To Hear Or Not To Hear, It's Your Decision. Part 1

It's been about a year since I had one of the worst ear infections I have ever had. I'm not the type of guy who hits the doctor on a whim. In fact it takes quite a bit for me to decide to pay a visit and last year was one of those times. The infection was painful, I went on antibiotics and waited. Almost a week went by and it got worse and worse. What's up antibiotics? I went back and was in so much pain I could barely function. It turns out the infection was immune to the antibioticsI took so the Dr. prescribed some "serious" antibiotics. As he looked in my ear he said, "woah, that may rupture" referring to my eardrum. At that time I would have begged for any type of pressure release (even that). To make a long story short, the second round of antibiotics did work and my eardrum did not rupture. I returned to work and for several weeks had very little hearing in my left ear. I was scared. I wondered if this was permanent. As the hearing slowly came back I found that elevated noises were quite bothersome to me. This lasted for a couple of months and finally I was left with the strange sensation of listening to myself breathing and talk. The closest description I can give is when you talk underwater, your voice is amplified in a strange way. Fortunately my hearing was restored but I find that by the end of the day my left ear is quite fatigued, especially on days when I have talked more than normal. I constantly feel the urge to "pop" my left ear to equalize the pressure. I have been back to the doctor and have been told that there is little that can be done. The eustachian tube in my left ear is for a lack of better words a bit lazy and doesn't function properly all the time. Recently I had another small ear infection but now, being hypersensitive to this went to the doctor immediately. This one cleared up without a hitch but what I did find out is that my left eardrum has some noticeable scarring.

The second factor in this post is that my colleague (he has been teaching concert/marching band for the last 30 years) has invested in professional ear plugs in the past couple of months. The reason for this is that he has recently started to experience ringing in his ears and slight hearing loss. Also, my father played drums all his life (and is still in a band) and was diagnosedwith Tinnitus (http://www.medicinenet.com/tinnitus/article.htm) three years ago. He actually had a pretty strong bout of depression due to it because it is "maddeningly loud" at times.

Here I am, not only constantly exposed almost daily to noise levels well above the recommended amount for prolonged exposure (as many directors are) but also a drumset player that has played/rehearsed unprotected my entire life. A few years back I started playing in a band that was extremely amplified and sometimes in very small areas (I have since stopped playing in that band) and at that time my father was going through hell with his ears to put it lightly, and these two elements brought me to my first pair of professional ear plugs.

So there you go... to make a long story long, these are the events that have brought me to this post.

What is the difference between ear plugs and "professional" ear plugs?
The most common ear plugs that people purchase are made from wax,

latex, or the most common these days is memory foam. You squeeze it and place in the ear and they expand in your canal and they do a great job at elminating sound (all sound). When I first started using these I found it very difficult to hear lyrics and all sound was very muffled. They did the trick but made it a bit frustrating to perform. I found myself watching the guitar players hands to see rhythm because everything was a rumble. It should be noted that wax ear plugs work about the same. They cost anywhere from .25 cents to a couple of bucks.

The next type of earplug is what are commonly called "Musician Plugs". They have a small hole through the plug and the tip of the plug sticks out the ear a touch. With they type of plug there is a bit more definition in sound while wearing the plugs but it picks up certain frequencies easier than others and because of that, it doesn't give a truely accurate sound to the person wearing the plugs. The price on these can range from $5.00 to $50.00.

The final type that I finally purchased for myself are custom in-ear plugs with a special filter attached. Here is some of the info from a site that specializes in this type of earplug.

Westone Model 49 custom-fit musician ear plugs have been the first choice of performing musicians around the world for decades. The Etymotic Research acoustic filters installed in your Westone Model 49 musician ear plugs let you protect your hearing, but without distortion, so you can still enjoy the music and clearly understand the words you hear.

Over the years Westone Model 49 musician ear plugs have grown in popularity with concert attendees, music teachers, DJs, flight attendants, bartenders, waitresses, dentists, dental workers, and many others who need to be able to clearly hear but still must have noise protection. Westone Model 49 musician ear plugs are canal-only ear plugs that are virtually unnoticeable in your ears. The acoustic filters are user-changeable and one set of filters is included with your purchase of the Westone Model 49 musician ear plugs. The filters come in three attenuation levels: 9, 15, or 25 dB filters. For most performing musicians and most general noise users, we recommend the 15 dB filters. For vocalists, we recommend the 9 dB filters. Drummers and heavy industry workers will especially benefit from the 25 dB filters.

The filters are easily changed, and we sell the filters separately should you need the flexibility provided by different attenuation levels. We also include a solid set of filters which give you over 30 dB of attenuation. Though the solid filters are not distortion free, they give you the option of converting your Model 49 ear plugs into solid custom fit ear plugs which have many uses.

Now, this type of plug is quite expensive ($179 online) but I have really enjoyed my plugs since their purchase. I actually went to a hearing specialist (they are in the yellow pages) and had them do my custom molds. According to this website you can order the plugs yourself and do your own mold (not sure how it will turn out... I liked having a pro do it. Plus you get your ears tested as well). I picked up the 15db plugs but have considered trying a set of 9's. So here is the web site for one version of the custom plugs. http://earplugstore.stores.yahoo.net/westone-style-49.html I have found that these plugs work really well. They need to be seated just right in your ear or they will not work properly but once they are in correct, they work great. It really is a reduction of sound allowing all frequencies in. It's like I turned the volume from 11 to 5.

As musicians, we must protect our ears... without them.... we won't have a job. Don't think it won't happen to you. My colleague felt that way and now he hears ringing all the time. Don't try to be a superman/woman. Once it's damaged, it can't be fixed.