[Jasper994]

The problem stems from the fact that people are rude and noisy. The SPLs have continually been turned up over time at clubs and movies to drown out the obnoxious people in the crowd who insist on being rude and noisy. The problem compounds when the people who work in these venues start to lose their hearing and turn the volume up even higher...

 

[vranswer]

Yup. Never go to a movie without my trusty Moldex Rocket Earplugs. They're the purple ones you can buy online - think I got them at a gun shop. NRR of about 26 or so.

 

[cosmopragma]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shochu you're not the only one who feels that way about movie theaters. i don't go to movies that often anymore, i'd rather wait until the DVDs come out and watch them at home at my own comfortable volume.

Ditto.
I don't like to pay for being tortured by 100 dB.
I've asked the managers of two local cinemas several times to lower the damned volume.
They did, but the result was : The kids complained about the lacking sound impact.I guess most kids nowadays are already hearing impaired.
I've tried to use cheap yellow foamies, but they ruined the frequenzy balance.
Now I'm using freaking expensive ($ 95) custom molded earplugs with a near even frequenzy response.At -23 dB they are good for the cinema , but not always sufficient for rock concerts or clubbing.

 

[sxr71]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sniks7 I find the easiest way to sort out loud noise in clubs is to smoke a couple of cigarettes, nip off the filters which by now are soft on the inside and slightly wet on the outside. Stick them in your ears and hey-presto, no more loud noise. When people come up to you and ask "why have you stuck cigarettes in your ears dickbrain?" you can't hear them and so you don't get offended. You need to have a few drinks before you do this.

That's funny! I did that before and some girl came up and asked what was in my ear.

 

[CD44hi]

agree. It is insane! Temporary tinnitus the next morning, not fun. Earplugs are highly recommended.

Also, how about at the movies. At least in the DC area, they crank up the volume wayyyy to much. Actually I think it detracts from the enjoyment as it becomes unconfortably loud.

 

[Glod]

Custom moulded pieces are the way to go, IME, for the one who frequently is exposed to too high sound pressure levels. My partner has a pair and she’s very happy with them. All other plugs off the shelf were too uncomfortable.

Perhaps not commonly known, if riding a motorbike at motorway speeds the windblast noise around the helmet will create sound levels easily exceeding 90 dB. Recommended maximum exposure time is 30-10min. Levels above 110 dB are directly damaging your hearing.

Some manufacturers are offering inserts with "cleaver" filters which attenuate all frequencies heavily and the ones that are crucial for understanding a somebody who is talking to you to a lesser degree.

 

[Wmcmanus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rsaavedra Yes Wayne, some time ago I was in a club in Panama City FL and got very similar measurements. Here's the thread I created about it: Breeding Generations with Hearing Damage This problem is more common than most people probably realize, hence the title I gave to that thread.

Heh!!! At least in your case, the music was pretty decent. What I had to tolerate was what I call Jamaican "hooga booga jungle music" which is essentially DJ style but sung in the native patois dialect (or 'patwa' to some observers). The lyrics are totally indecipherable, even to somone like myself who is quite used to hearing it.

 

[Wmcmanus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenhorn Or wouldn't just sticking a pair of Etymotic or Shure triflanges in the ears have the same effect? Just the triflanges, without the phones.

No, the triflanges for ER-4S or P are completely hollow in the middle where they are fitted over the stems. I suppose they would work better than nothing at all, but the ER-20's are designed specifically to attenuate sound and for no other purpose.

 

[Oliver :)]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sxr71 I used to worry a lot about hearing protection when going to parties and clubs, but that problem was dealt with by not going as often as before. I've always wanted to get the the Etymotic earplugs for just that purpose, those things sticking out of your ears makes picking up girls just a tad harder!

Yeah, I really want those who won't appreciate you not being careless about your body. Bet they make good mothers one day.

In fact I experienced that using the transparent *blue* ER20 is a great way to get to know people since they all go "hey what's that?". I mainly use the clear ones now since they look less martian, but they still catch

Sad anecdote: Gave a demo of my current portable rig (iPod, Supermicro, HD25) to a friend on the subway the other day. I had him listen to Open Hand "Take No Action" which I had listend to before on a, to me, pretty insane level already. To my horror, he signaled me to up it - twice. He never uses hearing protection when we're at live events or clubs.

 

[MrJoshua]

My ER20's arrived in the post this morning.

I've been wearing them most of the day.

In the car with no stereo on, it now sounds like I'm riding in a Lexus instead of my car which has rock-solid coilover suspension that has made the dash start to creak and rattle a bit.

With the stereo on, I noticed that the bass from my sub still sounds pretty loud, but the mid and treble is much lower. However, when I remove the plugs, the sub is playing at the same perceved volume as the rest of the system. Weird

When talking to people in an otherwise fairly quiet environment, I had to ask them to repeat themselves a couple of times, but it wasn't too bad.

So, in the car, they are a boon because now I don't have to turn the stereo up to mask the annoying rattles... I can now hear the engine doing its thing and make believe I'm in a plush luxury vehicle LOL.

 

[AdamWill]

josh: not really weird, bass frequencies are the hardest to block out with any kind of passive isolation. The designers of the plugs will do what they can to compensate, but it's pretty hard to entirely fix.

 

[Atropos]

I have a question about the SPL Meter: what does it show in a completely silent room? mine shows about 35db. is this normal?

 

[Oliver :)]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Atropos I have a question about the SPL Meter: what does it show in a completely silent room? mine shows about 35db. is this normal?

Just because you can't hear it it doesn't mean that the meter can't measure it

 

[Oliver :)]

So I went out clubbing yesterday, and I was *oh so thankful* for my ER20. The bass-push in that place moved my pants. Literally, I was sitting there and felt them move. Saw nobody with protection. I think I should change professions, this is going to be a goldmine.

 

[cosmopragma]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oliver Saw nobody with protection. I think I should change professions

What profession?
Sign-language teacher?
Audiologist?
Hearing aid technician?