Some time ago I did one of those Public Service Announcements about wearing earplugs if you go to a lot of loud events like concerts and sporting things which was posted HERE. A couple of months ago I was investigating some options for our media enterprise and resultant of said perusing received a pair of Etymotic Research’s High Fidelity earplugs for my use. I’ve penned a few thoughts about them below the image. These are the actual earplugs I have been using but don’t you worry they are clean. I promise.
For many months I had been using the Flents earplugs that were discussed in that other narrative but these Etymotic ones are of a different caliber and of course a higher price as well. As opposed to being soft foamy types, these are ribbed sectors on a harder piece of plastic and there is even a small grip to the end which allows for easier placement and removal. There is a cord included with the pair but I had to remove this since it got all tangled up in my camera strap and caused them to be pulled out right at a critical point in a recent Megadeth concert. Trust me my friends that is NOT the place you suddenly want to have your eardrums exposed. Like most Metal shows they are pumping at a solid 120db and I know this for a fact since I’ve been using a handy little app on my Galaxy Note 4. You readers should download that as well to see what you are exposing yourself too. So back to the earplugs – They are on the comfortable side which is important to me and while they are protecting me from the larger audio sonics I didn’t feel as though the show itself was being compromised which is also rather important since I am attending these shows for the sake of music reporting.
They come in a small plastic case that easily fits into your pocket or gig paraphenalia and though I haven’t tried to do it with these yet, I do plan on wearing them while playing some drums if I can get behind the kit anytime soon. I have worn them to some local bars where bands I knew were playing and thinking that they were onstage in MSG as opposed to a small pub so they were very beneficial. One thing I should mention is be careful when talking to people and wearing earplugs because you will talk louder and likely hurt their ears. Try to save all lengthy discourse to band breaks or outside in the merchandise area for good measure. I liked these and since they are washable will be using them on a regular basis. I’ve even worn then on the train at times which is very valuable when “It’s Showtime Folks”. Trust me on that last one. They are better than the Flents as far as a longer term protection solution if you needed to make a comparison but they do run almost $20 a pair so that might ward people off as opposed to a lesser priced item.
I can safely recommend these to you and provided you don’t need to juggle as much crap as I do during a show perhaps the cord will not cause you too much disruption (I cannot even begin to untie the knots that my cord is in I am afraid….). Luckily, so far I haven’t lost either bud but all its going to take is an over zealous crowd surfer to come crashing onto us in the photo pit to change that. Keep your fingers crossed for me. Protect your ears my friends, there’s much to hear and enjoy out there.
Official Website: https://www.etymotic.com/
I’ve been using their ETY plugs for years an have really loved them. I never feel like I’m sacrificing too much of the high-end like with foam plugs. Too be honest, I usually leave them in a set break because I find I can hear people better since they cut out a lot of the background noise that makes it hard for me to hear people in bars even without music!
I’m definitely thinking about upgrading to these in the future.
Ah yes, Etymotic earplugs! Been using them for years, thou mine is a cheaper ETY version. Definitely worth it, foam earplugs suck. I actually can do without most of the time, but in some extreme cases (such as St Vitus shows) earplugs is a must.