I am just about to buy some in-ear protectors for when i DJ.
I want some that fit comfortably, are very small, and will keep the volume down so i can feel more comfortable.
I may sound old saying this but i hate mixing when the booth is really loud, and i think using in-ear protectors are a great way to combat this, as well as looking after your hearing in the long run.
There are custom fitted ones out there, i’m interested in those types too, i really need to do more research into them to be honest.
anyone else out there know any more info on ear protectors?
search for elacin here on the forums and on the web.. i bought some last year with -15db protection (there are also -9 and -25db) and dont want to miss them one single time i’m spinning.. quite expensive for around 180€ but a hearing aid later would cost a multiple..
Thanks Weltraumpapst, i’ll give that a look. There seems to be quite a lot on the market, i don;t mind paying for good ones, as you say its a very good investment.
I’m kind of torn between the ER-15/25’s Or Pro guard music/Pro Musician ones…
Both are custom fit, which i would prefer to be honest, the only bad thing i see about the pro guard ones are that they’re not made of silicone, they’re made of hard acrylic.
You’ll want the soft silicone ones. They’re more comfortable; especially if you also want to use them for parties and such in which case you’ll have them in your ears for a couple of hours.
Custom made ear protection comes in different brands, but in the end they are the same thing basically. The only thing you’ll want to keep in mind is getting ear protection with flat response (ER) filters. I use ER-25 (-25 dB) filters and they are lifesavers.
Thanks Dennis, yes, the silicone thing does sound a lot more appealing, and i will be using them whilst DJ’ing so i’ll be wearing them most of the night to be honest, not just when i’m playing.
Do they ER-25’s reduce the volume too much? That was my only thought with them compared to the 15’s. I thought maybe the er-25’s would be too much of a reduction in volume?
you can only try it yourself.. when i got my er-15 i told them i want to test them in the usual club environment and change them to 25 if neccessary… never went back
It depends a bit on the monitors in the club. But with or without hearing protection, you still have to make do with the same monitors.
Let’s take the following example. It’s not unlikely that the volume in a club is around 110 dB. ER-15 filters take this volume down to 95 dB. ER-25 filters take the volume down to 85 dB. Keep in mind that a normal conversation is around 60 dB and that the sound pressure doubles with every increase of 3 dB.
Hearing loss depends on the volume of the sound and the time you are exposed to that volume. If you expose yourself to 90 dB for eight hours straight causes damage and listening to 140 dB causes instant damage.
Summing it up: if you can have a normal conversation (60 dB) in a normal environment, 85 dB of music should be more than sufficient in a club. Increasing th volume of your music to hear it better only works to a certain degree before your ears get fatigued and have a hard time analyzing the music.
Also; most audiologists let you swap out the filters for free the first half year. So I would say, try the ER-25’s and if you REALLY think they reduce the volume too much, buy a second pair of filters (ER-15) and use those for spinning. When your done, swap the ER-25 ones back. A second set of filters costs 45 Euro over here, so it’s not super expensive.
