Monitors and Earplugs For Musicians
Musicians come with a unique set of hearing protection needs. While performing their craft, they need to hear the other musicians and themselves clearly, but still protect their precious hearing.
While earplugs bought off of the shelf provide decent hearing protection, they do not evenly attenuate to provide the needed frequency response. Earplugs bought from a conventional store usually attenuate highs more than lows, which doesn’t provide a musician with a sound that sounds good to them.
Specialized protection is usually the way to go for musicians. This means getting protection that emphasizes low-to-mid frequencies and provides protection over all frequencies. One factor in how a musician’s plugs attenuate is the kind of instrument they play and where they are located to other musicians.
Musician’s Earplugs
Earplugs for musicians are available in custom or non-custom options. The level of sound with over-the-counter earplugs for musicians can be reduced by around 20 dB. This reduces damaging sound without messing with speech or music.
Made to create a seal in the bony part of the ear canal, earplugs that are custom-made have a deep fit. This helps to reduce occlusion, which is the hollow sound in a musician’s voice that they experience with earplugs that are of a lower quality. Musicians prefer the deep fit style of earmolds because they provide good sound quality while they are performing.
Musician’s Earplugs Give Protection For:
- Musicians
- Music teachers
- Recording engineers
- Sound crews
- DJs
- Concert-goers
- NFL football players
- Athletic coaches
- Referees
- Medical professionals
- Construction workers
- Motorcyclists
- Truck drivers
- Industrial workers
In-Ear Musician Monitors (IEMs)
Set as the musician technology standard, in-ear musician monitors are for those musicians who perform in larger venues. They protect the ears of the musician from very noisy amplification systems and noise from the audience, while allowing the musician to hear their music as the audience hears it.
A personal fit is best for IEMs to work their best. Although, a musician still has the option of purchasing universal IEMs. These usually come with either silicone tips or interchangeable foam tips that provide a fit that is semi-custom.
Custom Fit
Both IEMs and earmolds can be custom made to be formed to the unique shape of a person’s ear. This is done by the specialist making an impression of the ear.
The impression of the ear that is taken to create the earmold or monitor is a very integral part of the custom fit process. Comfort, sound quality and sound isolation are directly impacted by the impression material’s quality and the technique used. Because these are so important, it is crucial for you to hire a professional who is knowledgeable and experienced in creating impressions for these types of earplugs.
Talk with a hearing professional about their experience in fitting patients with high-quality hearing protection, such as musician’s IEMs and earplugs.
