MUSICIANS, TAKE CARE OF YOUR HEARING!
It’s well known that musicians need to protect their hearing. After all, musicians’ ears are repeatedly subjected to sound levels that can easily damage their hearing over time.
THE MUSICIAN’S DILEMMA
When a musician wears earplugs or hearing protectors for the first time, the results can be startling. They start hearing the sounds they produce as if they were being made by their neighbour. That’s because the non-molded earplugs you find at the pharmacy block out more high frequencies than low frequencies, resulting in a muffled sound. This is why so many musicians dislike wearing earplugs: the sound just doesn’t seem natural.
FINDING A COMPROMISE
Some determined musicians have tried all manner of creative solutions to find a compromise between protecting their hearing and stopping higher frequencies from becoming too muffled, thus changing the frequency spectrum. As a musician myself, I’ve also tried different options to protect my hearing without affecting sound quality. The best solution I found was to shorten (cut) earplugs. Even that wasn’t perfect, however. The sound was too muffled and unrealistic.
THE SOLUTION
One day, I learned about ER musician earmolds. They are designed to evenly attenuate sounds of all frequencies, and generally come with three interchangeable filter types: -9 dB, -15 dB and -25 dB. Now, let’s be realistic: nothing quite sounds like an unprotected ear. The naked ear, so to speak, is always going to be able to pick up on more high frequencies natural harmonics and will offer an unparalleled richness of sound. However, when compared to conventional earplugs, musicians’ earmolds can’t be beat. They offer the most linear and realistic sound available for passive attenuation devices. Because they are molded to your ear, they’re extremely comfortable, easily insertable and won’t fall out during even the most energetic jam sessions. Also, they can come with a cord or string to make removal easy.
SINGERS, BEWARE THE OCCLUSION EFFECT
The occlusion effect happens when something obstructs the external auditory canal. When you sing or speak, your external auditory canals vibrate and produce sound in your outer ear. This sound needs to escape. If your ears are blocked, this sound bounces back to your eardrums, making your voice sound like it’s echoing. The greater the blockage, the stronger the occlusion effect will be. Thus, if you’re singing, do not attenuate too much (see chart as reference).
WHICH FILTER SHOULD I CHOOSE?*
Singers, musicians who sing: 9–15 dB Guitarists, keyboard players: 15 dB Bass players: 15–25 dB Drummers, percussionists: 25 dB with a monitor, otherwise 15 dB People who play non-amplified instruments: 9 dB *This advice is based on my experience as a musician.