ears!

[juliet]

Was reminded last night that I probably haven't pimped these for a while, so, for the benefit of my readers who occasionally attend events where Loud Music is played: the best earplugs ever. They work evenly across frequencies, so you hear the same music, just about 15-20 decibels quieter (i.e. enough to stop it hurting). Unlike the Boots/etc foam ones, which have a muffling effect.

It's worth bearing in mind that noise-induced hearing loss is gradual (so you don't necessarily notice it happening) & permanent once it's happened. Someone I used to know on a mailing list had given themselves tinnitus from loud music so badly that by their mid-20s they could no longer go to gigs/clubs at all (which scared the hell out of me, personally!). I know my hearing isn't as good as it used to be (I'm worse than I was at hearing speech in loud places), & I *really* don't want it getting any worse.

Anyway, yeah: £12, not disposable, stop your ears hurting, should significantly reduce damage being done, & as an added bonus mean you can actually hear people talking when in clubs/gigs! (dogrando's & my theory is that the very loud music makes your ears vibrate overmuch, like when speakers are turned up too high, & that reducing that makes you able to distinguish between noises, e.g. speech & music, again). Best £12 I ever spent.

(nb I have no affiliation with these people, I just really really like their earplugs & tell everyone about them in an over-evangelical fashion)

Update: slightly cheaper suppliers here.

Comments

[fallenpegasus]

Go to an audiologist and have a custom pair cast.

That's what I and everyone in my family have had to do (there is a "kink" in
our ear canal right at the beginning).

[marnameow.livejournal.com]

Part of the reason I can't is that I have a big mole almost blocking one of my ears, so I don't think that I could get a pair cast to fit around that. Plus my outer ear canals are incredibly irritable and get infected if I look funny at them. I can't put anything in my ears without them getting sore; earplugs or in-ear headphones or anything like that. It's really annoying, because I don't *like* over-noisy clubs.

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

you can look at your ears? dude, cool...

can you lick your elbows as well?