Do You Use Protection?

[eltee]

Originally posted by Joe Marshmallow III:
  I usually just stay in the back if I expect a show to be loud/very loud.

It helps, but to loud and repeated exposure, ears can become senstive...not just hearing loss.

[sonickteam2]

Originally posted by nkotb:
  I've used ear plugs at two shows in my life...both of which were Mogwai.  I almost never even bring them with me, even though I keep a pack in my car just in case.  
 
 Funny story about non-alcoholic beer.  I went out to happy hour for my birthday last Thursday, and we pressured right away to start drinking heavily (I know, I know, twist my arm     ).  So I hastily grab the beer menu, and, because I was feeling adventurous, decided to select the first name I saw that I had never tried...a Kalibur.  Of course, I didn't read the description, so imagine my surprise when I took a big swig and then saw the "Non-Alcoholic" label on the side...
 
   

Originally posted by vansmack:
  I don't drink non-alcoholic beer.
 
 And I don't use earplugs.

[/b]

ooh, i have one too.  so me and some friends are on our way to Summersault festival and we stopped by a liquor store and each got a 12-pack.  we got to the hotel and got wasted and what not.
 
  the next morning we woke up and were getting ready for the show, and i was cleaning up beer bottles, when i noticed that someone had bought a 12-pack of St Pauli Girl, non-alcoholic.  
 
   not only did this dude not seem to notice it was non-alcoholic when he bought it, he didnt seem to notice that he wasnt getting drunk either!!!

[Bombay Chutney]

The etymotics are great.  I take them to every show, whether I think I'm going to need them or not.  I almost always end up using them though.
 
 Just because your ears stop ringing doesn't mean you're ok.  The damage is probably already done.  After years of shows, it adds up.

[sweetcell]

Originally posted by vansmack:
  I don't drink non-alcoholic beer.
 
 And I don't use earplugs.

cool, i'll chalk that up as one "yes" vote for the "am i a wimp" question      
 
 loudest soundsystem i ever exposed myself to (!) was a trance party at the Marc ballroom in NYC... ear-bleeding.  5-6 hours of deafening sound, i'm very thankful that i had plugs with me 'cause a lot of people couldn't tolerate the dBs for more than 15-20 minutes at a time (and they had some GREAT djs and live sets that night).  of course, a number of people were so out of it they had no idea what they were doing to themselves.  kinda pathetic.
 
 i had both etymotic and foam plugs with me last night, foam does indeed cut the sound more (but screws it up more too, kills too much of the highs)... beforehand i thought i might switch to foam at some point but got so wrapped up in the show that it didn't occur to me again.
 
 like chutney, the etymotics are standard pocket-stuffing whenever i go out for live music, right up there with cash and ID.  use them most of the time.

[ggw]

I can't remember the last time I had an aural hangover.  My hearing sucks, but it's sucked since I was a kid and got ear infections every summer like clockwork.  One of my ear drums has burst twice. I probably should wear plugs, but I am of the vansmack mindset also.

[Sir HC]

Originally posted by nonameface:
   

Originally posted by Joe Marshmallow III:
  I usually just stay in the back if I expect a show to be loud/very loud.

It helps, but to loud and repeated exposure, ears can become senstive...not just hearing loss. [/b]

And the SPL difference is not usually that great from front to the board.

[beetsnotbeats]

Originally posted by Sir HC:
  And the SPL difference is not usually that great from front to the board.

dB's are base-10 logarithmic. If the SPL is 120dB ten feet from the sound source, it will be 110dB @ 100ft, 100db @ 1000ft, 90dB @ 10,000ft, etc. This is why space shuttle launch observation posts are miles from the launch pad.

[secretsquirrel]

When I went to my first show at 930 a couple years ago, my parents made me wear ear protection. Not like I needed any convincing once I got there. Ow!
 
 I just use a small ball of tissue/Kleenx. Going into the club without some kind of ear protection is painful and it detracts from the enjoyment I get from the show.

[Sir HC]

If anyone was at the Amina show last sunday, you definitely did not need earplugs for that.  I don't think you would hear 1/2 of it with plugs.

[Herr Professor Doktor Doom]

I didn't use protection in my youth, except for *really* loud bands, and now I have permanent tinnitus and hearing loss that makes me say "what" all the time... I'm sure firing AK-47s and flying in helicopters hasn't helped, but I think it mostly was the music... watch yourself kiddies... use plugz for everything...

[Christine Moritz]

After going to a bunch of shows circa 1988-1991 left me with my ears ringing, I landed 8th-row seats for Lollapalooza in 1991 (Jane's Addiction, Siouxsie and the Banshees, etc.) and decided it was time to start using earplugs.
 
 I've been using the Mack's silicone earplugs ever since.

[Herr Professor Doktor Doom]

<img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/94/259256240_95c15743f9.jpg" alt=" - " />

[Jaguar]

I have partial hearing loss from severe ear infections from childhood. Add to that, years of rock shows and other environmental madness.
 
 My hearing is so bad that I can't hear any ringing in my ears.

Originally posted by Sir HC:
  Aural contraceptives, they keep your ears from getting fucked.
 
 I get paid for hearing damage.  I wear plugs to bars often.
 
 I use the foam ones, once you get your ears used to the different eq, your brain can work well with them.  
 
 Loudest show, Skinny Puppy at College Park.  125 dB at the sound board the whole night.  With plugs I had to leave to give my ears a break.

Have you tried wearing ear defenders over top of the plugs?  You'll get near double the reduction.

[distance]

Originally posted by Jaguar:
 My hearing is so bad that I can't hear any
 ringing in my ears.

my ears used to ring after shows.  i had a period of time where i did wear earplugs at shows for a while, but now i dn't anymore and my ears don't ring anymore, even after shows like mogwai.