Earplugs for concerts?

[U2girl91289]

I'm going to a punk rock kind of concert in a few days and I know that it will be ridiculously loud, probably much more so than a U2 concert. My ears rang until the Wednesday after the Philly 1 concert and I do not want the same thing to happen this time. The bands I'm seeing are good, but not worth losing my hearing. Is there anything that I can put in my ears for the concert that won't look too dorky but will protect them and are cheap and easy to get? I need to know like now lol. Thanks!

 

[indra]

I'm going to a punk rock kind of concert in a few days and I know that it will be ridiculously loud, probably much more so than a U2 concert. My ears rang until the Wednesday after the Philly 1 concert and I do not want the same thing to happen this time. The bands I'm seeing are good, but not worth losing my hearing. Is there anything that I can put in my ears for the concert that won't look too dorky but will protect them and are cheap and easy to get? I need to know like now lol. Thanks!

You can get simple, cheap earplugs at most drugstores. Not sure about the dorky part though....

And a cute (or scary, depending on how you look at it) earplug story.... A girl I know from Mexico came to Atlanta to see a concert and while waiting for the show to begin struck up a conversation with a couple of guys. One of them gave her earplugs when she mentioned she didn't have any. That girl and the guy who gave her the earplugs are now getting married.

 

[Sparkysgrrrl]

Never go to a concert without ear plugs, hearing is cool.

Like Indra said, just go to a drug store, or grocery store. Should be in the aisle with ear cleaning stuff. I suggest the cylinder foamy kind, not the wax ones. If you start to sweat the wax ones can be problematic, the foam ones stay put.
They should only be a few bucks for a pack, or buy the big box with like 20 pairs for a few more dollars to keep on hand in the future.

I become a bit parental about peoples hearing.

 

[I'm Ready]

i play the drums so i always use earplugs

i reccomend going to a walgreens and buying the foam kind(reusable) they are not that noticable and you can hear great with them on

 

[Eliv8]

WHAT?

 

[u2popmofo]

i reccomend going to a walgreens and buying the foam kind(reusable) they are not that noticable and you can hear great with them on

I agree with using the simple foam kind. They're generally extremely cheap (you can buy them bulk at most any sporting good store in the guns section if you cant find them any of the other places people have mentioned), and they usually work quite well. I have just recently started using them, and I've really been happy with them. Saves your ears, and also allows you to hear a lot of the stuff that would have been overpowered before. I think they're worth the money and time.

 

[HeartlandGirl]

I carry earplugs in my purse just for the purpose of going to concerts. On the occasions where I haven't had them with me, I stuff a bunch of toilet paper into my ears. It hurts my ears to go to concerts without them. And all the ideas in this thread of where to get them are spot on. Mine are also the foam kind. I have long hair, so I doubt most people can even tell I use them. And who cares if they could? I'm looking forward to being able to hear concerts for a long time to come.

 

[Se7en]

earplugs

whether or not they are dorky, they are a must have to go to a show with. i bought a pair of rubber ones at guitar center back when i played in a band in college and they've served me well. anything will due and your ears will thank you for it.

 

[DaveC]

You thought Philly 1 was loud??

 

[U2girl91289]

You thought Philly 1 was loud??

I had never been to a concert before, and I have really good, sensitive hearing anyway. It's ridiculous. I listen to my ancient walkman on volume 1 and I think it's too loud. But thanks for the help everyone. Now I feel stupid for not wearing earplugs.

 

[indra]

Now I feel stupid for not wearing earplugs.

Don't. Feel smart for figuring out you need them before you start losing your hearing.

 

[impy13]

But can you still hear the music okay?

 

[Val]

Too funny!

WHAT?

When I saw u2 at MSG in 2001, I couldn't hear anything for almost ten minutes. I mean nothing. It was kind of scary. I swear I have hearing damage from that concert. I do believe it where you sit has something to do with it
Now, I can't hear a lot of what people say.
Use protection!!!!!!!

 

[Se7en]

But can you still hear the music okay?

if you mean in general while wearing plugs, yes you can hear the music fine. it might take a little bit getting used to but in some cases you can actually hear the music better. i recall i once saw our lady peace in a bar in rochester and i took my earplugs out to adjust them halfway through the show - there were so many dbs pumping out of that sound system that i practically couldn't discern between anything i was hearing without my earplugs. i don't know how those people made it out without bloody ear drums.

 

[lmjhitman]

i recall i once saw our lady peace in a bar in rochester

really???

i had no idea that people outside of canada had even HEARD of our lady peace.

interesting.

 

[Se7en]

really???

i had no idea that people outside of canada had even HEARD of our lady peace.

interesting.

it's true. definitely not a huge following or anything but they are moderately known here in the states. i like them but gravity was only so-so.

 

[u2popmofo]

in some cases you can actually hear the music better

I too have experienced this.

 

[Angela Harlem]

You'd possibly be surprised of how much of the music you can feel, either through your feet or just around you as well. I dont think ear plugs are supposed to diminish the sound in any great capapcity, but they mute or dull the excess and reverberation which is what you want.

 

[greenlight7-11]

I use these:
http://www.hearos.com/products-00309.htm

 

[Dutch Partygirl]

After working in the music industry for a couple of years my hearing has suffered from it. I now use earplugs (the professional, custom made ones) all the time, because I still want to be able to hear something when I'm 50. I don't care about the coolness or non-coolness of them. My hearing is more important than that.

 

[00Kevin]

For my u2 show i got earplugs at walgreens for a couple bucks, and since my hair was just long enough to cover my ears, i didn't have to worry about the dorkiness!

 

[bread n' whine]

What are the loudest shows you guys have ever been to?

I was really taken aback by my first show because first of all, it was a singer songwriter type and I hadnt expected it to be very loud. Now that show still wasnt very loud, but it alerted me to the difference in how a live rock show works, and why live mp3s often sound shit. The live experience is about the reverberation-- and often in a bad live recording that is about all you hear. But hearing it isnt the point. The way music is produced now, you just dont feel a rhythm, but you FEEL it live, literally. All music, if it has a bass, becomes primal and pulses through you. Thats why even mediocre music can be a powerful experience. That was the first time I really realized what rock n roll was about and why it had caught on in the first place. It wasnt about hooks or tunes, not at all. I can't take it too often. I'm more of a subtle person when it comes to appreciating music, I guess I like the sort of pretend classical music that rock n' roll has evolved into, an album art, a production art, something to listen to many times and absorb the finest details even from the loudest songs. You get banged over the head live. It's fucking awesome, but it could never been an every day or every week thing for me. So I dont go to many concerts, but I should probably start with the earplugs.

Anyway, the most recent earsplitting band I saw was the 22-20s, with Graham Coxon. He was fucking loud too. This is probably nothing in the grand scheme of things cause there have to be punk and metal and noise bands that intentionally go so loud they literally make the ears bleed, but I was pretty stunned/dazed/temporarily deaf when I walked out of there.

 

[Dutch Partygirl]

Motorhead. By far!

 

[bread n' whine]

You guys should see the 22-20s if you get a chance. It's kinda standard blues rocky derivative stuff so I'm not sure how well it would work on disc-- havent even heard the albums. But they are incredible live.

 

[~LadyLemon~]

I swear, every time I go to a concert, I forget to bring them. Always. And being an extremely light sleeper, I have them around at home. I just always forget to bring them and since I've been to soooo many shows, I'll probably be deaf by them time I'm 40. I need to remember these damned things.