I Wanna Rock and Roll All Night, and Have My Hearing

October 11, 2014 4:29 AM

Should I go to an upcoming show of one of my favorite musicians? I got Tinnitus from a rock show 2 weeks ago. Most of it has faded away, except for the smallest beep that I can't hear unless it's silent. I really want to see this artist, but I can't put in ear plugs without them falling out, and I was scared after getting tinnitus and don't want to damage my hearing. Help! YANMD, etc.

Two weeks ago I saw a legendary punk rock musician live, in the front row. It was amazing, and I'm so glad I got to go. But, I was right next to the speakers, and this musician was LOUD, even without speakers. My ears took a beating and for the next day, my hearing was muffled. After that day, my ears started ringing. It was kind of loud and I googled it to see it's probably tinnitus. I learned that it may be permanent, and I definitely learned my lesson, albeit the hard way.

I didn't know if there was anything I could do, so I figured the most I could do was protect my ears from further damage. I scheduled an appt with my doctor, which is next week.

Over the past 2 weeks, I've been gauging the state of my hearing by seeing how well I could hear the noise of the beeps from the copier and typewriter at my office (the copier has a touch screen that makes a loud beeping noise when you touch it, etc).

The day after my concert, I could barely hear the beeps, which are higher-pitched. Gradually, I've been able to hear more and more like I used to, with today being able to hear almost as loudly if not as loud as before, which was a relief. And, thankfully, the tinnitus is all gone except for the faintest sound when it is completely quiet.

I'm hoping that it will completely go away, but I understand it may be permanent. This was the first time that I ever experienced tinnitus, although I have been to many shows before, usually in the front and next to the speakers and used to wear headphones all the time, etc. I feel thankful that my hearing has been more or less restored and don't want to undo all of the healing my body has done. Would it be stupid for me to go to the show? I'm unsure because I really want to see that artist, but I can't even put ear plugs in without them edging and falling out 5 minutes later, just can't get it in my ear canal. So, with no ear protection, I'm afraid I may possibly make the hearing damage or tinnitus permanent.

What should I do? Have you experienced tinnitus? Did it ever go away? How did you get used to it? Any advice is welcome. And if there's anyone else out there like me who would always be in the front row with no ear protection, let this be a cautionary tale! Thanks in advance.

posted by anonymous to Health & Fitness (23 answers total)

I can't even put ear plugs in without them edging and falling out 5 minutes later

What you need is a pack of Mack's silicone ear plugs. There is no conceivable shape of your ear that would cause them to fall out.

I hope your hearing recovers. This is why I always wear ear protection when seeing loud music performed.
posted by Tanizaki at 4:52 AM on October 11, 2014 [5 favorites]

There also used to be wax earplugs that you'd be able to cut down to size if the issue is that your ear canals are too small. (Assuming that the difficulty is with the better-insulating modern foam ones that you pinch and then insert into your ears where they expand to fit.)
posted by XMLicious at 5:00 AM on October 11, 2014

Get a set of decent earplugs. I like the Etymotic ER20s http://www.etymotic.com/hp/er20.html. Practice putting them in at home a few times, don't wait until you're at the gig to try them for the first time.

Things may sound a bit muffled at first, but after a few songs you'll be hearing better than if you had nothing in.
posted by chrispy108 at 5:11 AM on October 11, 2014 [6 favorites]

Mod note: Note: Recommendations for special fitting ear plugs are fine, but for those just generally advising OP to use ear plugs, they said "I can't even put ear plugs in without them edging and falling out 5 minutes later, just can't get it in my ear canal."
posted by taz (staff) at 5:41 AM on October 11, 2014 [2 favorites]

Are you my dad? Kidding, but he has had really bad bouts of tinnitus and used to go to shows all the time in his younger days. Doctors didn't have much advice if I remember correctly.
When he would take my friends and I to concerts he would always stand near the sound board or sound booth while I was up in the front. He said it was the best place to hear everything, you can see reasonably well, but you won't get deafened or really even leave with ringing ears. YMMV depending on the venue.
posted by checkitnice at 6:01 AM on October 11, 2014

You could wear noise-canceling headphones over your ears. It would look a little unusual but you really really don't want to mess around with permanently damaging your hearing. If you're not going to significantly protect your ears, don't go.

Source: Standing next to a speaker for an entire Dinosaur Jr show.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 6:38 AM on October 11, 2014 [4 favorites]

The problem may be that you ears have smaller than average canals. I have this issue, and I have been able to wear the small size Hearos earplugs. I find the wax earplugs sort of distort the sound, while the Hearos make the sound softer but not distorted. Other options would be to look for pediatric earplugs, or the doctor may be able to provide you with custom-fitted ear plugs if you ask. Definitely you need some ear protection if you want to avoid damaging your ears any further.
posted by tuesdayschild at 6:41 AM on October 11, 2014 [1 favorite]

Are you sure that you're putting the earplugs in correctly? I wear earplugs every night to sleep, but when I first started wearing them I just shoved them in my ears and they always fell out. Actually, you need to roll them down really small in your fingers first and then hold your ear taut at an angle when you insert them, so that they can go really deep into your ear canal. They will then expand to fit your ear, and there is no way they are going to fall out. In fact it can be hard to remove mine sometimes. The instructions for how to insert them this way are on the pack.

I wear Mack's Slim Fit earplugs (I'm a woman with small ears and I find them most comfortable).
posted by RubyScarlet at 7:00 AM on October 11, 2014 [11 favorites]

Rubyscarlet is right, deep insertion is essential. Pulling up and back is usually the best angle to help with deeper insertion.

It may also be that your ear canals move a lot with jaw movement (that's normal). If that's the case, either custom plugs (which can be pricey, especially if you're getting musicians plugs) or headphones would be the way to go.
posted by ghost phoneme at 7:08 AM on October 11, 2014

Be aware that the damage that loud sounds do to your hearing is cumulative, which means that every time you expose yourself to loud noise you are doing damage, even if you don't get the muffling and tinnitus. Over time that can add up to significant damage.

Leaving aside earplugs, the only thing you can do is avoid exposure. If you choose not to avoid exposure, you can slightly lessen the damage by standing in places where the music is quietest. Most sources seem to say anything louder than 80-85dB causes damage. For reference, the sources I just looked at said 90dB would be a lawnmower or motorbike.

There are lots of different types of earplugs and it's worth actively continuing experimenting to see if you find something acceptable.

Don't forget that your hearing can't heal - the bits that cause noise-related hearing loss don't recover well at all. After that your only opinion is hearing aids, which can never restore normal hearing.
posted by kadia_a at 7:18 AM on October 11, 2014 [2 favorites]

There are big over-ear earmuffs, which would definitely look weird, but there are also ear plugs on a plastic bow, available in the hearing safety section of any hardware store. Would look weird, but also would look obviously like "yeah, I'm here to enjoy the show just need it quieter". The plastic bow hangs under your chin and keeps the plugs pressed into your ears just enough that the wilder head banging (or, you know, dodging falling hammers) doesn't dislodge them.
posted by straw at 7:21 AM on October 11, 2014

I'm surprised nobody has yet recommended you try ETY-Plugs, which are a different type of earplug specifically for loud concerts and clubs. Not only do they come with multiple sizes of tips (that go in deep and stay in) they're also engineered to let through any frequency so that music is just lower volume, not muffled. Regular earplugs are weird, while the ETY-Plugs are sort of just like wearing high-end in-ear headphones and turning down the volume. Give them a try.
posted by eschatfische at 7:21 AM on October 11, 2014 [3 favorites]

Hearing-protection earmuff.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:16 AM on October 11, 2014

Seconding the silicone ones. I have never been able to keep normal earplugs in my ears, but the silicone ones don't go in your ear canals, they just smoosh on over the top. Kind of incredible difference really--they stay put like woah, are crazy comfortable, and fit literally anyone.
posted by you're a kitty! at 8:36 AM on October 11, 2014

This sounds like it would be a good question for your doctor. Can you wait to decide until after your appointment?

You have already damaged your hearing, and very recently. I personally would not go to the show, which is very likely to damage your hearing more (especially since you're not comfortable with earplugs) even if only a little bit. But I would talk to a doctor about it.
posted by jaguar at 9:01 AM on October 11, 2014

Hell, no. See your doctor and get a hearing test and possibly a referral to a specialist. There will other shows. You've only got one set of ears.
posted by Scram at 9:01 AM on October 11, 2014

If you want to try the wax kind of ear plug, I use the kind from here: http://earplugsonline.com/. I've never done a comparison test of them at a concert though.
posted by Wulfhere at 10:34 AM on October 11, 2014

I'd skip the upcoming concert, so soon after the recent damage. And def. get earplugs that fit, and use them. I wear earplugs now when I vacuum, use the hair dryer, lawn work, anything that's loud basically. And ALWAYS in sporting events, stadiums or concerts.
posted by RichardHenryYarbo at 10:57 AM on October 11, 2014 [1 favorite]

Hello. I'm a doctorate student in audiology. I talk about this very issue all day everyday.

The tinnitus you experienced after the concert is called Temporary Threshold Shift, and is very common after noise exposure. It usually resolves after a few days - but sometimes it doesn't. Whether or not an incident of noise exposure causes permanent damage is highly variable and depends a lot on genetics, age, and other factors. There is evidence that noise-induced hearing loss can be the effect of cumulative damage, but we also know that single loud events can also cause permanent damage. There are some researchers in the field who have recently presented compelling evidence that all age-induced hearing loss, which we used to think was merely a factor of getting old, is actually simply due to lifetime accumulation of noise exposure. I won't get on too much of a soap box about it, but noise exposure is kind of a huge problem that people tend to ignore, so I'm happy that you are concerned.

The benchmark we usually use as a safe hearing level is 85 dB. You can listen to something at 85 dB all day long and be fine. How do you know if you're in an environment over 85 dB? Generally, if you have to raise your voice above your normal conversational level to be heard by someone an arm's length away from you, you're in a louder than 85 dB environment. You can also get an SPL meter app for your phone, some of which are actually pretty accurate. As the dB level increases, the time you can spend in that noise without risk of damage decreases. This is an accurate chart we often point people to.

What will happen when you start to get noise induced hearing loss is that you'll get 'notches' in your hearing, usually centered around frequencies at which you have been exposed to high intensities of (but not always). So your hearing threshold for, e.g., frequencies around 4000 Hz will be elevated beyond your hearing thresholds for other frequencies. I see it all the time, even in pretty young people.

So, earplugs. Earplugs are good, yes, BUT - even with good earplugs, you're only going to get about 20 dB of attenuation (with silicone or foam plugs. I love musician plugs like the Etymotics, but you'll only get around 12-15 dB attenuation with them). Custom musician plugs claim to get you up to 25 dB, but we tend to think it's actually a bit less than that. So if you're at a rock concert that's 115 dB, with ear plugs you'll get about 95 dB in your ears, which is still not a particularly safe level. It's much better for sure, but you're still at risk for damage. The bottom line is that sporting events, rock concerts and guns are bad for your hearing any way you cut it. If you're going to be around sounds over 105 dB, the best thing you can do is wear ear plugs AND ear muffs, which, yeah I know.

The proper way to use the common foam ear plug is Roll Pull Hold. Roll the foam plug between your fingers to squish it very small. Reach around your head and pull back and up on your pinna (ear), which will straighten out your ear canal. Insert the foam plug and hold it in your canal while it expands.

Now, I love live music, and I go to concerts on occasion. I wear ear plugs, I don't stand next to the speakers or too close to the stage. That's the choice I make and I know what the risks are.
posted by Lutoslawski at 11:28 AM on October 11, 2014 [26 favorites]

(also, if you find yourself in Iowa City, I am happy to give you a free hearing test (standing invitation to all MeFites). Just MeMail me).
posted by Lutoslawski at 12:16 PM on October 11, 2014 [5 favorites]

I have a bit of tinnitus for the same reasons you do. How do I deal with it? Ignore it mostly. I've learned to pretty much tune it out unless I'm in a very, very quiet environment. But yeah, it never really goes away anymore for me.

I know you mentioned you have trouble with ear plugs, but I'll add another vote that you give the Etymotics a try. They are built and fit completely differently than normal foam plugs, so they may work for you. And at a rock show, they actually don't sound half bad. Not so much of that 'under water' feeling that I get from regular foam plugs.
posted by spilon at 2:34 PM on October 11, 2014

I've worn ear plugs every night for the last twenty-five years. The bell shaped ones work better when you put them in "backwards".
posted by vapidave at 3:15 PM on October 11, 2014

Having spent the late 60's and early 70's listening to some of the loudest metal bands in the history of creation, I strongly advise that you wear ear protection.

The foam earplugs that you will find at your local pharmacy are a little tricky to insert. You need to roll them up tightly, insert them into your ear canal and then hold them in place for 45 seconds while they expand to fill the ear canal.

They are cheap, safe and effective...and you probably won't be pricing hearing aids in your vintage years.
posted by mygoditsbob at 6:50 PM on October 12, 2014