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Health & Safety
Executive (HSE) links: |
Earplugs (or some other means of protection) are vital for all Sambistas, especially those involved in performances or rehearsals indoors. However, despite the long-term and irreversible damage that can be caused to our hearing, some of us might not wear protection of any kind, believing that hearing is in some way impaired.
This article provides a brief description of Tinnitus, a precis of different types of ear protection, list of manufacturers and suppliers, and comments emailed by members of the Britain and Ireland Sambistas List - contributors are credited at the bottom.
What is tinnitus?
Tinnitus is the name given to the condition of noises 'in the ears' and/or 'in
the head' with no external source. Tinnitus noises are described variously as
ringing, whistling, buzzing and humming.
The word tinnitus describes the sensation of hearing a noise in the absence
of any external sound. This noise may be heard in one ear, both ears or in the
middle of the head or it may be difficult to pinpoint its exact location. The
noise may be low, medium or high-pitched. There may be a single noise or two
or more components. The noise may be continuous or it may come and go.
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What causes tinnitus?
Tinnitus is not a disease or an illness, it is a symptom generated within a
person's own auditory pathways. Although it is often assumed that tinnitus occurs
as a result of disease of the ears, this is often not the cause. The precise
cause of tinnitus is still not fully understood.
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Who gets tinnitus?
Experiences of tinnitus are very common in all age groups, especially following
exposure to loud noise, however, it is unusual for it to be a major problem.
There is a widely held misconception that tinnitus is confined to the elderly,
but various studies have shown that it can occur at any age, even quite young
children. Mild tinnitus is common - about 10 per cent of the population have
it all the time and, in up to one per cent of adults, this may affect the quality
of their life.
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British Tinnitus Association
Over-exposure to Loud Noises:
Repeated exposure to loud noises such as guns, artillery, aircraft, lawn mowers,
movie theatres, amplified music, heavy construction, etc can cause permanent
hearing damage. Some people report auditory fatigue from driving automobiles
long distances with the windows down. Anybody regularly exposed to these conditions
should consider wearing earplugs or other hearing protection.
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Wearing earplugs protects your ears from new damage as
well as allowing them to rest without external stimuli. Noise attenuation may
vary by frequency, so if you're a musician you may want to shop around for ear
protection with fairly flat frequency response. Hearing protection devices are
assigned Noise Reduction Ratings (NRRs) by their manufacturers under laboratory
conditions and may not reflect Real World performance. Most plugs average around
20dB of noise reduction. Maximal noise reduction (about 50dB NRR) can be achieved
by wearing canal plugs in combination with muffs, but *some* noise will still
be perceived via bone conduction of the skull in extremely loud situations.
The following classes of hearing protection devices are available:
Mouldable ear canal plugs
Mouldable earplugs come in foam, silicone, and wax and fit into the ear canal itself. Because they are mouldable, a tight fit is always obtained. These are the best hearing protection devices available today, with NRRs ranging from 15-33dB. Cheap, available in drugstores, and reusable.
Custom ear plugs
These plugs are made from impressions taken of the customer's ear canal. NRRs range from 27-29dB, with the cost typically US$30-70. You generally order these through a hearing specialist who will take the impressions.
Filtered musician's ear plugs
A variation on custom plugs that offer even sound attenuation across a broad spectrum of frequencies. NRRs range from 15-20dB, and cost ranges from US$50-150
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Alpine
- Dutch brand
“Most of our group use Alpine which are designed for musicians. We have
ordered them direct or got them from Soar
Valley Music. They cost about Euro 25.00 per pair but they come with a cute
little zip case and cleaning fluid and changeable filters and stuff!”
ACS
Ltd (Elcea),
129 Southdown Road,
Harpenden,
Hertfordshire,
AL5 1PU
Tel: 01582 767 007
Email
"In the UK one of the most popular plugs is the ER15, named because
it cuts out 15 decibels of sound."
A review from The
Chaucer Hospital Hearing Care Centre.
The same plug can be fitted with a 25 decibel filter, to
provide higher protection. The ER15 retails for around £150.
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Brookes - suppilers of EAR Ultrafit, and many other related products
Greenham
- suppliers of EAR and Bilsom products
tel: 0208-560-1244
Lucy
Dell Earplugs - Stocking 40 types of ear plug in various pack sizes.
*
*
UKSA members receive 10% discount on normal
prices but not on special
offers **
Stratfords
Ltd. - suppliers of EAR Ultrafit and many other related products
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Lucy Dell Earplugs - The Lucy Dell Guide to Ear Plugs
Music
Teachers - Noise regulations explained.
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“Earplugs are designed not just to reduce volume but also for dealing with different frequencies and frankly I am not over enthusiastic about those used in industry such as the commonly available yellow foam E.A.R. ones being used for music noise. Industrial noise and music noise are at different ends of the frequency spectrum ….”
“E.A.R. and Bilsom are the two big names in industrial
ear defending and it may well be that they will offer free advice if someone
wishes to contact them - I remember asking for assistance from the latter some
years ago and I received an avalanche of material. Because of their experience
and the wide variety of noise that one finds in modern industry it may well
be that these days they do have some plugs that are suitable for our use …”
Ray Shakeshaft (Someone At The Door)
“I've imported ear plugs in bulk from the US. Yellow orange soft foam (no cords or anything). They would cost about 30p per pair plus costs of post and packing. We got these at LSS so that newcomers to our workshops (open access) would find it easy to buy on their first visit (rather than find out the hard way).”
“Yes, the earplugs I had in mind are cheap (yellow,
soft, one round end one square) and better than nothing, but other protection
may be worth getting in the long term. They have a noise reduction rating of
29db which is not very high (and they do cut out much of what you really would
like to hear for musical reasons). I don't find the foam ones comfortable in
the long term …. (e.g. playing 3 times per week)”
Steve Sarre (G.R.E.S. Unidos de Londres)
“Some of us have also experimented with ear plugs
from gunshops but I personally found these uncomfortable and that they cut out
too much sound.”
Dick Richards
“Gun plugs let you hear the bateria more clearly,
but are more expensive and I don't find them comfortable in the long term.”
Steve Sarre (G.R.E.S. Unidos de Londres)
“Most pharmacies sell wax ones that can be moulded
to fit but these obviously have a limited life.”
Dick Richards
“I appreciate that ear plugs specifically for music
are not cheap (mine were £10 - available from any decent drum/music shop)
but they will do the job. They should also be 'fitted', though it is a pretty
Heath Robinson procedure of someone looking at your ear through a piece of transparent
film …it does rule out the bulk buying idea unless you can persuade the
dealer to come to a practice on the basis that he will do good business.”
Ray Shakeshaft (Someone At The Door)
“I also have a pair of Doc's ProPlugs, which are
much more expensive (£10-15), but as they are vented they don't attenuate
as much as the E.A.R. plugs, so you can still hear normal speech. They need
to be sized to your ears, so it is best to buy them from a shop - I got mine
from a specialist drum shop.”
Alan Burlison
Personally, I am hoping to get some Elcea ER25 for £150,
real soon. Apparently these are custom moulded for your own ear and are brilliant.
You have to make sure your ears (inside) are free of wax before you go for a
fitting!
Steve Sarre (G.R.E.S. Unidos de Londres)
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Thanks go to:
Alexandre Nouvel (France) - Alan Burlison (‘Ruidogrande’, Derbyshire)
- Andy Bilham ('White Noise', Cornwall) - Dick Richards/Wendy Dison ('Skibbamba',
Ireland) - Ray Shakeshaft ('Someone At The Door') - Stephen Dunn - Steve Sarre
('G.R.E.S. Unidos de Londres')
