I have a set of custom -9 db musicians plugs. I wear them often. Too late though. I have tinnitus in both ears by now. I should have bought and worn them 20 years ago. I believe I was 40 when I finally had a pair made.
It does suck, but it's not too bad yet. Hopefully it does not get much worse. You have to be extremely disciplined to wear them at rehearsal when you bring your newly acquired vintage amp for the very first time. You want
to hear it, in all its glory. That may be fine once in a while. The problem is when you find, fix, collect and sell amps for a hobby you always seem to be bringing a newly acquired vintage amp to rehearsal. I wear the plugs
as much ads I can stand. It's just not the same with then in sadly. When I am at home demoing new amps I have acquired, or just repaired, I always put them in. I crank an amp up to ten, sometimes I wear my custom plugs
with ear muffs over top as another layer of protection. Sadly the ringing in our ears cancels out any of the same frequency so certain things we can't hear any more. Your corduroy pants flapping, birds singing, voices talking
in loud restaurants. I sleep like the dead. My wife can be up 5X in the night dealing with a sick kid or dog. I am not disturbed by it. I had my hearing tested about 2 months ago. Not great. But not as bad a I expected either.
Take care of your ears folks. Hearing loss is not reversible.
This thread got me thinking. I play a lot in my basement. Volume on what I think is a reasonable lower volume that is not disturbing my family upstairs. 1962 Vibrolux amp. Volume on 2.5 I am sitting about 3 feet in front of the amp. I often play a little louder than I am tonight. I don't wear plugs when I practice at home. I decided to download a decibel meter app for my iphone. 90db average. Nearing the damage zone. Damn. I have been at this for years doing this. I figured I was good. Damn it. I guess I am going to have to wear my plugs any time I play. This sucks.
So according to the chart, if I play for 2 hours at 90 db, then walk away for a few hours, and do another 2 hours. Then later than night another 2 hours. I've done 6 hours at 90 db in one day. That's a cumulative total and I am starting to do damage right? Damn it.
It does suck, but it's not too bad yet. Hopefully it does not get much worse. You have to be extremely disciplined to wear them at rehearsal when you bring your newly acquired vintage amp for the very first time. You want
to hear it, in all its glory. That may be fine once in a while. The problem is when you find, fix, collect and sell amps for a hobby you always seem to be bringing a newly acquired vintage amp to rehearsal. I wear the plugs
as much ads I can stand. It's just not the same with then in sadly. When I am at home demoing new amps I have acquired, or just repaired, I always put them in. I crank an amp up to ten, sometimes I wear my custom plugs
with ear muffs over top as another layer of protection. Sadly the ringing in our ears cancels out any of the same frequency so certain things we can't hear any more. Your corduroy pants flapping, birds singing, voices talking
in loud restaurants. I sleep like the dead. My wife can be up 5X in the night dealing with a sick kid or dog. I am not disturbed by it. I had my hearing tested about 2 months ago. Not great. But not as bad a I expected either.
Take care of your ears folks. Hearing loss is not reversible.
This thread got me thinking. I play a lot in my basement. Volume on what I think is a reasonable lower volume that is not disturbing my family upstairs. 1962 Vibrolux amp. Volume on 2.5 I am sitting about 3 feet in front of the amp. I often play a little louder than I am tonight. I don't wear plugs when I practice at home. I decided to download a decibel meter app for my iphone. 90db average. Nearing the damage zone. Damn. I have been at this for years doing this. I figured I was good. Damn it. I guess I am going to have to wear my plugs any time I play. This sucks.
So according to the chart, if I play for 2 hours at 90 db, then walk away for a few hours, and do another 2 hours. Then later than night another 2 hours. I've done 6 hours at 90 db in one day. That's a cumulative total and I am starting to do damage right? Damn it.
