Hearing Protection: Music, Theater, and Performing Arts

When people think of ‘noise exposure,’ they often think about things that are loud and unpleasant, like engines, traffic, lawn mowers, or power tools. But noise exposure is not only limited to those types of sounds. Even some sounds which many people find pleasant, like music, can be loud enough to cause damage to your hearing.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the sound produced by a symphony can exceed 100 decibels. That’s loud enough to damage hearing. According to the CDC, prolonged exposure to sounds greater than 70 decibels has the potential to damage hearing. Concerts, plays, and other live shows are entertaining, but it’s important to protect your ears if you plan to regularly attend these events, especially if you have hearing loss. Individuals with hearing loss should take extra caution to protect their existing hearing when attending musical performances or plays.

How can I protect my hearing at live shows?

Does this mean you should wear earplugs every time you go to a concert? No! Many types of hearing protection, like the earplugs and earmuffs used to protect your ears on the firing range, block out all sound. However, there are specialty types of hearing protection that protect your ears from loud sound, while still allowing you to appreciate music or understand speech. The best hearing protection for musicians, or for those who enjoy listening to live music regularly, are called musician’s plugs. This type of hearing protection is great for musicians, but can be worn by anyone who wants to protect their ears while still enjoying the sound of music or speech.

How are musician’s plugs different than regular earplugs?

Conventional foam earplugs are great for reducing noise. However, they make things sound muffled. This is because foam earplugs are better at reducing high-pitched sounds. This makes speech and music sound difficult to appreciate. Musician’s plugs are specially made for listening to music. They are created to mimic how the ear naturally hears sound, so instead of distorting the high frequencies making everything muffled, they reduce the volume of all frequencies more equally. This means that sounds are quieter, but still audible.

Musician’s plugs aren’t just for music: they can also be used at live performances like plays, because they reduce the volume but keep speech sounding clear. However, musician’s plugs are not suitable for protecting your hearing from sounds like gunshots, motorcycles, or power tools.

Custom Musician’s Earplugs

Custom musician’s earplugs are the best way to protect your hearing while still allowing you to enjoy the natural sound quality of music and speech. Custom plugs must be custom-made for your ears. Each person’s ears are shaped differently, and as a result, the way that sound resonates within our ear canals is different. Custom musician’s plugs are made to mimic the shape of your ear so that music and speech sound normal to you. These plugs will only fit inside your ears, and cannot be used by anyone else.

To make a set of custom musician’s earplugs that are unique to your ears, your audiologist will take impressions of your ears. Taking ear impressions is a fast and safe procedure that can be completed on children and adults.

To take an ear impression, your audiologist will first use an otoscope to look in your ears and ensure your ear canals are clear of earwax. Then your audiologist will use a lighted tip (it may look like a pen or a small flashlight) to place a small piece of foam inside your ear canal. This foam protects your eardrum. After the foam is in place, our audiologist will squeeze a silicone mixture into your ears. This material is wet and soft at first, like toothpaste, but after about two minutes, it will harden until it is the consistency of soft plastic. Once the silicone material hardens, your audiologist will remove the impressions from your ears.

Once your audiologist has the impressions of your ears, they will be sent to the manufacturer. Once they are ready, we will bring you your new earplugs. Your audiologist will examine the custom plugs and make sure they fit appropriately in your ears. You can learn more and purchase custom musician’s earplugs directly from ASH Audiology’s website shop too.

Non-Custom Musician’s Earplugs

If you are interested in a less expensive option for hearing protection, you can purchase generic musician’s earplugs. Non-custom musician’s plugs are not as effective as custom plugs because they cannot mimic the resonance of your ear canals, however they are a great option if you are looking for something more affordable. You can buy non-custom musician’s plugs online on Amazon, or contact ASH Audiology if you are interested in learning more.