Looking for recommendations for good ear protection during concerts. I want ear buds that don’t just muffle all the sound but limit higher unsafe frequencies while allowing you to still enjoy the music. I did a search and came up with a bunch of different kinds and varying reviews on amazon, I also asked my friend who is in the live audio business and he said I needed custom molded IEMs but that seemed a little over kill for me, even if it’s the best way.
This Site shows the common ones I’ve seen.
Thanks!
EDIT: thanks everyone for the reaponses, I will go through and look at each of the recommended solutioms works best for me.
If you are in the EU,
These things are pretty awesome. They have the switch which allows you to change the DB drop depending on what you are using them for (or how loud the specifically concert is)
My girlfriend has some noise sensitivity and they help her a lot just to put them on the lowest dB drop setting or the middle in a busy environment.
I use eargasm ear plugs. They increase the clarity while decreasing the decibels. https://eargasm.com/products/eargasm-high-fidelity-earplugs?variant=44275577225517
I also use Eargasm earplugs. They work great. You can still hear the music and whoever you’re talking to next to you, but things are just quieter. I’ve even recommended them to my autistic friend who struggles with sound and they were an immediate convert.
Can’t go wrong.
I own Alpine MusicSafe Pro earplugs, but they filter high/mid frequency too much. Guitars are way too silent at concerts and the sound gets very bass heavy. Do Eargasm plugs have similar problems or are things really just quieter?
I was wearing Eargasms when I saw the Smashing Pumpkins and I didn’t notice any problem like that.
The high dB attenuation inserts are def worth the money.
A colleague of mine got tinnitus after a concert when he was a teen, and its been a life long torture. He is now 37 and the ringing never stops, ever.
It’s affecting his entire life. He has to wear noise protection when out in public, to prevent any loud noises, which makes him not hear what people are saying. Dating is hard, girls thinks he is not listening when he can’t hear them. People stop having conversations with him. It’s quite hard emotionally.
Be very careful to even risk this.
Go to a local music shop and look for musician’s earplugs with a rated dB reduction. At least -8dB, but a bigger reduction won’t make your experience worse, it’ll just make things even quieter.
I have some from a major guitar manufacturer that I’ve been using at the infrequent shows I go to for a decade. They were $10 then, and it looks like that’s still true. I clean after using, but I wasn’t really expecting to get this many shows out of them.
They don’t muffle sounds, it just sounds quieter. Without earplugs I need to stand on the other side of the room/field to be comfortable. I’ll still leave with ear pain and feeling exhausted. With earplugs I’m comfortable right in front of the speaker stack, and leave feeling exhilarated.
They’ve been a huge upgrade in my enjoyment of shows and I’m very grateful to my friend for dragging me to the shop and making me buy them.
That’s a good idea. For some reason I didn’t even think to go to guitar center. Thanks!
I use EARPEACE ear plugs when riding my motorcycles but also use them at concerts. They have ones for moto, music, sport, and sleep but I just use my moto ones for everything. Haven’t tried any of the other varieties to see how they compare in the real world.
I enjoy them because they cut down on the shitty frequencies that’ll damage your hearing but still allow you to hear things clearly. Also pretty nice that you get 3 ear plugs per order in case you lose one. It also comes with an aluminum carrying case for them so you can throw it in your pocket or bag and not have them get damaged or covered with pocket fuzz.
They’re pretty damned inexpensive too for what they are.
I’ve been using Ear Peace for years! These stay on my person at all times. I wish I discovered them before tinnitus but at least I can try to keep things from getting worse. Also on the autistic spectrum so they’re nice to have when overwhelmed by sound.
Agree with you on the tinnitus thing. I have it so bad from so many years of playing-in and going-to metal shows and riding bikes. Young and invincible, right? I try to do everything I can these days to keep it from getting any worse. I can’t even stand being in a silent room, it drives me nuts. Always have to have at least a fan or some music on.
So glad to hear they help you cope with an overwhelming amount of sound too. ❤️
I just use regular disposable plugs. Except I reuse them and wash them until they fall apart. I’ve bought whatever was sold in the venue on several occasions because I forgot mine at home.
In my experience they lower the volume but don’t “muffle” anything. What muffles sound is being exposed to extremely loud music for a couple of hours.
I’d be curious if the expensive ones offer anything more than increased comfort. There is a lot of audiophile stuff out there that is bullshit.
What? They absolutely massacre the sound, lowers the volume and blocks out anything but the bass. They fit terribly too.
I have a pair of Alpine MusicSafe Pro which I got for $30 for a two day festival. They’re night and day compared to anything you can buy at the venue or at a pharmacy. They lower the volume without muffling anything, and allows you to pick how aggressively they should block the sound.
If I want to let more sound in, I tug on the plug a little.
While I was playing in a band, I was using some earplugs like these: Alpine MusicSafe Pro - Clear / Thomann.de. I was wearing them for every band practice and shows. It wasn’t the exact same ones though. I can say I still have a good hearing today, I can still hear the high pitch noise from some power supply and I don’t have any permanent ringing in my ears. So, they did a good enough job for me, standing next to a angry drummer and maxed-out guitar amplifier twice a week for 4 years :)
I second this, I’ve been using the Alpine MusicSafe plugs (older version than the ones mentioned above) for more than 10 years now. Comfy to wear even for a whole festival day.
I worn these to a gig for the first time recently - excellent.
Yep. They also have a range of amateur plugs (sounds kinkier then meant), like the SeepDeep or Partyplugs. They are generally pretty great.
I hated loop earplugs - they just did not work for me. These did and we’re significantly cheaper: https://a.co/d/02gC45R.
They were great at volume lowering while still letting the vocals/mids through, and critically they were comfortable for the entire concert.
I got an error with the link you sent
Oops, try this - the brand name is Mumba and the ASIN is B07GYXJZRY. Search for the ASIN on Amazon and it should pop up. They’re ear buds with a metal carrying case for currently $14.36 USD.
Found it, thanks!
Anything thats rated for a certain db reduction. I like disposable ones personally because they tend to be more comfortable (edit: or maybe I just refuse to try the insanely expensive shit, so I could be missing out). The 3M ones in the article you linked look great, just make sure you know how to roll them and insert them
Sure, you could spend money on nice shit but I wear basic-ass foam earplugs fairly often and they work super well.
My wife has custom ear plugs with swappable filters. One type of filter is meant for concerts, whereas another type filters out wind noise. She uses the latter type on her motorcycle trips. This kind of ear plugs can be bought at audicians back here in Yurp. I am not sure about other contintents.
Do you happen to know the brand? I’ve been looking for plugs to reduce wind noise without also cancelling out the sound of my motorcycle.
I think Alpine.
Thanks.
I use the Sennheiser Sound Protex Plus and am satisfied.
I have a set of vibes and like them
I asked a similar question to this a couple of weeks ago due to me needing them for work, and I ended up going with the Loop Experience 2 and they’ve been fantastic.
They dampen the sound around me but I can still hear voices clearly, and they’re really comfortable and I barely notice I’ve got them in.
I own a pair of Etymotic ER20XS ear plugs and I like them. I haven’t had the chance yet to try them out at a concert, but I have worn them on other occassions. I think they’re reasonably comfortable and the sound quality is still good while wearing them.
