Buy the BEST ones you can (they're a tool, after all)... carry them at all times... and *use* them!! Like many of you, I use ER-15s (from Westone, custom fit through the audiology dept. here at WSU)... about $100 ten years ago. I wear them a lot, not for every piano but more and more it seems, and definitely in the practice rooms (though sometimes in those loud little rooms, I put in 42dB foam plugs and just "let the machine do it"). Like Wim, my seat in the church choir is in the back row, right in front of the organ wind chests with the exposed pipes directly above. I wear my ear plugs (the ER-15s) during prelude, postlude, and all the hymns_______ everything in fact except the anthem (which usually isn't accompanied by organ for some reason)... sometimes they're even in during the sermon. :) I also wear them at some concerts, usually wind ensemble and definitely percussion (almost put them in part-way through the last organ recital). The other place I often wear them (they're always in my pocket) is movies!! I love movies but its amazing how high the sound levels are in theaters these days. Some situations don't even need to be mentioned__________fireworks shows, for instance. Others, however, are more seductive and we get into loud situations without even realizing it. One that comes to mind is driving. I really enjoy traveling with my car windows open when the weather is nice, but the steady increase in sound level sometimes keeps me from noticing just how loud its getting, especially on the freeway. And that "slap", as the car in the next lane hits the pavements seams, is really short and doesn't "hurt" but its *really* loud. Maybe its duration is too short to do any damage to unprotected ears____________ but maybe its not. Car radios get turned up louder when the car is at speed and in traffic (especially with open windows) than they do when the car is at rest. This may not be a problem (depending on your car), but its something to consider. Its not too difficult to get into factory-type sound levels of extended duration inside a car on the freeway sometimes. Interesting point about the custom-fit plugs vs. the generic off-the-shelf variety: generally the molded ear "plug" is just a platform into which the actual sound-reduction element snaps (when washing/cleaning the ear plug, you remove the sound-reduction element since it isn't supposed to get wet) and interchangeable elements at any of several reduction levels can be purchased for $25 or so and snapped in and out (or mixed & matched, I suppose if one wanted to). As with most tools, its not always less expensive to buy the cheaper version. Regards, Alan B. Crane, RPT School of Music Wichita State University alan.crane@wichita.edu
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