Preferred Ear Plugs

[jkluch95]

Hi everyone,

I'm going to school for Show Production right now and was wondering if you had any suggestions for a quality brand of ear plugs.

thanks!
jkluch95

 

[MNicolai]

I prefer the SureFire EP3's. They last a good while, are comfortable for extended use, and have an insert you can remove or add to adjust how much attenuation the earpieces provide.

Lately though I've been wearing my Shure SE315 earphones for when I'm mixing FOH or monitors. They provide even more attenuation, and act as excellent reference monitors. Give me a lot of isolation from the environment around me. Have a guy on our staff who loved his SE545's for when he's listening to music on his motorcycle because of how much isolation they provide.

Summary: If you just want ear plugs, the SureFire EP series has treated me and my friends well. If you need good hearing protection and isolation during shows while mixing, the Shure SE-series earphones, while pricey, provide an unparalleled quality. Even for just general listening, their ability to isolate you from your environment means you don't have to turn your music up so loud in your headphones, and thusly helps preserve your hearing much better than $30 headphones would. They also sound excellent, so they're win-win.

All else fails, generic disposable foam earplugs will do on a budget, though they tend to get gakked up with earwax and become gross faster.

 

[kiwitechgirl]

ACS ER plugs, with custom moulds, are the primary choice amongst the classical musicians I work with (in a very, very noisy orchestra pit). They come in varying degrees of attenuation so you can pick the ones which will best suit you.

 

[MrsFooter]

All else fails, generic disposable foam earplugs will do on a budget, though they tend to get gakked up with earwax and become gross faster.

I've also found that they tend to cut out too much of the low-end. Makes quite a dilemma when I have to choose between hearing the kick so I can busk along with the song I've never heard before and not subjecting my ears to 108 at FOH.

 

[museav]

How much do you want to spend and what is the intended use? If you do this a lot then some custom fit plugs from Westone, Etymotic Research, Sensaphonics, etc. might be worth the investment. And if you want to hear the music or mix with the plugs in then you may want "musician's" inserts for those that tend to attenuate all frequencies more equally. If you don't care about that and want the mazimum protection possible then there are usually higher attenuation insert options with a more biased frequency response.

For intermittent, general use the Etymotic Reserach ETY/ER20 plugs, http://www.etymotic.com/hp/er20.html, are usually well liked at about $10-$15 a pair.

 

[techietim]

Hi All,

Few questions for you all:

• Do you wear ear protection as much as you should?
• What sort of level do you wear protection at?
• What type of events do you wear them at?

I know there are "rules" about this and ear defends should be worn at most 'loud' events, but wondering how many do.
I'm certainly guilty of not wearing them as much as I should.

Thought it might have some interesting responses...

 

[josh88]

As far as the shop goes I wear mine pretty often. Quick chop saw work, not usually, table saw usually no. But anything that is sustained, like routering or sanding something I almost always wear them. I'm not sure who made mine, I got them ages ago for shooting, but they have a diaphragm that opens so you can hear normal conversation but shuts above a certain decibel level. They've worked quite nicely.


Via tapatalk

 

[MarshallPope]

I definitely don't wear mine as consistently as I should. Similar to Josh, I will very rarely wear them (or glasses - i know, I know) if I'm just making a quick cut or two, but will get them if I will be at a saw for any length of time, or if I'm ripping more than 4' or so on a table saw. My shop students are better at wearing them than I am, and often remind me to wear them. i'm better at wearing ear protection or glasses when I have students in the shop that I need to be an example to, and am much less likely to if I am in there by myself.

I'm not sure that I've ever worn them at an event, but the vast majority of what I do is theatrical and doesn't get above a moderate level.

 

[techietim]

How much do you want to spend and what is the intended use? If you do this a lot then some custom fit plugs from Westone, Etymotic Research, Sensaphonics, etc. might be worth the investment. And if you want to hear the music or mix with the plugs in then you may want "musician's" inserts for those that tend to attenuate all frequencies more equally. If you don't care about that and want the mazimum protection possible then there are usually higher attenuation insert options with a more biased frequency response.

For intermittent, general use the Etymotic Reserach ETY/ER20 plugs, http://www.etymotic.com/hp/er20.html, are usually well liked at about $10-$15 a pair.

Hey museav, do you know if they supply these in a corded design? Seems to me they don't, I quite like corded as I can quickly pop them around my neck if I need to take them out for one reason or another.

 

[JDH]

I have a pair of custom Sensaphonics earplugs and I love them. They were only $150 including molds, and considering how much i'm still using them 6 years later, it was a great investment. I like them so much that Sensaphonics was really my only choice when shopping for custom IEMs.

If you work in this business, it's imperative that you take care of your ears. If you're not mixing (ie stagehand or system tech or anything else) you should be wearing ear plugs to every show you work at. Some people are on the fence about wearing plugs while mixing, but I definitely have mine in every time I'm dealing with DJs, or mixing monitors (wedges only). Since i have both -9dB and -15dB cartridges, I could feasibly mix with the 9s, and have a few times, but generally I'm not mixing loud enough or long enough to be concerned. I DO wear my 9s to every concert I attend as a patron. I wear my 15s when I'm rehearsing with the band and playing shows without the iems.

If $150 is too much for you (definitely worth the investment if you're working in the industry though), you can get Etymotic ER20s for like $12 on amazon. They're not quite flat response, but it's a good 10-15dB reduction which should be enough to keep you safe while working.

 

[JDH]

Hey museav, do you know if they supply these in a corded design? Seems to me they don't, I quite like corded as I can quickly pop them around my neck if I need to take them out for one reason or another.

I'm pretty sure Sensaphonics offer a corded option for a few bucks extra.
The ER20s are corded, too.

 

[TheaterEd]

Hey museav, do you know if they supply these in a corded design? Seems to me they don't, I quite like corded as I can quickly pop them around my neck if I need to take them out for one reason or another.

http://www.etymotic.com/hp/er20-buynow.html

I may be missing your question but it looks to me like all of them come with a cord.

 

[museav]

Hey museav, do you know if they supply these in a corded design? Seems to me they don't, I quite like corded as I can quickly pop them around my neck if I need to take them out for one reason or another.

The ETY/ER20's I have came with a cord, my custom fit Westone's did not, they have a plastic 'handle' on each plug. You could tie a cord between those handles.