[DrBenway]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grokit /img/forum/go_quote.gif It was just the way you blew up the font, in all caps, in bold italics, on a line by itself, that seemed to point out that you missed that "one final thought, EARPLUGS!"

Yeah, I have to admit that was a little (or maybe a lot) over the top. In the early days of the Web people who styled text like that were often deservedly made fun of.

It's just that it was a revelation to me when I realized that ear protection is cheap and widely available. Plugs have made my time spent in loud environments much more tolerable, and I was really just trying to urge people to consider using them. I don't think the average person realizes what a beating our ears take in everyday loud situations. I wish I had figured it out before my tinnitus became audible. The good news is that it seems to have stabilized (not gotten any louder) since I started being more careful.

Quote:

Originally Posted by grokit /img/forum/go_quote.gif But that's a good point about patrons bringing their own, and the fact that bar management aren't the only ones that have access to drug stores and can pick up a pair, lol.

Mine live in my shoulder bag. I've actually gone down the block from noisy venues to get an additional pair when I've forgotten to bring them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by grokit /img/forum/go_quote.gif But you gave me an idea, Doc. Now I know what to do with those clear silicone custom Etyomic tips that I'm not really using these days; maybe it's time to get back into the swing of things downtown, so thanks

Not a bad idea. Do the custom tips give the same level of protection without the rest of the phones attached? If so, it would seem a natural to use them as plugs, since they are custom-made for your ears. Never have had custom jobs, myself. Best isolation I ever owned came from a pair of Ety ER6s, which did quite a good job right out of the box. I'd love to have a pair of ER4b's with custom molds, though.

 

[catscratch]

This sort of thing is the norm these days, and few seem to care how far into hearing damage volume levels everyone cranks their lousy sound system. It would be the reason why I don't go to bars, but the trick is finding the right bars. There are still places that are mindful enough of atmosphere and haven't been hopelessly overrun by the college frat party crowd, you just need to find them. Generally they have higher-quality booze, too.

Still, the case for earplugs being an important lifestyle accessory rather than just a situational necessity is getting more and more convincing.

 

[n3rdling]

Funny this thread came up as I was at a local bar two nights ago and was thinking the same things. The sound was extremely loud and to make things worse the system was very bright so everything sounded so piercing. It was slightly painful at times. The worst part is that they actually played pretty good music compared to most other bars. This was all while I was sober, though. The more alcohol I got in my system, the less I noticed the super loud music and the less I minded shouting constantly to have a conversation with the person sitting two feet away from me.

 

[DrBenway]

Quote:

Originally Posted by catscratch /img/forum/go_quote.gif This sort of thing is the norm these days, and few seem to care how far into hearing damage volume levels everyone cranks their lousy sound system. It would be the reason why I don't go to bars, but the trick is finding the right bars. There are still places that are mindful enough of atmosphere and haven't been hopelessly overrun by the college frat party crowd, you just need to find them. Generally they have higher-quality booze, too. Still, the case for earplugs being an important lifestyle accessory rather than just a situational necessity is getting more and more convincing.

I think litigation related to hearing loss is going to be a huge growth area for lawyers within the next few years. I have to hand it to Apple; they have found a way to shield themselves (theoretically) from liability by offering a volume limiting feature on the iPod. I'm certain there was some altruism involved in that decision, but I have to admit that it was also a canny move on their part. When my friend was getting his 12-year-old her first MP3 player, he asked my advice on what to get her. As much as I think that there are better, cheaper alternatives, my advice was simple: get her an iPod. Fortunately for her, he immediately saw the benefit of limiting the potential damage to her ears by setting a max level for the device.

I also think that bars and clubs will wake up when the you-know-what starts to hit the fan. After a few high-profile settlements against bars/clubs/etc, you will probably start to see dB meters showing up in sound systems, with automatic, preset limits on how loud the music can get.

This should be interesting.

 

[sachu]

Man you won't believe this bar i was at a coupleof weeks ago in my hometown of Bangalore. India Premier League cricket matches are being highly publicised and are a huge draw for the young crowd. I was out looking for a sports bar to watch the first Formula1 race of theseason. waslked into this place called "eXtreme Sports Bar" in a very very happy part of town. cover charge was like 10$ (converted) which got you a pitcher of the lager.

The place was absolutely jam packed with 20 somethings and was shrill as a mad house. Cricket was being shown on the big projector screen while F1 was to be aired on the smaller 40 inch screens.

For some reason the establishment thought it was a great idea to give out whistle blowers to their patrons.Boy was that a mistake, there wasn't a moment of rest where you couldn't hear that damn whistle. If people can't put their lips together and blow, then they shouldn't be allowed to blow through a whistle blower. Me and my brother quickly downed 2 pitchers saw the starting 20 mins of the race and walked out. I felt the care i had taken with my hearing was all shot to hell from the brief 30 minutes in hell.
We rushed over to my brother's friend's place which had opened only a week ago greeted to a much welcome deserted sight and we had the place to ourselves and watched the race sipping on some Caucasians contentedly.