![\"\"](\"http:\/\/michaelteager.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/1165-1.jpg\" "\\"etymotic\\"")
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I stumbled upon this NPR article<\/a> a few weeks ago and it\u2019s since stuck in my craw. While I agree with one of the overall messages \u2013 it\u2019s important to protect yourself in high-volume environments \u2013 I\u2019m puzzled by the Bob Boilen<\/a>\u2019s seemingly surprised POV. I try not to get preachy about much, but earplugs and volume regularly lead me to filibuster. I know that I already have slight hearing loss in one ear, and I\u2019ve waged an all-out preventative assault for the better part of the last decade.<\/p>\n Like the author, I regularly attend (and participate in) performances of varying kinds: clubs, large arenas, theaters, ampitheaters, museums, bars, etc. Some are quiet and cozy, others are deafening. When I\u2019m preparing to leave the house to rehearse, perform, or attend a show, I always take a moment to assess the sonic environment I\u2019m heading to, and almost never leave home without my earplugs (my own personal American Express). About 8 years ago I decided to spring for a pair of Etymotic custom-molded earplugs<\/a>. It seemed a little much at first, but it turned out to be arguably the best $160ish I\u2019ve spent.<\/p>\n Performing in loud ensembles was ~65% of my reason for the purchase, with the remaining ~35% stemming from my regular attendance of loud (mostly rock) concerts. Now, I do love many loud styles of music, but I tend to be extra cautious with the volume at which I listen to them. (My wife regularly snipes at me in the car or at home for having the music too low when listening.) I always enjoy listening to music (of course), but it should also be a comfortable experience. After all, if musicians and other audiophiles insist on investing in a great pair of headphones for private listening (I do love my Bose headphones<\/a>), why not apply the same logic to earplugs and \u201cpublic listening\u201d? Similarly, consider bowling, an activity many Americans participate in occasionally. For most people, renting shoes and\/or balls doesn’t really affect their enjoyment – they’re often there for reasons more social than sport. But for those with a love of the game who play frequently and with purpose, investing money in gear (ball, shoes, upkeep, etc.) is a no-brainer because it enhances the experience.<\/p>\n The big complaint about earplugs in general is that they distort the sound. True, $3 foam thimbles – like renting a bowling shoes for your ears – work slightly better than taping a pillow around one\u2019s head. In that case, you get what you pay for. However that\u2019s not at all the case when using earplugs that are actually meant for listening<\/a> (as opposed to those meant to block out sound). I always tell people that wearing custom earplugs is the equivalent of simply turning down a volume knob on your ears. Everything comes through cleanly and as projected, only at a softer level. (Also, custom plugs come with adjustable filters for varying volumes.) In fact, I can often hear better<\/em> with them in, as the natural distortion and fatigue is a non-issue.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve seen many <\/em>loud<\/span><\/strong> performances. (Korn & Staind touring with the Guinness-certified world\u2019s loudest sound system<\/a>, which was painfully loud even with foam earplugs, and Phil Anselmo<\/a>‘s\u00a0Down<\/a> immediately come to mind.) The episode that most sticks out to me is my 8th TOOL<\/a> concert (10.18.02<\/a>). I eventually forced my way to the front row, but was located directly in front of one of the speaker stacks for a majority of the performance. I had a deeper-than-normal ear fatigue afterwards and was to see them again two nights later. In between, I attended a wedding and, seated near the DJ, I suffered a slight auditory meltdown at the reception. As a result, the 10.20 TOOL show was a turning point for me, as I\u2019ve worn earlugs since and haven\u2019t looked back. (Side note: My ears, mind, and body were much better off after that concert than the previous two nights.)<\/p>\n Granted, the Korn show I mentioned was a bit much, but for the most part some types of music just demand loud performance. Much of rock music is quite visceral and therefore physically engaging the audience is a factor – even when wearing earplugs, feeling the music’s vibrations run through your entire body at a live show is a truly wonderful feeling. But yes, there are many instances in which a band or venue is obnoxious (again see Korn), bordering on dangerous. (I’ve been on both the giving and receiving end of this.) It’s a situation in which everyone – performer, engineer, listener – should and does have skin in the game.<\/p>\n While I’ve written most of this article from the audience’s perspective, I should also note that my earplugs have done wonders for gigging this whole time – standing amidst drums and amplifiers takes its toll quickly and aggressively. But since the original NPR article stressed the audience perspective, I opted for that arena.<\/p>\n I could go on and on. Truly. But since I want people to return to this blog from time to time, suffice it to say that the listener ultimately shares responsibility in auditory comfort. \ud83d\ude42 And, if done correctly, it doesn’t have to compromise the overall experience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I stumbled upon this NPR article a few weeks ago and it\u2019s since stuck in my craw. While I agree with one of the overall messages \u2013 it\u2019s important to protect yourself in high-volume environments \u2013 I\u2019m puzzled by the Bob Boilen\u2019s seemingly surprised POV. I try not to get preachy about much, but earplugs […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[200,201,197,199,194,195,196,198,101],"class_list":["post-390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-listening","tag-bob-boilen","tag-bose","tag-custom-molded-earplugs","tag-down","tag-ear-plugs","tag-etymotic","tag-etymotic-research","tag-korn","tag-tool"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelteager.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelteager.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelteager.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelteager.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelteager.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=390"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/michaelteager.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":394,"href":"https:\/\/michaelteager.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390\/revisions\/394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelteager.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelteager.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelteager.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}