Theres now 3 guitarists, 2 vocalists, a bassist and me in my band, and its getting rather loud in my basement. Im starting to get worried about my hearing and im wondering if any of you know of anything to protect my ears without canceling out all the sounds i need to hear.








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Go out and buy yourself a pair of monstertruck or racing event headphones. Ear protection for shooting will work too. Take an extra amp to use as a monitor, and pull it as close to you as possible when you guys are playing. You'll be able to hear what's going on, and you'll still be able to somewhat hear yourself play, but the beauty is that your ears will be protected. You may look goofy, but in reality, the look of working ears in fifty years time looks very cool. Another option is "in-ear" monitors. But you'd have to purchase a very expensive system for that. Besides, if you don't keep the volume low with the "in-ears" you end up doing the same kind of damage. Remember, you want to keep your hearing as accurate as possible, being a drummer and all...

Personally, I don't use ear protection because they make my ears itch. Although, the music I'm involved with really isn't all that loud...








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I'm part of the brotherhood of like-minded individuals who like to bang on things.

I HIGHLY recomend doing wut the first guy said, but if you dont want to wear those big over the head kind (they make kinda flat ones) at least get ear plugs








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6 Peice Hohner
13, 14, 16, 16 inch toms
22x15 inch Bass
20 inch, 16 inch Sabian
20inch, 16 inch, and 14 inch Zildjian
Zildjian Hi-Hat

I walked into Guitar Center and picked up a pair of Hearos, for 6 bucks, and they're workin for me.








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www.myspace.com/lookingtodrum

Tama
Saluda
Evans
Pro-Mark/Vic Firth

I suggest using Vic Firth isolation head phones and plugging them into the monitor. This way you can turn the music up or down as loud as you would like & still hear yourself. They are 60 bucks though. If you aren't willingto spend the money go for the earplugs.

This is going to sound funny, but take some tissue, ball it up and put it in your ears. It won't completely block out the sound but it will some.








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FrKn LoUd

Here are some cheap ear plugs that basically just lower the volume without cutting out all of the low end.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Hearos-High-Fidelity-Ear-Filters?sku=421214

The only downside is that they don't block out as much sound as other ear plugs, but they really do work as if everything was just turned down a little bit.
I personally love them.
I only use them live, and I use the foam ones in practice because they block out more sound.

i'd say to wear earplugs anytime your behind the kit. you have to protect your hearing. if you have any friends in the construction business or who works in a factory, they usally have boxes and boxes of ear plugs for the employees. find someone who works at a place like this and have them grab you a bunch.

as well as protecting your ears, it will make your drums sound better as the overtones will be reduced.








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Play Like It's Your Last Show, EVERY Show!

man, i hate earplugs...

for practice, i use a pair of shooting headphones. you should be able to find them at any hardware store for less than $12.

they make tons of "drumming" headphones, but you'd be shelling out between $60-$200 for a set of those.

you want a set of isolation headphones you can plug in and use for monitors / plug in to your ipod so you can practice?

wear a pair of ear buds underneath them.... OR.... take a pair of standard earphones, break them off from the head piece and stick them in the ears of the hardware store bought muffs.

you now have, basically, the same thing for $40-$140 less than you'd pay for "music" headphones.

Thanks alot guys, i usually use ear plugs when i practice but i feel they block out too much sound. Ill deffinetly check out those "Hearos" tho, looks like they'll be perfect.
Thanks again,
Shieb








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I use ear plugs that cut out the damaging frequency while allowing you to hear the music fine. They are alittle expensive for plugs ($30 or so) but they help alot. At the end of the night....no ringing. The plugs I use are the same ones I use while shooting on the range.








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It's so important to make best friends in life!

Tama and Medicine Man Drums, Zildjian, Remo, Roc-n-Soc, DW and Pro-mark.



www.myspace.com/thestarseedproject

i use a pair of 99cent shooting earplugs usualy like 1dollar 18 cents. they are blue and come in a little blue case, they have an orange chord that holds them together, they get 128db(decibal) rating and they cut the impacat highly. i use them because they dampen everything, i can still hear great, it also helps the bass stickout to lock up. they are washable. im eventualy going to get those Vic Firth ones for recording. ive tried using the shooting ones and the construction ones that you get at hardware stores, the full isolation ones, they work good but a lil overkill. they would be cool and use some good headphones inside them for recording








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Get KRUNK...Its A Death Metal Thing.

I just ordered a pair of Vic Firth isolation headphones, and used them for the first time tonight. They work great!

You can still hear everything fine, but the volume is reduced to a safe level, and you can also use them to listen to a metronome/CD/monitor at a safe volume. I was practicing with my new Dr. Beat, and was amazed I could actually hear the metronome well when it wasn't at volume. When I took the headphones off, and continued playing for a few minutes, my drums seemed even louder than usual, and I really noticed how bad it must be for my hearing to play without protecting my hearing. So I definitely recommend the Vic Firths.

ear plugs. makes everything a lot quieter as well as making every instrument stand out more.








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I never used to protect my ears, and take it from me: WEAR SOME DAMN EAR PLUGS!

Only after a year with my last band (we practiced 3 times a week and played a bunch of shows), i noticed i had this constant ringing in my ears (i still think i hear it sometimes), and i have a really hard time hearing people on the phone now.

And when i mess with sound boards and EQs and shit, people always tell me i put up waaaay too much high end--which means i can't hear high end sound as well as most people.

So use some damn earplugs. Someone already mentioned Hearos, i use those now, they work great. And they're cheap.