hi I’ve had tinnitus for a couple of years but seems to be getting worse and loud noises seem to make it worse
I’m due to go to some concerts next month. I’d really like to go if possible . I’ve had my tickets over a year now. I’m thinking of ear plugs. Has anyone else used them for loud environments? If so which sort did you use and did they help. I also wear hearing aids in both ears but obviously I won’t wear them if I have ear plugs in.
If there’s nothing that will help then sadly I’ll have to cancel.
thanks in advance
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Cliffcliff
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I did a lot of research a couple of years ago, as you may be aware a number of rock musicians suffer from T (Pete Townsend is a prime example) so they need protectioendern.I found 2 pairs which held back Guns N Roses output at Spurs wonderfully.
One was by Fender ( I think) BUT I am returning home tomorrow so watch this space over the next 2 days & I will post & link for you
It's good you're thinking of protecting your ears.
In my experience as a musician who had to give up live gigs due to tinnitus, the bullet shaped foam earplugs do the best job of simply blocking sound. The problem I found is that they although they do a good job of reducing the sound hitting your ears they also take out a lot of the high frequency which can deaden it and can make the sound very muddy.
A search for ear plugs for music will come up with many ideas.
I'm sure others will also have ideas and suggestions.
Definitely go. I can’t stress that enough. Stopping going to gigs when I first got my bad T was so bad for my mental health. I now go to gigs and festivals as normal and am just a lot more aware of what I’m doing. I usually wear custom moulded plugs with high attenuation but you can get silicone plugs with filters that will fit any ear off Amazon etc. “musicians” plugs with high attenuation will lower the harmful frequencies without ruining the sound. Stand away from the speakers if possible. If it’s very loud for the duration, take a decent break during the gig (go to the toilet, go to the bar etc). You can get an app on iPhone (probably others) called NIOSH SLM which turns your phone into a db meter. I’ve checked it against an actual db meter I bought and if anything the phone app ever so slightly over reports the dbs so is a free and handy way to know what’s happening. And when I was really nervous about how loud a gif was going to be, I had plugs in AND ear defenders over the top. I expected it to ruin the whole experience but I was much happier knowing I was safe and tbh, your brain has an incredible ability to adjust volume for you, so after 5min I couldn’t tell I was wearing all that protection at all, just get like a normal gig. All the best whatever you decide.
I use Alpine Music Safe Pro (alpinehearingprotection.co..... I have used them at many gigs, festivals and concerts (most recently Primal Scream a month or so ago) and I find them extremely comfortable and not only protect sound exposure but I have not had any spikes using them. For transparency, I always make sure I position myself at a gig/concert to not be to near the speakers/sound system. I also like them as you have 3 ranges of filters you can interchange depending on the noise level exposure.
Thank you everyone for your response. I’m a first time poster and only just joined. You’ve all been so kind and helpful with your experiences.
I have ordered some earPeace Music Pro from Amazon. £39. They should be delivered today
I’m going to a hollies concert on Friday at my local theatre so I’ll try them out there. If I can tolerate it ok then I’ll go to my main Cliff concerts in London next month.
It will also be interesting to see how it sounds because I won’t have my hearing aids in because of the plugs . If any of you use hearing aids you’ll know they’re not just to make things louder they are programmed for what type of hearing loss you have .
He’s what happened when I went to the Hollies concert.
I tried the plugs out at home first. Lucky I did too.
My hearing must be worse than I thought. I took my hearing aids out and out the plugs in and played music loud. I couldn’t hear a single thing. I took the filters out. Still nothing. So I obviously need my hearing aids in.
Concert night I was on the front row which was a surprise as I booked tow BB. Tge concert started and my aids were on normal setting. It was loud so I turned them down as far as I could. The music didn’t sound right so I clicked my left aid and put them on setting 2 which is in noise. It sounded better but not perfect. It was distorted That’s how I spent the whole concert. I could hear when he was talking but as I’m not over familiar Will all the hollies songs I found joining in difficult as it took me a while to realise what they were singing.
So when it finished my T was loud. My T noise is what I can only describe as like having the air con on full blast in your car.
I walked home as it’s only a 10 minute walk. By the time I got home it had settled down to MY normal level. Which is still annoying but I can’t do anything about that.
So the out of me going to a local concert was a test to see how I’d be if I went to my Cliff concerts in November. I have three in London one in Blackpool.
I have decided to go and as I’m familiar with Cliff’s music I’ll know what he’s singing even if distorted.
I am going to make an appointment at the hearing centre to see if she can tweak my aids. The beauty of going private means I don’t have to wait to long to be seen. Just days I’m also going to see if she can add a programme on for theatres so maybe link to their system or something and see if that helps.
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