A musician’s ears are the gateway to their passion. While some hearing loss can be expected over a lifetime, protecting your hearing is the most important thing you can do for your hearing health. Since not every cause of hearing loss can be controlled (due to disease or injury, for example), minimizing environmental factors, like exposure to excessive sound pressure levels, becomes crucial. That’s where earplugs come in. Let’s take a look at the best earplugs currently available for musicians.
- What Causes Hearing Loss & Tinnitus?
- What’s the Difference Between “Pro” & “Consumer” Earplugs?
- A Word on Volume & Decibels
- Earplugs for Professional Musicians
What Causes Hearing Loss & Tinnitus?
When protecting your ears, it’s crucial to understand the difference between hearing loss and tinnitus. Hearing loss is something most of us experience as we age, just as we anticipate our vision to degrade as we age. Other things that can lead to hearing loss are disease, head injury, and, simply, our genetic makeup. In other words, you can expect that your hearing will change over time.
Tinnitus, or the perception of noise without an external source, differs from hearing loss. Tinnitus does not cause hearing loss directly, but extreme cases can interfere with your ability to understand others and can thus negatively impact communication. While tinnitus can result from a serious injury, the most common cause of tinnitus in musicians is exposure to dangerously high sound pressure levels — roaring guitar amps and crashing cymbals are just a couple of the most obvious offenders.
While there’s not much you can do about general hearing loss, tinnitus is relatively avoidable — which is why we’re writing this article. You’ve probably had the experience of going to a loud concert and having your ears ring for a day or so afterward. Now, imagine if the ringing never went away. That’s tinnitus, and you absolutely don’t want it — especially if you’re a musician.
What’s the Difference Between “Pro” & “Consumer” Earplugs?
If you’ve spent any amount of time searching online for earplugs, then it’s clear that many options are available. It might not be obvious at first which earplugs are designed specifically for musicians or what the differences are among them. While many professionals require hearing protection — like construction workers, factory supervisors, and airport ground crews — musicians require earplugs with a particular set of characteristics.
Most notably, professional earplugs for musicians will provide a flat frequency response to avoid skewing the balance of lows, mids, and highs. In other words, earplugs for musicians need to act as an overall volume control without changing the frequency balance. The consumer alternatives focus on volume reduction first and generally reduce high frequencies more than mids and lows; these consumer types typically offer more volume reduction than professional earplugs. Consumer earplugs are important when working around heavy machinery, but musicians need to hear a clear, balanced frequency range at a lower volume — that’s why it’s crucial to choose earplugs specifically made for musicians.
A Word on Volume & Decibels
Any earplugs you look at will quantify their volume reduction in decibels — one decibel is commonly considered the smallest volume change the human ear can reliably detect. The various decibel scales used and the average decibel levels for various environments or situations are outside the scope of this article. What is most relevant is that a 6dB reduction roughly halves the perceived volume level.
For musicians, 6dB to 20dB is enough volume reduction to minimize hearing damage from band practice or concerts. If you see earplugs advertising 30dB of volume reduction or more, then these are almost certainly designed for applications involving heavy machinery, excessive wind conditions, rocket launches, being shot out of a cannon, and so on.
Earplugs for Professional Musicians
By now, you understand what we’re looking for in a set of professional earplugs: volume reduction to reduce harmful sound pressure levels and an even frequency balance that allows you to accurately hear your instrument’s tone so you can perform your best. Let’s take a look at some of the best earplugs for musicians.
Etymotic Research MP 9-15 Music Pro Electronic Earplugs
Thanks to their active volume attenuation (via zinc-air batteries), the Etymotic Research MP 9-15 Music Pro electronic earplugs offer some of the most advanced hearing protection for musicians. These versatile earplugs allow you to select between 9dB and 15dB of active attenuation, and the volume attenuation doesn’t turn on until sound pressure levels approach a certain threshold. The result is incredibly natural sound reduction that never sounds dull or muffled. The selectable attenuation levels make it simple to tailor these earplugs to any musical application.
D’Addario dBud Universal Fit Volume Adjustable Earplugs
The innovative D’Addario dBud universal fit earplugs offer adjustable volume levels (-24dB to -12dB), a feature normally only found on active earplugs (which require a battery to operate). Even better, dBud earplugs feature two different frequency response options: the “closed” setting, which allows for balanced frequency response at lower volumes, and the “open” setting, which reduces highs and lows a bit more than mids, making it easier to hear people talk while reducing background noise. While most musicians will use the closed setting for performance and practice, the open setting makes these earplugs a versatile option for shutting out environmental noise in other situations, too.
Vibes Hi-Fidelity Earplugs
The affordability and audio delivery of the Vibes Hi-Fidelity earplugs have made them a hit among musicians at Sweetwater. With 22dB of sound reduction, these plugs will allow you to enjoy your next live performance or high-volume studio session at a comfortable and safe level — all without sacrificing the clarity and balance of your sound. They also come with a pocket-size carrying case, making travel to concerts and jam sessions an absolute breeze. Need a specific fit? No worries — each purchase also comes with three different interchangeable tip sizes, allowing users of any age and size to enjoy their favorite sounds at a safe volume.
Vic Firth High Fidelity Hearing Protection
Most earplugs safely reduce sound levels but sacrifice audio quality and balance — that’s where Vic Firth High Fidelity hearing protection comes in. Designed to function like the human ear canals, these plugs let all your standard frequencies through, so you always get the most accurate sound at a lower volume. The result is an excellent option for drummers, studio artists, and concertgoers to enjoy audio without damaging their hearing. Plus, they include a heavy-duty neck cord, and carrying case, and large-size option.
Etymotic Research ETY-Plugs High Fidelity Earplugs
Etymotic Research ETY-Plugs feature an advanced, high-fidelity earplug design at an affordable price, leaving you with no excuse for not protecting your hearing. Like the others listed, the ETY-Plugs are designed to turn down the volume without making sounds dull or indistinct. These are of great value, especially if you need to outfit a group of people with hearing protection — like volunteer stagehands at a concert. The standard size will be a comfortable fit for many people, and a larger size is available, too.
Whichever Earplugs You Choose, Use Them
All the earplugs above provide comprehensive hearing protection and high-fidelity sound quality. Which ones are best for you depends completely upon the situations in which you’ll be using them. But no matter how advanced the technology, earplugs only work when you remember to bring them and wear them. With the excitement of setting up for a gig or going to see your favorite band in concert, it can be easy to overlook your hearing protection — a mistake that you could pay for heavily down the road. It’s much better to get into the habit of bringing your hearing protection with you when there’s a potential for high volume levels, whether in musical settings or elsewhere. If you’re committed to protecting your hearing but aren’t sure what earplugs are best for you, then please call your Sweetwater Sales Engineer at (800) 222-4700. We’ll be happy to advise.
