I have been a drummer for almost 5 decades now, and have substantial hearing loss because of lack of protection. How bad is it? You see that warning in the description about the tone at 4:38 in the video? I can't hear that tone. AT ALL. Back in the mid 2000's, I was working part time at a call center, relieving the phone personnel for their lunch break. The room was long and narrow, and I was sitting at the desk farthest away from the door. The woman I was relieving came back and from the doorway asked, "Is that my phone ringing?" I didn't hear anything. She walked across the room, and opened the drawer right next to me. I still didn't hear anything. She pulled out her purse, and opened the flap. I then faintly heard something. She pulled her phone out and sure enough, it was ringing. I went right out and got earplugs for when I play. I figured I have to save what little hearing I have left. Young ones, PLEASE take the advice and protect your hearing NOW. Once it's gone, it's gone for good.
I didn't wear ear protection for the first several months of gigging with my band. My ears would ring constantly, and the biggest change I made to playing now is wearing them. Best decision ever, I never play or watch gigs without them now. The ringing has reduced to pretty much being nonexistent and only happens on rare occasions. My guitarist doesn't really wear ear buds too much and I find him looking at my lips when I speak and complaining of ear ringing issues. Its stupid of him really, always wear ear protection guys.
This is an important one! I've been playing with hearing protection for almost the whole 25 years of my career and am always so astonished to hear that some people (including some of my former band mates), who don't use protection, at all, still have immaculate hearing! So, it seems to be different for everybody. I certainly want to be on the safe side! I have also learned that certain levels of stress can trigger or contribute to tinnitus, as well. And since some loud noised are perceived as stress by some people, this is certainly also a major factor to be aware of.
Tinnitus sucks. I’ve had it seems my teens because I was an idiot and didn’t take care of my ears. I started using universal iems and that helped reduce further loss, but when I started playing frequently in a cage I moved to custom mold iems. That really was a world of difference.
I once read this in one of the drummer magazines eons ago... Before attending a concert, in the parking lot turn the volume of your car's radio down to where you can barely hear it. After the concert see if you can still hear the radio. You almost certainly won't be able to even if you wore earplugs. That's a demonstration of temporary hearing loss. Repeating that over time leads to permanent hearing loss.
Hmmm, this sounds more like an interesting demonstration of how your ears (much like your eyes) adjust to extremes and may take some time to do so. If you're using adequate hearing protection, you shouldn't experience issues with hearing the radio in your example. If you do, the protection likely isn't adequate for the scenario. For example going for a walk on a bright, sunny day without sunglasses and then venturing inside of a dimly lit space will take a moment for your eyes to adjust. This isn't temporary blindness, it's just that the dynamic range of your senses isn't accessible immediately all the time but rather you adjust to your surroundings.
incredibly important! for these reasons i cant recommend in ear monitors more, especially for drummers. Most of the decent ones do a very very good job knocking down the ambient sound of the drums, and totally eliminate the need to blast a wedge monitor at u when playing live
THANK YOU GREATLY!!! I’m super lucky to have not done any noticeable damage, I’ve been playing in clubs over 6 years without plugs. I’m definitely going to start. The people who I don’t understand are railroad workers who are standing on the front of the locomotive and when the horn blasts they act as if nothing is happening. I would jump out of my skin, and throw my hands over my ears!
I suffer from tinnitus through years of playing in a band without correct ear protection, I can't stress highly enough the importance of wearing good ear protection I tried all the earplugs you can buy of the shelf but found them hopeless I finally invested in having some Pro Custom ear plugs from ACS, there not cheap but they work brilliantly.....I wish I'd have done it earlier !
ok, i generally accept everything you guys say as fact. i’ve had less than stellar experience with other ear protection in the past. so after watching this video i immediately made a purchase. i got them yesterday and tried them out while playing - they work SO well. and they fit in my ears, too! i have a weird canal shape and these little things have no issues fitting in my ears. another A+ video from you guys, and thank you so much for the recommendation!
Great topic!! Hope you younger players take heed! I'm 54 and have been playing for 44 years and never used any hearing protection and have lost all the high frequencies in my hearing. I couldnt even hear my cymbals while playing! I know wear 2 hearing aids and can hear again!
Great to see this topic covered properly, good work. One thing though; one of the triggers for people with tinnitus is tinnitus-like noises - if you're going to play those tones, put a warning on the screen first.
Thanks so much! Haven’t seen any science back up your claims but this is simply a ~7kHz sine wave. We’ll throw something in the description but we’d imagine that those with tinnitus are (and should be) ultra cautious with recorded audio anyway, particularly with a channel focused on tone/tuning/audio.
yep..yep. this is soo important to point out, it's all true and for me it's too late. playing drums in loud bands for years 'n years and also riding motorcycles for thousands of miles did take it's toll. back when all this went on nobody thought of hearing protection. cheers for sharing!!
I know I'm losing my hearing. Its from basically playing drums in closet. When I was young the band I was in played in a 12x6 room with 3 full stacks and drums and never used ear protection. Boy, do I regret it now. I'm to the point that I have to watch people's lips to understand them. I'm not even 40 yet...
I've played thousands of hours over 35+ years with no hearing protection. Most of that was with a metal band. I definitely have hearing loss, but thank God it's not worse. If I had it to do over again though... I'd DEFINITELY use protection. It's super important if you don't want to constantly hear Cicada bugs in your ears.
If people could watch only one of your videos, it would have to be this one. I only wish I had this information when I started. I don’t think people realize just how bad tinnitus is, until it’s too late. Constant high pitch, non-stop, for the rest of your life, in your head. You can’t turn it off, ever. Let that sink in people. It sucks. Please protect your ears. Thanks for the video, I sure hope they pay attention.
Drummer AND audiologist here, and all these tips are dead on! One other item to consider is monitoring and signal-to-noise ratio. When playing with a mix, we tend to want to increase the mix volume so we can hear it at or above the level of the drums. However, if your drums are already loud at your ear then you would need to increase the mix volume to a loud (unsafe) level as well. Instead, using in-ear monitors is a great way to decrease the noise floor of the drums so you don’t have to increase the mix volume to an unsafe level to hear it clearly. Way to go SLAD for covering such an important topic!
I work as an industrial mechanic. Been thoroughly schooled on this topic and have taken it into my personal life. Blows my mind how many people see no issue with doing certain things without hearing protection. Totally preventable. I think OSHA requires at either 86db or 92db
I've been looking a long time for a product that does not color the sound while lowering the decibels. I hope this product does the job. I'm trusting you, Cody.
I couldn't agree more about the importance of hearing protection. I went totally deaf in my left ear when I was 8yo, due to an illness. You can't imagine how it affects your daily life. Normal interactions can be difficult. If I'm walking with someone I have to be sure they are on my right side so I can hear them. Same for when I go out to dinner with friends. If I'm riding in someone's car with the window down or the radio on, it's difficult to hear when they talk to me. So even in my younger years when I went to a club or concert I would stick cotton in my ears to protect my hearing. I realized early on that I was down 50% from what other people had... I didn't want to lose any more. When I bought my first kit I also bought a pair of ear plugs. And so far, according to my last hearing test, my right ear is still at 100%.
I've played for 30 years and even with protection I have lost a great deal of my hearing. But I love playing drums so much. A duality for everything I guess
Sorry to hear that. The key here is that this is also more than just a binary issue- it's about using the appropriate hearing protection given the scenario and recognizing that everyday sounds can also be the culprit.
I really enjoy your program here bro. Its pretty cool to have a knowledgeable teacher helping so many start up or experienced drummers. We had nothing like this when I started playing. Thank you for all you do to help so many😎
I was practically born with tinnitus due to sinus issues, I didn’t realize it but I do sleep with fans not just to prevent “silence” because I’m a light sleeper, but that the ringing bothers me. I don’t know how I didn’t add those up. Thanks? As for the video, it was great and helped me feel less self-conscious of always bringing hearing protection with me. Thanks!
I’m a teenager, and i’m planning to buy a drumset in a few years’ time. Good thing i came across this video, now i know how to protect myself when jamming in the future!
I'm 17. I started playing drums when I was 15. I always wore hearing protection when I'd practice or play to music. At band practice, I'd wear earbuds because I didn't have earplugs, which definitely helped. I have a dedicated pair of earplugs now, which are amazing. But, I've ALWAYS stressed so much to my bandmates or friends to WEAR EARPLUGS. I'm very thankful I haven't experienced any hearing loss, and I really wish my peers start listening to me because they are destroying their ears. The only issue I have is my right ear is sensitive to very loud noises. This developed when I was playing my ride cymbal's bell without ear plugs during marching band. The harsh frequencies and loudness definitely messed something up, but I haven't noticed any hearing loss at all. Thankfully, my right ear can only start to ache or hurt if I'm exposed to really loud one off or prolonged noises. I've been very careful with this and it's only happened a total of three times. I still consider that too much, but I haven't noticed any loss of hearing certain frequencies or loss in general. I will never stress this enough. PROTECT YOUR EARS. Even someone as careful as me has become a victim of some form of damage. Protect yourself before it's too late.
Excellent information. I just started playing the drums, and do not have an instructor at this time to impart solid information like this. I noticed the very first time that I played my kit for a while that I would have to do something to protect my hearing (as I do with lawnmowers and power tools). I have been primarily been using headphones to just knock the sound pressure back a bit, as I tried foam plugs and was unhappy with how that totally distorted the sounds of the drums. This is exactly what I need, and the price is super affordable. Ordering some right now.
I set up my full kit in a spare bedroom recently. I didn't think too much of it, but the other day, my ears started hurting when hitting a particularly ringy snare. Not playing anything (I play brass also) for a few days, then going right out and buying earplugs. I will get my hearing tested as well. Lesson learned: small rooms require small drums.
Love EarPeace plugs - suffer from tinnitus and playing drums and loud music was getting really painful. Discovered Ear Peace and I am enjoying playing once more. Doesn't stop the tinnitus but prevents the discomfort and protects what hearing I have left. Great video, great channel. Thanks for sharing.
Used to play gigs in my teens without hearing protection, just due to general carelessness. For me, I can actually hear the band mix live (monitor or no monitor) better with even cheap ass foam earplugs!
i've been to gigs and played dj sets during high school without any ear protection. three years ago i started a band with my friends and none of us wore earplugs. 8-9 months into the band forming out of curiosity, i ordered the first pair of earplugs that showed up on amazon, 20€ with the metal casing. i wore them on the first next practice and immediately told my friends to order them. mind you i'm not a featherlight player and my friends all have 4x12s turned up pretty crazy. ever since that day, my earplugs never left my front pocket and i've become completely obsessed with above average spl's, to the point of being almost ridiculed in some seemingly mundane situations which required ear protection. but that's totally worth it, i am a drummer and sound engineer and my ears are literally the most important thing i have. bottom line, those earplugs were the best impulse buy ever for me! :v
side note: standing with your ear right next to a guitar speaker cone with earplugs on is one of the funniest things ever for me, you can feel your eyelashes moving and your chest resonating from the air the cabinet is pushing but your ears are like yup this is just fine :v
Good video. I have hearing loss, though it seems to be mainly at the level of the auditory nerve. I now need hearing aids to be able to hear conversations. I have been to many audiologists for testing and none of them suggested my hearing loss was due to playing drums. Mind you I have been wearing ear protection for the last twenty odd years. One of my beefs with "universal" ear plugs is that my ear canals are too small for them to fit. So I wear custom fitted ear plugs. Yes they were expensive. But they fit comfortably therefore not (if you will forgive the expression) a pain to use. Thanks always for the informative videos.
Thank you!! Young people don't understand when I ask them are they wearing hearing protection until I mention the tinnitus in my right ear 24/7, 365. Then they understand somewhat, but hopefully they take it seriously. I've used Alpine MusicSafe Classics since 2013, and have used EarPeace as well. Great topic and information to protect our most important instrument, our ears.
Played drums for 16/17 years, had tinnitus for about 14 of those. A very important thing that a lot of people are a bit too blasé about (myself included when I started playing). I had slight hearing loss from birth that was "fixed" by grommets, but when I got my custom plugs the doctor said that my hearing loss and tinnitus were indicative of my childhood hearing loss rather than damage. Either way, it definitely only started after the super loud band rehearsals I had as a 17 year old, so look after your ears! Some days I don't notice it, other days it's really intrusive. (Any working musicians in the UK, check out the Musicians Hearing Health Scheme - I think it's closed at the moment due to the current situation, but I got custom plugs for £40 through it so if it re-opens, it's massively worth it!)
I’m in my high school drumline and I’ve played drum set for 4 years on top of my 6 years on the line. 3 of those years I didn’t wear protection at all and I’ve got no hearing damage that they can detect (they never checked for the above 8k so I’m sure that’s what’s damaged) but I’ve got ridiculous tinnitus so the topic of hearing protection is a HUGE DEAL!!! Thanks for covering it!
Hello. If you want to protect your ears from acoustic impact, I recommend that you use a piece of cotton. Put it in such a way that you have your hearing protected,(do not plug) but at the same time, that it lets you hear. Thank you
Earpeace plugs really work as advertised. I've tried lots of plugs over the years and these are the first, in my experience, to actually attenuate frequencies somewhat equally so sound isn't altered significantly other than volume. Thank you,thank you,thank you.
This is something I take seriously. After years of construction work and power tools, I have low level tinnatus. When I rehearse with band I use expensive molded ear buds and they actually have parts that adjust level of DBs reduced. When I practice at home, I run mentronome etc through mixing desk and mic my kick drum and wear in ear monitors with industrial ear protection over top and my kit sounds awesome. I will definetly give Ear peace a go cause don't wanna lose molded plugs at gigs Thank guys
I've lost very little high end, but by the time I was 20 I already noticed distortion and pain from midrange tones above a certain volume level. I'm so glad I paid attention to this and started wearing earplugs, because I've kept it to a minor inconvenience, and not a life-altering problem!
Great video. I''m 62 and have played for 47 years. I've been to many loud concerts. I did not ever wear hearing protection until I had played for many years. Thus, I have tinnitus and some hearing loss. I attribute my hearing issues more to p.a. monitors, loud concerts and amplified instruments rather than drums or cymbals, although drums can certainly cause damage. And it only takes one instance to cause harm. A p.a. monitor to my left fed back during the first tune I played with a band one evening in the 90's and that single event caused damage to my hearing in my left ear. The monitor was so loud I unplugged it after the first song. I certainly wish I had worn protection from the outset, but in the mid-70's when I started playing, no one did. Please protect your hearing.
I couldn't agree more on the topic of alarm at people not protecting their ears in response to loud sounds; not only am I careful about keeping my ears protected for playing drums, but I also work in construction, and I can't believe how many people will just stand there naked-eared when one of us is cutting aluminum or steel. I keep a pair of hearing bands in my tool belt for when I run into something loud, but if I'm caught of guard from someone else doing something loud I'm quick to just stop what I'm doing and plug my ears with my fingers.. Even with all this care, my ears still constantly ring; I don't know if I've had any hearing loss or not though.
I've been wondering about drum triggers and how they work compare to regular mics....it would be great if y'all could cover the aspect of it ..thank you😁👍🇨🇱🥁
Hmmm, triggers and microphones are VERY different. Technical content like that is still a ways off for our channel as we work to maintain focus. That said, we're about to kick off a new series so, given enough support, we could launch other series in the future on such topics. Cheers!
An important issue for sure. I'm a professional drummer and due to an inner ear infection a few years ago and being a musician for many years, especially in UK armed forces band, I've lost 75% of my hearing in my right ear and have serious tinnitus. I hear two different pitches from ear to ear and the ear drum on my right is now 'floppy', like the pressure in my eustachian tube is not pressurised correctly. As far as I know it will never recover. Though I await another appointment with E.N.T. specialist from our wonderful NHS. I have problems doing my job but I'm learning to cope, especially with the ringing. I beg every musician to wear hearing protection and use in ear monitors with the volume down. Invest in the best you can afford.
Thanks for the video. I'm a beginning drummer (@ 53 yrs old) and was looking for ear protection. I appreciate the in-depth information and link to more. I followed your link and purchased a standard set.
When I started learning drums in the 90s, hearing protection for attending music was pretty much a rarity. Some of my teachers had them, but I got them way too late.
Playing gigs since the early 70's with no protection...once the 80's & 90's came things got so loud. Didn't use hearing protection til I finally realized in 2014. Played thousands of gigs where my ears actually hurt. Now I'm 66 with moderate hearing loss...Now paying off over time my $4000 hearing aids because my hearing starts a dive at 2000 Hz.
I just bought a new drum and was looking to buy the earpeace plugs after watching this but then I realized that the motorcycle ear plugs I use was from earpeace all along. Have to say these are really impressive during the bike ride. Build quality of the case is also quite remarkable. I had a nasty sliding crash and case has some road rash but it still looks sturdy.
I am having problems hearing, though I hate to admit it. I have been told I have "musician's ear" which is related to all the bands, orchestras, marching bands that I have played in over the past 50 years. It has taken its toll. I now work at keeping what I have left. Wish ear protection was talked about more way back then.
I have the opposite issue with (a kind of) Hyperacusis. For me all the sound levels the higher the frequency gets get more and more unbearable. I am 23 and protected my hearing for 2 years now consciously and the time before unconsciously. (I remember ear pain whenever my mom "cleaned my ears" with a towel when I was still a child, etc.) For example for the sine wave tone at 4:38 I have to turn the volume of the video so much down to make it bearable that I can bearly hear your voice anymore. For this reason doing e.g. these online "hearing tests" where it plays sounds from 0 to 20kHz is literally a torture method if I don't decrease the volume to the smallest possible level. Or another example: At the (ENT) audiologist every test they did to my ears was physical and mental pain. And my ears react so intensly to sounds that even crickets give me temporary tinnitus. This condition helped me to learn human echolocation quite easily for a sighted person but sometimes it makes everyday life and also life on the internet quite stressful. This issue also means that I hear myself and others louder than they do. So I often speak quietly for others while it is at a normal volume for myself. You can imagine that a conversation with my grandma whose hearing is impaired is often also physical and mental pain.
Thank you very much for this video, which has unfortunately come a little too late in life for me. I am a 56, and have been playing drums for more than 40 years. For the first 20 years or more, nobody I knew used hearing protection, and so ringing ears after playing was normal. About 5 years ago, I was diagnosed with noise-induced hearing loss, and now struggle to communicate in large social situations (eg, pre-Covid, in bars with lots of background noise) without a hearing aid. My suggestion would be to think of ear protectors like a condom: they reduce sensitivity and enjoyment a little, but they are necessary. I have tried many different makes of universal earplugs, including Earpeace, and most have seemed to me to give a similar experience. One bad thing about Earpeace for me is that the silicon lip that allows for easy insertion and removal sometimes breaks off. But apart from that they are ok. Custom earplugs, although expensive, do give me the best sound. One further observation: if you are sensitive to the sound of brakes on the subway, it probably means that your ears are particularly sensitive, rather than that other passengers have hearing loss. And that is not necessarily a good thing. Although it is counterintuitive, hypersensitive hearing can be associated with hearing loss. It's called 'recruitment': www.healthyhearing.com/report/53021-I-have-hearing-loss-why-am-i-so-sensitive-to-loud-sounds. Maybe time for another check? Thanks again for the video.
Hearing protection is vital. I know I've lost some of mine over the years. The worst experience I had was jamming at this dudes house in my late teens. Small room, drums and half stack playing very loud. I had that white noise ringing in my ears for the next three days. Now I wear earplugs everywhere I go. With the exception of playing at church, or the acoustic band I used to be in. When I go to jam night I wear earplugs, karaoke, concerts, gigs and so on.
I came here from the one video of him on Howard Stern talking about his hearing, watch that one he does have hearing damage and talks about it, but yes he does talk about how in tune his ears still are to musical things like cymbals after all these years.
Well played sir! Been wearing ear protection for years now unfortunately, when I started out in a metal band, using 2b sticks, I thought I was tough! As a result, I have what is known as pinhole hearing loss and my right ear! Basically, damage at 7000 Hz! I’m using custom molded plugs though they still can brake seal when I sing and drum simultaneously! I’ll check this product out… Never can have enough protection on hand! Cheers… Keith
I know of the tinnitus issue personally mine is so bad that even a fan doesn't help but I've had it sense a toddler. Due to my father being a musician and back in the 80s ear protection wasn't a big thing to most people and my fathers band constantly practicing at home. Growing up I now play drums I don't use protection when I'm alone playing because when i use plugs when by myself I hear the ringing while playing but when playing with my band I use my in ears with lowish volumes to where I hear everyone. Which I also do at shows I use my in ears as they are complete isolation headphones when I get my own drum mics I may start using my in ears when I practice alone.
I have those plugs, my uni gave everyone a set, and they're wicked. Every time I play and I'm not strapped up to a click, and when gigs were a thing, I use these and they're so comfy and effective. When Slipknot came to town, they stayed in all show and I came out of the show with no ringing at all
I work in construction, I had my hearing checked prior to starting. My years of playing in bands definitely effected some lower mid range and my extreme highs(I am 28 and already can't hear to 20khz anymore, and have some issues below 350hz being effected) Earpiece actually makes a set for construction that keeps mid range and upper mid range more audible to hear speech. I use the lowest sound attenuation filter and keep a set of 3m over ears attached to my helmet. If I am around loud machinery, I will use the 3m, if they start cutting steel with chop saws and grinders I can stack them both if I don't need to hear voices that aren't shouting. Always keep the earpieces on my keychain, use them for mowing the lawn and loud city noise. Can't recommend them enough! Most of the old timers in construction have really bad issues hearing voice over background noise even at a low volume level, and many can't hear female voices as well as male because of high end loss. Even had a friend who played and toured who's ex broke up with him because she thought he didn't listen to her because she was a woman, turns out he lost most of his hearing above 700hz so it was actually that he couldn't hear her voice hardly! This is an important video!
That's not exactly our expertise but we have access to those who are true professionals in that world.We'd be happy to share what we know and employ in the creation of this channel but that's going to have to be a new series in and of itself (the art and science of recording is just as convoluted as drum tuning).
Very cool video! I’d love to hear more about using hearing protection in the studio, would you use these under over ear headphones while tracking drums, how loud do you keep the headphones all that jazz
I’ve been drumming since I was little and so I’ve had the high pitched ringing in my ears as long as I can remember (I think it’s permanent) but luckily I don’t know any different so I’m very comfortable with it and people call me weird
Marching band does not condone healthy hearing protection. Some people encourage earplugs, but most of the time I couldn't hear instructions from our teachers because I was up to 50 yards away. I wear ear protection every time now.
Super important topic and very well presented as always. I aways use hearing protection when I play but one gig I watched a few years back (sans plugs) resulted in minor tinnitus so now I wear plugs for all gigs; if I am playing and when I'm in the audience. Great timing as mine are a little old now so just placed an order. Thanks guys!
There are some comments on here about in ear monitoring. I tried it for about a year of touring, and couldn't make it work, so would be very interested in a video from you guys. The main problem for me was that the sound often varied between sound check and the performance. I guess the sound engineers may have made adjustments (I'm not sure what to). If you have a bad in ear mix, there is nothing you can do - you hear less well than if you have a bad wedge, which still gives you more ambient sound. Anyway, it may have been my bad use of the technology. I trust your insights and would welcome content from you on this subject. Thank you again for your work.
Totally, yeah we will probably get into that in the future. I use IEM only if I have tracks and/or a click that I have to sync up with, otherwise I’m wedges all the way. -Cody
Alot of bands i've seen live a few years ago blew my eardrums as the drums were so loud. I'd leave arena's a bit deaf but a few hrs later my hearing came back. It's not so bad outside as the sound just escapes.
I'd love to see a shootout (maybe with a few different folks giving impressions) between seemingly-similar offerings of affordable earplugs, e.g. EarPeace vs Etymotic vs Shure vs .
ive never played drums without sojme form of hearing protection, whether it be IEMS or earplugs. i got hearing damage when i was 3 from a severe infection that caused me to get multi-frequency tinnitus. i ALWAYS go on about hearing protection, and not the crappy foam earplugs or cotton wool, they dont do anything to reduce the harmful frequencies!!
Having played quietly a lot more during UK lockdown, when I went back to loud rehearsal rooms I definitely felt just how loud live drums can be.. So I’ve been thinking of ear protection, and I just ordered the ones you recommended, that even volume cut across the frequency spectrum sounds promising. At least in the UK, they are really inexpensive.
If you produce music and live in an area with hard water, DO NOT submerge or get water in your ears because it gave me temporary hearing loss and even ear infections. Try and avoid pushing cotton buds in you rears as well and you'll be OK. It's happened to me many times to the point I kinda forgot what hearing in true stereo sounds like. I'm having to retrain my brain to an extent to understand that my right ear is not hearing things louder than my left.
I started out playing without ear protection but my friend who plays bass aswell kept telling me to protect my ears, and one day after going full on metal everything sounded bland and weird afterwards (only for a few minutes) and I’ve been playing with headphones since. Practicing has become boring with the sound being very muffled, which is why i came looking for the right ear protection.
When I was young we did not know about hearing protection. Now my ears ring all the time, and I need $5000 hearing aids to hear my wife or children. No I user ear plugs all the time for practice and rehearsals, and In Ear Monitors for shows. That way I can control the volume coming into my ears. I need to protect what hearing I have left. Don't be crazy. Protect your ears. If not, you will regret it.
You probably know, but the hairs in your ear pick up high frequencies, lower frequencies actually vibrate parts to generate the "signal" you are talk about.
I operated heavy equipment, used power tools, shot guns, listened to loud music, and played loud music without ear protection for years. Now my left ear instantly goes def when there is loud noise and I have light tinnitus. Don’t play with your hearing.
Hey man! Thanks for the awesome content, as usual. I'm about to start to record myself and I'm wondering if there's some plug to cut all the frequencies to the same negative level so i can wear my 770 and listen to my balanced mics while playing... Or in alternative some accurate in ear.
+soundslikeadrum *As an autistic involved in music and technology, I think of the whole in terms of the parts.* For Shinoda Hall, OMS Japanese Christian Church (Walnut Creek, CA, USA), I've several problems to solve concerning musical instrumentation: The YAMAHA® G2 grand piano is loud enough but cannot get quiet enough, thus my upgrade plan for a C2X. I've also an overprojection problem with the existing YAMAHA RY2T4 with MSD14AF center drum and PAiSTE® cymbal set-up, but nobody in either Contra Costa or San Joaquin, CA, USA, distributes Stagg® cymbals, and I see a need to go smaller on cymbals as well as install an all-shells-downsized Pearl® custom set-up with the heaviest available heads to eliminate the overprojection at the source -- I'll even resort to swapping out the snare strainers on an MUS1270M and FCS1255 with guts-compatible hardware, as I'm after buzz-free response from both center and side drums and the snappies contribute to the super-treble as well as the buzz. On the road, I tend to favor certain models of PHILIPS® earsets to attenuate the cab noise. Would I could afford a David Clark aviation headset and appropriate adapters for the monitor and drummer-microphone feeds, as aviation headphones are engineered from the outset to attenuate outside noises -- an airplane cockpit can hit 106 dB in a worst case.
Can you do an episode like this but for our hands? Recently got diagnosed with carpal tunnel and the Dr believes that it likely came from drums. I don't want that for others PS you can totally play drums unimpeded with carpal tunnel braces on. I didn't expect that to be the case but it forces healthy hand position
Hey there! I feel like we’d need someone with deeper knowledge of that condition than we have here but would love to aid getting the word out if we can in the future 👍🏻 -Cody
One more comment: Drummers should insist on a stage-type practice set-up, with amps aimed in the way they would be aimed on stage, i.e., not at the drummer. The circular practice way of practicing, with amps aimed at the drummer and the guitarists' ankles, is a recipe for blasting amps and damage to the drummer's hearing, in my opinion.
I just started at 34yo. I'm trying to protect right away but I'm kind of frustrated. I'm not quite sure how to practice effectively while protecting. There's no metronome I can hear over playing unless it's in my ear. I got the Shure SE215s which have foam and rubber tips, but no real filter. It's great for hearing a metronome or my music to play along with. Every once in a while though, I do a test with one out and I think, that's not at all what I think my cymbals sound like with them in. So... Should I get what he has with proper filters and just use over ear headphones instead? If I'm not able to hear how my cymbals really sound, I feel like I'm just going to learn bad technique. Or do most drummers rely on just a flashing metronome when using straight noise filters?
Great topic! I have been looking for a good type of ear plugs without going custom. Regarding EarPeace and looking at their website, are the ones you use the "Music Ear Plugs"?
My husband is a drummer, and is completely deaf in his right ear from an accident. We are trying new things to try and save his hearing in his left ear. He has tried many ear plugs and is not hearing what he needs to hear on stage. We are looking into IEM’s but need advice on anything that could help. But he is interested in help from ear peace with maybe wearing headphones over them like was explained in video. If there is anyone with this this similar problem if you have any advice we would appreciate it. We are ordering earpeace now. Thank you
Thank you for this video.I see a few selections on there website and not sure which ones to order for drumming practise and band rehearsals.Do you use/recommend the ones labeled MUSIC for my application? You did not specify which ones you use Thank you.
The most important topic covered to date!
20 year percussionist here and I literally can't play without headphones or ear protection. I don't know how people do without it
right?! Me neither, I cant practice the drums without earplugs or monitors! it hurts
I have been a drummer for almost 5 decades now, and have substantial hearing loss because of lack of protection. How bad is it? You see that warning in the description about the tone at 4:38 in the video? I can't hear that tone. AT ALL.
Back in the mid 2000's, I was working part time at a call center, relieving the phone personnel for their lunch break. The room was long and narrow, and I was sitting at the desk farthest away from the door. The woman I was relieving came back and from the doorway asked, "Is that my phone ringing?" I didn't hear anything. She walked across the room, and opened the drawer right next to me. I still didn't hear anything. She pulled out her purse, and opened the flap. I then faintly heard something. She pulled her phone out and sure enough, it was ringing. I went right out and got earplugs for when I play. I figured I have to save what little hearing I have left.
Young ones, PLEASE take the advice and protect your hearing NOW. Once it's gone, it's gone for good.
I didn't wear ear protection for the first several months of gigging with my band. My ears would ring constantly, and the biggest change I made to playing now is wearing them. Best decision ever, I never play or watch gigs without them now. The ringing has reduced to pretty much being nonexistent and only happens on rare occasions. My guitarist doesn't really wear ear buds too much and I find him looking at my lips when I speak and complaining of ear ringing issues. Its stupid of him really, always wear ear protection guys.
This is an important one! I've been playing with hearing protection for almost the whole 25 years of my career and am always so astonished to hear that some people (including some of my former band mates), who don't use protection, at all, still have immaculate hearing! So, it seems to be different for everybody. I certainly want to be on the safe side!
I have also learned that certain levels of stress can trigger or contribute to tinnitus, as well. And since some loud noised are perceived as stress by some people, this is certainly also a major factor to be aware of.
Tinnitus sucks. I’ve had it seems my teens because I was an idiot and didn’t take care of my ears. I started using universal iems and that helped reduce further loss, but when I started playing frequently in a cage I moved to custom mold iems. That really was a world of difference.
I once read this in one of the drummer magazines eons ago... Before attending a concert, in the parking lot turn the volume of your car's radio down to where you can barely hear it. After the concert see if you can still hear the radio. You almost certainly won't be able to even if you wore earplugs. That's a demonstration of temporary hearing loss. Repeating that over time leads to permanent hearing loss.
Hmmm, this sounds more like an interesting demonstration of how your ears (much like your eyes) adjust to extremes and may take some time to do so. If you're using adequate hearing protection, you shouldn't experience issues with hearing the radio in your example. If you do, the protection likely isn't adequate for the scenario. For example going for a walk on a bright, sunny day without sunglasses and then venturing inside of a dimly lit space will take a moment for your eyes to adjust. This isn't temporary blindness, it's just that the dynamic range of your senses isn't accessible immediately all the time but rather you adjust to your surroundings.
incredibly important! for these reasons i cant recommend in ear monitors more, especially for drummers. Most of the decent ones do a very very good job knocking down the ambient sound of the drums, and totally eliminate the need to blast a wedge monitor at u when playing live
THANK YOU GREATLY!!! I’m super lucky to have not done any noticeable damage, I’ve been playing in clubs over 6 years without plugs. I’m definitely going to start. The people who I don’t understand are railroad workers who are standing on the front of the locomotive and when the horn blasts they act as if nothing is happening. I would jump out of my skin, and throw my hands over my ears!
I find the type of room your in is important too, my practise room is literally a tiny brick room, so i find ear defenders are a must
This is no joke! My ears feel much better after playing now than they did in my careless youth. Great topic and video as always!!
I suffer from tinnitus through years of playing in a band without correct ear protection, I can't stress highly enough the importance of wearing good ear protection I tried all the earplugs you can buy of the shelf but found them hopeless I finally invested in having some Pro Custom ear plugs from ACS, there not cheap but they work brilliantly.....I wish I'd have done it earlier !
ok, i generally accept everything you guys say as fact. i’ve had less than stellar experience with other ear protection in the past. so after watching this video i immediately made a purchase. i got them yesterday and tried them out while playing - they work SO well. and they fit in my ears, too! i have a weird canal shape and these little things have no issues fitting in my ears.
another A+ video from you guys, and thank you so much for the recommendation!
So glad to hear that they're working out well for you. We're big fans of the product and the company.
Great topic!! Hope you younger players take heed! I'm 54 and have been playing for 44 years and never used any hearing protection and have lost all the high frequencies in my hearing. I couldnt even hear my cymbals while playing! I know wear 2 hearing aids and can hear again!
Great to see this topic covered properly, good work. One thing though; one of the triggers for people with tinnitus is tinnitus-like noises - if you're going to play those tones, put a warning on the screen first.
Thanks so much! Haven’t seen any science back up your claims but this is simply a ~7kHz sine wave. We’ll throw something in the description but we’d imagine that those with tinnitus are (and should be) ultra cautious with recorded audio anyway, particularly with a channel focused on tone/tuning/audio.
yep..yep. this is soo important to point out, it's all true and for me it's too late.
playing drums in loud bands for years 'n years and also riding motorcycles for thousands of miles did take it's toll. back when all this went on nobody thought of hearing protection.
cheers for sharing!!
I know I'm losing my hearing. Its from basically playing drums in closet. When I was young the band I was in played in a 12x6 room with 3 full stacks and drums and never used ear protection. Boy, do I regret it now. I'm to the point that I have to watch people's lips to understand them. I'm not even 40 yet...
I've played thousands of hours over 35+ years with no hearing protection. Most of that was with a metal band. I definitely have hearing loss, but thank God it's not worse. If I had it to do over again though... I'd DEFINITELY use protection. It's super important if you don't want to constantly hear Cicada bugs in your ears.
If people could watch only one of your videos, it would have to be this one. I only wish I had this information when I started. I don’t think people realize just how bad tinnitus is, until it’s too late. Constant high pitch, non-stop, for the rest of your life, in your head. You can’t turn it off, ever. Let that sink in people. It sucks. Please protect your ears. Thanks for the video, I sure hope they pay attention.
Drummer AND audiologist here, and all these tips are dead on! One other item to consider is monitoring and signal-to-noise ratio. When playing with a mix, we tend to want to increase the mix volume so we can hear it at or above the level of the drums. However, if your drums are already loud at your ear then you would need to increase the mix volume to a loud (unsafe) level as well. Instead, using in-ear monitors is a great way to decrease the noise floor of the drums so you don’t have to increase the mix volume to an unsafe level to hear it clearly. Way to go SLAD for covering such an important topic!
Fantastic!! And absolutely right on all counts there too. Such a huge thing. Glad we got it right!! -Cody
I work as an industrial mechanic. Been thoroughly schooled on this topic and have taken it into my personal life. Blows my mind how many people see no issue with doing certain things without hearing protection. Totally preventable. I think OSHA requires at either 86db or 92db
I've been looking a long time for a product that does not color the sound while lowering the decibels. I hope this product does the job. I'm trusting you, Cody.
Hope you dig them! I’m wearing mine right now 👍🏻 -Cody
And this is a topic i got into after i had a little bit of hearing loss back in 2015
I couldn't agree more about the importance of hearing protection. I went totally deaf in my left ear when I was 8yo, due to an illness. You can't imagine how it affects your daily life. Normal interactions can be difficult. If I'm walking with someone I have to be sure they are on my right side so I can hear them. Same for when I go out to dinner with friends. If I'm riding in someone's car with the window down or the radio on, it's difficult to hear when they talk to me. So even in my younger years when I went to a club or concert I would stick cotton in my ears to protect my hearing. I realized early on that I was down 50% from what other people had... I didn't want to lose any more. When I bought my first kit I also bought a pair of ear plugs. And so far, according to my last hearing test, my right ear is still at 100%.
I've played for 30 years and even with protection I have lost a great deal of my hearing. But I love playing drums so much. A duality for everything I guess
Sorry to hear that. The key here is that this is also more than just a binary issue- it's about using the appropriate hearing protection given the scenario and recognizing that everyday sounds can also be the culprit.
I really enjoy your program here bro. Its pretty cool to have a knowledgeable teacher helping so many start up or experienced drummers. We had nothing like this when I started playing. Thank you for all you do to help so many😎
Really glad you guys covered this
I was practically born with tinnitus due to sinus issues, I didn’t realize it but I do sleep with fans not just to prevent “silence” because I’m a light sleeper, but that the ringing bothers me. I don’t know how I didn’t add those up. Thanks?
As for the video, it was great and helped me feel less self-conscious of always bringing hearing protection with me. Thanks!
Excellent and important video. If you can afford it do like I did and get customs,,failing that Earpiece are a great product. Earpiece and love.
Great automation to explain sound term like EQ!
I’m a teenager, and i’m planning to buy a drumset in a few years’ time. Good thing i came across this video, now i know how to protect myself when jamming in the future!
I'm 17. I started playing drums when I was 15. I always wore hearing protection when I'd practice or play to music. At band practice, I'd wear earbuds because I didn't have earplugs, which definitely helped. I have a dedicated pair of earplugs now, which are amazing. But, I've ALWAYS stressed so much to my bandmates or friends to WEAR EARPLUGS. I'm very thankful I haven't experienced any hearing loss, and I really wish my peers start listening to me because they are destroying their ears.
The only issue I have is my right ear is sensitive to very loud noises. This developed when I was playing my ride cymbal's bell without ear plugs during marching band. The harsh frequencies and loudness definitely messed something up, but I haven't noticed any hearing loss at all. Thankfully, my right ear can only start to ache or hurt if I'm exposed to really loud one off or prolonged noises. I've been very careful with this and it's only happened a total of three times. I still consider that too much, but I haven't noticed any loss of hearing certain frequencies or loss in general.
I will never stress this enough. PROTECT YOUR EARS. Even someone as careful as me has become a victim of some form of damage. Protect yourself before it's too late.
Excellent information. I just started playing the drums, and do not have an instructor at this time to impart solid information like this. I noticed the very first time that I played my kit for a while that I would have to do something to protect my hearing (as I do with lawnmowers and power tools). I have been primarily been using headphones to just knock the sound pressure back a bit, as I tried foam plugs and was unhappy with how that totally distorted the sounds of the drums. This is exactly what I need, and the price is super affordable. Ordering some right now.
I set up my full kit in a spare bedroom recently. I didn't think too much of it, but the other day, my ears started hurting when hitting a particularly ringy snare. Not playing anything (I play brass also) for a few days, then going right out and buying earplugs. I will get my hearing tested as well. Lesson learned: small rooms require small drums.
Love EarPeace plugs - suffer from tinnitus and playing drums and loud music was getting really painful. Discovered Ear Peace and I am enjoying playing once more. Doesn't stop the tinnitus but prevents the discomfort and protects what hearing I have left. Great video, great channel. Thanks for sharing.
Used to play gigs in my teens without hearing protection, just due to general carelessness. For me, I can actually hear the band mix live (monitor or no monitor) better with even cheap ass foam earplugs!
i've been to gigs and played dj sets during high school without any ear protection. three years ago i started a band with my friends and none of us wore earplugs. 8-9 months into the band forming out of curiosity, i ordered the first pair of earplugs that showed up on amazon, 20€ with the metal casing. i wore them on the first next practice and immediately told my friends to order them. mind you i'm not a featherlight player and my friends all have 4x12s turned up pretty crazy. ever since that day, my earplugs never left my front pocket and i've become completely obsessed with above average spl's, to the point of being almost ridiculed in some seemingly mundane situations which required ear protection. but that's totally worth it, i am a drummer and sound engineer and my ears are literally the most important thing i have. bottom line, those earplugs were the best impulse buy ever for me! :v
side note: standing with your ear right next to a guitar speaker cone with earplugs on is one of the funniest things ever for me, you can feel your eyelashes moving and your chest resonating from the air the cabinet is pushing but your ears are like yup this is just fine :v
Good video. I have hearing loss, though it seems to be mainly at the level of the auditory nerve. I now need hearing aids to be able to hear conversations. I have been to many audiologists for testing and none of them suggested my hearing loss was due to playing drums. Mind you I have been wearing ear protection for the last twenty odd years. One of my beefs with "universal" ear plugs is that my ear canals are too small for them to fit. So I wear custom fitted ear plugs. Yes they were expensive. But they fit comfortably therefore not (if you will forgive the expression) a pain to use.
Thanks always for the informative videos.
Thank you!! Young people don't understand when I ask them are they wearing hearing protection until I mention the tinnitus in my right ear 24/7, 365. Then they understand somewhat, but hopefully they take it seriously. I've used Alpine MusicSafe Classics since 2013, and have used EarPeace as well. Great topic and information to protect our most important instrument, our ears.
Played drums for 16/17 years, had tinnitus for about 14 of those. A very important thing that a lot of people are a bit too blasé about (myself included when I started playing). I had slight hearing loss from birth that was "fixed" by grommets, but when I got my custom plugs the doctor said that my hearing loss and tinnitus were indicative of my childhood hearing loss rather than damage. Either way, it definitely only started after the super loud band rehearsals I had as a 17 year old, so look after your ears! Some days I don't notice it, other days it's really intrusive.
(Any working musicians in the UK, check out the Musicians Hearing Health Scheme - I think it's closed at the moment due to the current situation, but I got custom plugs for £40 through it so if it re-opens, it's massively worth it!)
I’m in my high school drumline and I’ve played drum set for 4 years on top of my 6 years on the line. 3 of those years I didn’t wear protection at all and I’ve got no hearing damage that they can detect (they never checked for the above 8k so I’m sure that’s what’s damaged) but I’ve got ridiculous tinnitus so the topic of hearing protection is a HUGE DEAL!!! Thanks for covering it!
Hello. If you want to protect your ears from acoustic impact, I recommend that you use a piece of cotton. Put it in such a way that you have your hearing protected,(do not plug) but at the same time, that it lets you hear. Thank you
I preach this to my students every day. Great topic.
Earpeace plugs really work as advertised. I've tried lots of plugs over the years and these are the first, in my experience, to actually attenuate frequencies somewhat equally so sound isn't altered significantly other than volume. Thank you,thank you,thank you.
long overdue topic. hats off to you guys!
This is something I take seriously. After years of construction work and power tools, I have low level tinnatus. When I rehearse with band I use expensive molded ear buds and they actually have parts that adjust level of DBs reduced. When I practice at home, I run mentronome etc through mixing desk and mic my kick drum and wear in ear monitors with industrial ear protection over top and my kit sounds awesome. I will definetly give Ear peace a go cause don't wanna lose molded plugs at gigs Thank guys
I've lost very little high end, but by the time I was 20 I already noticed distortion and pain from midrange tones above a certain volume level. I'm so glad I paid attention to this and started wearing earplugs, because I've kept it to a minor inconvenience, and not a life-altering problem!
This topic is very important
Great video. I''m 62 and have played for 47 years. I've been to many loud concerts. I did not ever wear hearing protection until I had played for many years. Thus, I have tinnitus and some hearing loss. I attribute my hearing issues more to p.a. monitors, loud concerts and amplified instruments rather than drums or cymbals, although drums can certainly cause damage. And it only takes one instance to cause harm. A p.a. monitor to my left fed back during the first tune I played with a band one evening in the 90's and that single event caused damage to my hearing in my left ear. The monitor was so loud I unplugged it after the first song. I certainly wish I had worn protection from the outset, but in the mid-70's when I started playing, no one did. Please protect your hearing.
I couldn't agree more on the topic of alarm at people not protecting their ears in response to loud sounds; not only am I careful about keeping my ears protected for playing drums, but I also work in construction, and I can't believe how many people will just stand there naked-eared when one of us is cutting aluminum or steel. I keep a pair of hearing bands in my tool belt for when I run into something loud, but if I'm caught of guard from someone else doing something loud I'm quick to just stop what I'm doing and plug my ears with my fingers.. Even with all this care, my ears still constantly ring; I don't know if I've had any hearing loss or not though.
I've been wondering about drum triggers and how they work compare to regular mics....it would be great if y'all could cover the aspect of it ..thank you😁👍🇨🇱🥁
Hmmm, triggers and microphones are VERY different. Technical content like that is still a ways off for our channel as we work to maintain focus. That said, we're about to kick off a new series so, given enough support, we could launch other series in the future on such topics. Cheers!
An important issue for sure. I'm a professional drummer and due to an inner ear infection a few years ago and being a musician for many years, especially in UK armed forces band, I've lost 75% of my hearing in my right ear and have serious tinnitus. I hear two different pitches from ear to ear and the ear drum on my right is now 'floppy', like the pressure in my eustachian tube is not pressurised correctly. As far as I know it will never recover. Though I await another appointment with E.N.T. specialist from our wonderful NHS. I have problems doing my job but I'm learning to cope, especially with the ringing. I beg every musician to wear hearing protection and use in ear monitors with the volume down. Invest in the best you can afford.
I'm using my EarPeace plugs under a pair of vic firth headphones. It works great!
Thanks for the video. I'm a beginning drummer (@ 53 yrs old) and was looking for ear protection. I appreciate the in-depth information and link to more. I followed your link and purchased a standard set.
When I started learning drums in the 90s, hearing protection for attending music was pretty much a rarity. Some of my teachers had them, but I got them way too late.
Playing gigs since the early 70's with no protection...once the 80's & 90's came things got so loud. Didn't use hearing protection til I finally realized in 2014. Played thousands of gigs where my ears actually hurt. Now I'm 66 with moderate hearing loss...Now paying off over time my $4000 hearing aids because my hearing starts a dive at 2000 Hz.
I just bought a new drum and was looking to buy the earpeace plugs after watching this but then I realized that the motorcycle ear plugs I use was from earpeace all along. Have to say these are really impressive during the bike ride. Build quality of the case is also quite remarkable. I had a nasty sliding crash and case has some road rash but it still looks sturdy.
I am having problems hearing, though I hate to admit it. I have been told I have "musician's ear" which is related to all the bands, orchestras, marching bands that I have played in over the past 50 years. It has taken its toll. I now work at keeping what I have left. Wish ear protection was talked about more way back then.
I have the opposite issue with (a kind of) Hyperacusis.
For me all the sound levels the higher the frequency gets get more and more unbearable.
I am 23 and protected my hearing for 2 years now consciously and the time before unconsciously. (I remember ear pain whenever my mom "cleaned my ears" with a towel when I was still a child, etc.)
For example for the sine wave tone at 4:38 I have to turn the volume of the video so much down to make it bearable that I can bearly hear your voice anymore.
For this reason doing e.g. these online "hearing tests" where it plays sounds from 0 to 20kHz is literally a torture method if I don't decrease the volume to the smallest possible level.
Or another example: At the (ENT) audiologist every test they did to my ears was physical and mental pain. And my ears react so intensly to sounds that even crickets give me temporary tinnitus.
This condition helped me to learn human echolocation quite easily for a sighted person but sometimes it makes everyday life and also life on the internet quite stressful.
This issue also means that I hear myself and others louder than they do. So I often speak quietly for others while it is at a normal volume for myself.
You can imagine that a conversation with my grandma whose hearing is impaired is often also physical and mental pain.
Thank you very much for this video, which has unfortunately come a little too late in life for me. I am a 56, and have been playing drums for more than 40 years. For the first 20 years or more, nobody I knew used hearing protection, and so ringing ears after playing was normal. About 5 years ago, I was diagnosed with noise-induced hearing loss, and now struggle to communicate in large social situations (eg, pre-Covid, in bars with lots of background noise) without a hearing aid.
My suggestion would be to think of ear protectors like a condom: they reduce sensitivity and enjoyment a little, but they are necessary. I have tried many different makes of universal earplugs, including Earpeace, and most have seemed to me to give a similar experience. One bad thing about Earpeace for me is that the silicon lip that allows for easy insertion and removal sometimes breaks off. But apart from that they are ok. Custom earplugs, although expensive, do give me the best sound.
One further observation: if you are sensitive to the sound of brakes on the subway, it probably means that your ears are particularly sensitive, rather than that other passengers have hearing loss. And that is not necessarily a good thing. Although it is counterintuitive, hypersensitive hearing can be associated with hearing loss. It's called 'recruitment': www.healthyhearing.com/report/53021-I-have-hearing-loss-why-am-i-so-sensitive-to-loud-sounds. Maybe time for another check?
Thanks again for the video.
Hearing protection is vital. I know I've lost some of mine over the years. The worst experience I had was jamming at this dudes house in my late teens. Small room, drums and half stack playing very loud. I had that white noise ringing in my ears for the next three days. Now I wear earplugs everywhere I go. With the exception of playing at church, or the acoustic band I used to be in. When I go to jam night I wear earplugs, karaoke, concerts, gigs and so on.
It's perplexing how Dave Grohl can still hear anything considering he's never worn ear protection.
I came here from the one video of him on Howard Stern talking about his hearing, watch that one he does have hearing damage and talks about it, but yes he does talk about how in tune his ears still are to musical things like cymbals after all these years.
Well played sir! Been wearing ear protection for years now unfortunately, when I started out in a metal band, using 2b sticks, I thought I was tough! As a result, I have what is known as pinhole hearing loss and my right ear! Basically, damage at 7000 Hz! I’m using custom molded plugs though they still can brake seal when I sing and drum simultaneously! I’ll check this product out… Never can have enough protection on hand! Cheers… Keith
I know of the tinnitus issue personally mine is so bad that even a fan doesn't help but I've had it sense a toddler. Due to my father being a musician and back in the 80s ear protection wasn't a big thing to most people and my fathers band constantly practicing at home. Growing up I now play drums I don't use protection when I'm alone playing because when i use plugs when by myself I hear the ringing while playing but when playing with my band I use my in ears with lowish volumes to where I hear everyone. Which I also do at shows I use my in ears as they are complete isolation headphones when I get my own drum mics I may start using my in ears when I practice alone.
Thank you for this video. Ordering these filters immediately.
I have those plugs, my uni gave everyone a set, and they're wicked. Every time I play and I'm not strapped up to a click, and when gigs were a thing, I use these and they're so comfy and effective. When Slipknot came to town, they stayed in all show and I came out of the show with no ringing at all
I work in construction, I had my hearing checked prior to starting. My years of playing in bands definitely effected some lower mid range and my extreme highs(I am 28 and already can't hear to 20khz anymore, and have some issues below 350hz being effected)
Earpiece actually makes a set for construction that keeps mid range and upper mid range more audible to hear speech. I use the lowest sound attenuation filter and keep a set of 3m over ears attached to my helmet. If I am around loud machinery, I will use the 3m, if they start cutting steel with chop saws and grinders I can stack them both if I don't need to hear voices that aren't shouting.
Always keep the earpieces on my keychain, use them for mowing the lawn and loud city noise. Can't recommend them enough! Most of the old timers in construction have really bad issues hearing voice over background noise even at a low volume level, and many can't hear female voices as well as male because of high end loss. Even had a friend who played and toured who's ex broke up with him because she thought he didn't listen to her because she was a woman, turns out he lost most of his hearing above 700hz so it was actually that he couldn't hear her voice hardly! This is an important video!
i would love to see drum micing, recording and production covered on this channel. thanks!
That's not exactly our expertise but we have access to those who are true professionals in that world.We'd be happy to share what we know and employ in the creation of this channel but that's going to have to be a new series in and of itself (the art and science of recording is just as convoluted as drum tuning).
Very cool video! I’d love to hear more about using hearing protection in the studio, would you use these under over ear headphones while tracking drums, how loud do you keep the headphones all that jazz
Watch the full video 😉
I’ve been drumming since I was little and so I’ve had the high pitched ringing in my ears as long as I can remember (I think it’s permanent) but luckily I don’t know any different so I’m very comfortable with it and people call me weird
Marching band does not condone healthy hearing protection. Some people encourage earplugs, but most of the time I couldn't hear instructions from our teachers because I was up to 50 yards away. I wear ear protection every time now.
Super important topic and very well presented as always. I aways use hearing protection when I play but one gig I watched a few years back (sans plugs) resulted in minor tinnitus so now I wear plugs for all gigs; if I am playing and when I'm in the audience. Great timing as mine are a little old now so just placed an order. Thanks guys!
There are some comments on here about in ear monitoring. I tried it for about a year of touring, and couldn't make it work, so would be very interested in a video from you guys.
The main problem for me was that the sound often varied between sound check and the performance. I guess the sound engineers may have made adjustments (I'm not sure what to). If you have a bad in ear mix, there is nothing you can do - you hear less well than if you have a bad wedge, which still gives you more ambient sound. Anyway, it may have been my bad use of the technology.
I trust your insights and would welcome content from you on this subject. Thank you again for your work.
Totally, yeah we will probably get into that in the future. I use IEM only if I have tracks and/or a click that I have to sync up with, otherwise I’m wedges all the way. -Cody
Alot of bands i've seen live a few years ago blew my eardrums as the drums were so loud. I'd leave arena's a bit deaf but a few hrs later my hearing came back. It's not so bad outside as the sound just escapes.
I made special ear-plugs fitted for my ears, one of the best investments of my life !
I need some!! After suffering from sudden deafness this year I’m willing to do anything to save my earring.
I have pretty bad hearing loss I played for 3 years with no protection
So sorry to hear that! Luckily, you can still save what you've got.
SUPERB, guys!
I'd love to see a shootout (maybe with a few different folks giving impressions) between seemingly-similar offerings of affordable earplugs, e.g. EarPeace vs Etymotic vs Shure vs .
ive never played drums without sojme form of hearing protection, whether it be IEMS or earplugs. i got hearing damage when i was 3 from a severe infection that caused me to get multi-frequency tinnitus. i ALWAYS go on about hearing protection, and not the crappy foam earplugs or cotton wool, they dont do anything to reduce the harmful frequencies!!
Having played quietly a lot more during UK lockdown, when I went back to loud rehearsal rooms I definitely felt just how loud live drums can be.. So I’ve been thinking of ear protection, and I just ordered the ones you recommended, that even volume cut across the frequency spectrum sounds promising. At least in the UK, they are really inexpensive.
What?
I see (hear) what you did there...
@@SoundsLikeADrum the opportunity was hear-resistable. :-D
would like to see orthopedic hand health covered next
If we can get an expert on to talk about that perhaps we will, it’s a bit outside our knowledge base here but so so important!! -Cody
If you produce music and live in an area with hard water, DO NOT submerge or get water in your ears because it gave me temporary hearing loss and even ear infections. Try and avoid pushing cotton buds in you rears as well and you'll be OK. It's happened to me many times to the point I kinda forgot what hearing in true stereo sounds like. I'm having to retrain my brain to an extent to understand that my right ear is not hearing things louder than my left.
I started out playing without ear protection but my friend who plays bass aswell kept telling me to protect my ears, and one day after going full on metal everything sounded bland and weird afterwards (only for a few minutes) and I’ve been playing with headphones since. Practicing has become boring with the sound being very muffled, which is why i came looking for the right ear protection.
When I was young we did not know about hearing protection. Now my ears ring all the time, and I need $5000 hearing aids to hear my wife or children.
No I user ear plugs all the time for practice and rehearsals, and In Ear Monitors for shows. That way I can control the volume coming into my ears. I need to protect what hearing I have left.
Don't be crazy. Protect your ears. If not, you will regret it.
I've had great success with putting hotdogs in my ears. I doubt it helps to protect my hearing but it's really fun.
You probably know, but the hairs in your ear pick up high frequencies, lower frequencies actually vibrate parts to generate the "signal" you are talk about.
I operated heavy equipment, used power tools, shot guns, listened to loud music, and played loud music without ear protection for years. Now my left ear instantly goes def when there is loud noise and I have light tinnitus. Don’t play with your hearing.
Hey man! Thanks for the awesome content, as usual. I'm about to start to record myself and I'm wondering if there's some plug to cut all the frequencies to the same negative level so i can wear my 770 and listen to my balanced mics while playing... Or in alternative some accurate in ear.
What about hand/wrist/foot/ankle injuries?
Yeah, avoid those too. The key is that you don't even need to be playing drums to be at risk when it comes to hearing damage/loss.
+soundslikeadrum *As an autistic involved in music and technology, I think of the whole in terms of the parts.* For Shinoda Hall, OMS Japanese Christian Church (Walnut Creek, CA, USA), I've several problems to solve concerning musical instrumentation: The YAMAHA® G2 grand piano is loud enough but cannot get quiet enough, thus my upgrade plan for a C2X. I've also an overprojection problem with the existing YAMAHA RY2T4 with MSD14AF center drum and PAiSTE® cymbal set-up, but nobody in either Contra Costa or San Joaquin, CA, USA, distributes Stagg® cymbals, and I see a need to go smaller on cymbals as well as install an all-shells-downsized Pearl® custom set-up with the heaviest available heads to eliminate the overprojection at the source -- I'll even resort to swapping out the snare strainers on an MUS1270M and FCS1255 with guts-compatible hardware, as I'm after buzz-free response from both center and side drums and the snappies contribute to the super-treble as well as the buzz.
On the road, I tend to favor certain models of PHILIPS® earsets to attenuate the cab noise. Would I could afford a David Clark aviation headset and appropriate adapters for the monitor and drummer-microphone feeds, as aviation headphones are engineered from the outset to attenuate outside noises -- an airplane cockpit can hit 106 dB in a worst case.
Can you do an episode like this but for our hands? Recently got diagnosed with carpal tunnel and the Dr believes that it likely came from drums. I don't want that for others
PS you can totally play drums unimpeded with carpal tunnel braces on. I didn't expect that to be the case but it forces healthy hand position
Hey there! I feel like we’d need someone with deeper knowledge of that condition than we have here but would love to aid getting the word out if we can in the future 👍🏻 -Cody
I bought my drums off a guy that quit playing because of carpal tunnel.
You can tell the quality of the people you are jamming with by how they approach this. Low quality chaps with hearing loss will pass it onto others.
One more comment: Drummers should insist on a stage-type practice set-up, with amps aimed in the way they would be aimed on stage, i.e., not at the drummer. The circular practice way of practicing, with amps aimed at the drummer and the guitarists' ankles, is a recipe for blasting amps and damage to the drummer's hearing, in my opinion.
I just started at 34yo. I'm trying to protect right away but I'm kind of frustrated. I'm not quite sure how to practice effectively while protecting. There's no metronome I can hear over playing unless it's in my ear. I got the Shure SE215s which have foam and rubber tips, but no real filter. It's great for hearing a metronome or my music to play along with. Every once in a while though, I do a test with one out and I think, that's not at all what I think my cymbals sound like with them in. So... Should I get what he has with proper filters and just use over ear headphones instead? If I'm not able to hear how my cymbals really sound, I feel like I'm just going to learn bad technique. Or do most drummers rely on just a flashing metronome when using straight noise filters?
I totally did not hear the sine wave mentioned in the description. That can't be good.
Great topic! I have been looking for a good type of ear plugs without going custom. Regarding EarPeace and looking at their website, are the ones you use the "Music Ear Plugs"?
Thanks! Yep- these are the music version.
My husband is a drummer, and is completely deaf in his right ear from an accident. We are trying new things to try and save his hearing in his left ear. He has tried many ear plugs and is not hearing what he needs to hear on stage. We are looking into IEM’s but need advice on anything that could help. But he is interested in help from ear peace with maybe wearing headphones over them like was explained in video. If there is anyone with this this similar problem if you have any advice we would appreciate it. We are ordering earpeace now. Thank you
Thank you for this video.I see a few selections on there website and not sure which ones to order for drumming practise and band rehearsals.Do you use/recommend the ones labeled MUSIC for my application? You did not specify which ones you use Thank you.
Guitar feedback!!!!