZ.
- joshu 3y agowhat were you driving? i have an old lotus that is similar. ear pain within minutes. engine is inches behind my head. thankfully none of my other cars need more than a plain helmet.
- RowanH 3y agoLotus 7 styled machine. Has a supercharged honda k20a, the exhaust exit is drivers side....
- toast0 3y ago> Makes plane flights absolutely tolerable too. Do your monitors make equalizing pressure better or worse than without? Or is the tolerable just about the noise levels?
- RowanH 3y agoProbably a little bit worse on descent. It's all about noise levels - constant drone and screaming babies.
- teruakohatu 3y agoWhere did you get them done in NZ?
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- brandall10 3y agoThis was addressed early in the article: "For years, I have been trying to improve my personal audio-monitoring situation without going to the expense of the systems used by professional touring bands, which include custom-molded earpieces."
- catchnear4321 3y ago> I then hooked up a chain of breakout boards from my full-time employer, SparkFun Electronics… the diy part was not a small part.
- djaychela 3y agoI have similar made here in the UK. Love them, wear them for gigs plus when I go to a club. For anyone in the UK check out the musicians hearing health scheme. They provide the plugs at greatly reduced cost, and I can't speak highly enough of them. https://www.musicianshearingservices.co.uk/what-we-do/musicians-hearing-health-scheme/ https://www.musicianshearingservices.co.uk/what-we-do/musici...
- distances 3y agoAround 200-230€ in Germany. I have a model where the human voice frequencies have a bit less attenuation, absolutely perfect for noisy bars where you want to hear your buddy at the same table. Less perfect for noisy restaurants as eating will make your ears to wiggle a bit, causing some shifting sounds if you are wearing plugs. But great again for noisy public transport and flights. I always keep them in a small pouch in my pocket.