I know theres a discorse regarding the best earplugs every once in a while but i find my problem with earplugs to be very specific - i can not stand the fact that when i sing along/cheer/scream etc i hear myself so clearly, clearer than the act, all while not hearing the rest of the crowd singing along (which makes it feel like im just singing on my own to myself lol).. it makes it so hard to fully enjoy the show
Ive been using eargasm earplugs for years and while the sound quality is amazing (as long as im not singing along), i find myself only wearing them during support acts or bands im not super familiar with on festivals, because i just cant enjoy the full concert experience when i hear myself in stereo.. I also noticed its worse in closed venues (compared to open aired ones).
Do you have any recommendations for earplugs that don't do that? đ do they even exist?
(Edit: i promise i am not being overly loud during concerts, please save the rude comments. my point was that the earplugs are making me hear myself clearer than the act even while whispering, and i can even hear myself breathing. if you have no alternative to suggest, you can just stay out of the conversation, just please dont assume things)
(Edit 2: I have no idea why y'all chose to be so brutally rude to me for no reason. All i did was ask for earplugs suggestions since i struggle with mine, yet your reactions make it seem like i am nothing less than a ruthless criminal. I have no reason to lie, i just wanted some help, and tried explaining myself when others jumped to baseless conclusions about me or mocked me just because. please, leave me alone, and be a little kinder to people.)
When you hear your own voice not from a recording you are only partially listening to the sounds come out your mouth and back into your ears. Mostly what you are hearing your skull resonating. Thatâs why your recorded voice sounds drastically different that your live voice. When you got earplugs in you are cutting out the external transmission of your mouth to ears and all you hear is your noggin. You got to change your head.
I know how hearing works physiologically, I was just wondering if there are earplugs that minimize that effect because its insufferable for me.
Unfortunately no - that noise is transferring through the bone structure of your skull. No earphones can cancel that out.
(Edit: I see folk elsewhere mentioning earphones with active noise cancelling so those might do some magic)
Thats what i thought :( i was still hoping that maybe something works better.. thank you though!
If you're screaming so loud during the music that you can't hear it, it's insufferable for your neighbors toođ.
Would you mind not screaming over the music constantly? Is that too important to your experience?
i forgot that people on reddit lack reading comprehension.. i do not scream over the music, and i barely even scream during shows, i mostly sing along - its the EARPLUGS that make me hear myself louder than i actually am (even if i literally whisper ill hear myself louder than the music with them), im not actually louder. If yall do not have anything to say to contribute to the conversation you dont have to comment.
Sticking something in your ear does make you hear your own voice louder. You may notice singers stick a finger in one ear so they can hear themselves better, hear their own note. Something to do with bone conduction.
So get some shooting range type over the ear protective headphones. Not ones that go in the ear.
I'm just kind of reluctant to share this advice in case I end up standing in front of you. Because if you can hear yourself over the music, so can the person in front of you.
listen, i promise that no one can hear me over the music. i literally whisper and hear myself loud and clear when im with the earplugs, i can literally hear myself BREATHING, and when i take off the earplugs (which i always end up doing for the main acts since i do not enjoy hearing myself breathe when i want to hear the music), i can no longer hear myself even if its the exact same volume. i dont get why youre so stubborn about it lol I cant even hear myself in my videos when my phone is literally next to my mouth.
You want Isolation headphones then, the kind that go over the ears. They should promise a certain reduction of decibels. I use KAT Percussion headphones that cut 26 db.
One person suggested you might be loud to those around you and you made an edit to try to shut that angle down like youâre already tired of hearing it?
If you really aced your med school so well youâd understand that the basic physics of plugging your ears wonât change when you find a different earplug. Youâre still going to hear your skull resonance louder when you block your ear canal with anything. Earplugs, just like headphones, are going to make you inadvertently talk/sing louder, so chances are you do annoy your neighbors if you sing through your earplugs at shows. And anything that mitigates the effect of hearing yourself louder than your surroundings is doing so by letting through outside sound, meaning itâs not going to be as protective. You literally canât have both equal internal/external hearing AND protect your ears by blocking sound.
Iâd also be weary of using ear buds with noise cancellation. Active Noise Cancellation works by piping a reverse-phase signal into the sound it plays into your ears. So you could very easily be blasting your ears and not know it because itâs perceived as quieter to you. But the sound isnât blocked by ANC, itâs just masked. Youâd need them to be up too loud for safety in your ears in order to perceive your own voice while in concert-level high decibel sound environments. Even Apple doesnât market their hearing-safety-conscious AirPods Pro for this purpose.
The defensiveness makes it seem like youâre ignoring the truth because much like your internal vocal resonanceâŚyou donât want to hear it. Same advice here, you canât only hear what you want to.
The defensiveness is purely because i will never understamd people's need to be rude to strangers online. I was asking for advice, and some people actually kindly offered their 2 cents - which is what i was looking for.
None of the commenters know me, and i assure you i am not a loud person. When speaking with someone online, i will never make assumptions that i know them better than they do. If someone tells me "actually the thing you assumed about me is wrong", i LISTEN, or just keep it to myself. They kept on going about how they wish to never encounter me on a show because im a liar apparently.
it seems like you understand the physics yourselves - so you probably know that the fact you hear your internal resonance does NOT mean you are louder than your surrounding. the jumping to conclusions here lacks any basis. Its just being rude for the sake of being rude.
(Also, twlling me to switch heads instead of earplugs, is also rude. So yeah, i did not want to deal with multiple rude comments on a post asking for an advice, and chose to edit my post).
And yes, i know the physics and i did aced my studies - but i also know that different products can make the effect a little different, so i asked a harmless question online - i am allowed to do so.
I asked a simple question, and the fact people turned it into a whole other scenerio is what bothered me. When i have nothing nice or useful to say in a conversation, i stay out of it. It should be that simple.
And thanks for the earphones tip, ill keep that in mind.
(Oh and i forgot to add - as i said, i remove my earplugs because i do not like hearing myself, so i know for a fact how i sound like with and without them, so the only person in this sub who heard me during shows is me - and i am far from being too loud (and besides self awareness, i also have videos to back it up lol - you cant hear me on them). Besides, implying anyone with earplugs shouldnt attempt to sing along is just odd - in the concerts i attend the entire crowd is singing along (and at least 70% have earplugs).)
You sound fun at partiesâŚ.
oh i sure am once again - you guys do NOT know me.
Your comments tell me all we need to knowâŚâŚ how does that escape youâŚâŚ. Easily thatâs how
All i did was ask for advice online, and a bunch of people came attacking me based on pure speculations - and when i tried explaining they misunderstood me, they called me a liar. So if telling people the truth about what i asked or telling them hi either help me out with what i asked or leave me alone, do not attack me, and dont be rude, makes me not fun - so be it. I do not need such toxic people to like me, so if you don't - you do you, have a wonderful week and i wish all of you to be just a little kinder to people around you.
Iâve been in front of a lot of people who I assume think no one can hear them singing but I assure you that I can and it can ruin the show for me if I canât get away from them. I was being snarky but I didnât mean to be rude to you, and Iâm probably fired up because I donât pay exorbitant concert prices to hear the person behind me sing over the band. Maybe you truly arenât that person. Maybe Iâm projecting that frustration and if so Iâm sorry.
I try to give those concert-ruining singers the benefit of the doubt that they donât know theyâre as loud as they are because they donât hear their own voice bounce off anything while itâs still quite loud to the people itâs projected at. And those who know and do it anyway are either drunk or self-centered.
Maybe itâs just the concerts I go to, but is it not generally common for 50%+ to be screaming/yelling along?Â
im with you, in the concerts i attend literally almost everyone sing along, and when its time to cheer we also cheer.. maybe its a generational thing? idk honestly
I go to a lot of punk/hardcore/metal shows, so the majority of the vocals I wouldnât describe as âsingingâ. That probably has something to do with it for me, but I really assumed most shows have people getting loud and wild other than jazz/coffeehouse type shows which are just a totally different vibe in the first place from most concerts.Â
It is definitely a different crowd in noticeable ways depending on the age and genre of the band. You and I are listening to different stuff, but I have been to punk and metal shows and thereâs a completely different vibe. It would be much harder to be heard by people around you than the shows Iâm usually attending just because of the volume levels. Hard drums, heavy distortion, screams, etc.
I get you, i go to mainly rock/pop punk/alt shows and they get pretty loud. I just distinguish between cheering and screaming because i feel like there are still some general etiquettes on whats a legitimate hype scream and whats an obnoxious over the top scream, which most concert goers can recognise quite easily, but i assumed people on this thread might be less aware of that based on previous comments đ
I appreciate your apology, I truly do. Thank you for that. I promise I am both too introverted and too socially aware to be that obnoxious loud singer, I know those type of people as well and I dislike them as much as you do. I would never do that to anyone. and I appreciate you listening to what I have to say.
I guess I mainly got defensive because I can not bare it when people twist my words and imply I am someone I am not, and I since they do not know me I have no way to prove myself and they just stick to their own version of the truth, and its so frustrating. Just like you know youre not a loud obnoxious singer, I know I am not, but since I am the one who asked for a harmless advice online people decided I am lying.
The wahmbulance will be here any minute, hang in there.
Im actually shocked by how rude and horrible people are in this sub, ive never seen such obnoxious behaviour for literally no reason at all anywhere online.. my only crime is asking for earplugs lmao cant make this up
There, there.
I have a pair of Earasers that I love that sound great and do not have this effect, and they are even sort of adjustable. If it is super loud I just push them in deeper. If it is only a little loud I can slightly pull them out to dampen less. They donât slip or anything. Love them.
Then I bought a pair of Earos plugs, for no other reason than I have used my Earasers a lot for about 3 years (but they still work great, no issues). The Earos have the exact effect you described. Crowd noise is so quiet. My own voice reverberates in my head. Music sounds good but over-dampened.
So I typically just stick with the Earasers and switch to the Earos only if itâs an extra loud room.
thank you so much!! super helpful comparison, i'll give earasers a shot!
Do you like the earasers better than eargasm?
Go to an audiologist, get a set of impressions made, buy the cheapest custom molded earplugs they offer ($100-200) and fit them with the weakest filters available. (10-12 dB)
Get new molds/plugs every 5 years as your ear canals WILL change shape as you age.
I got the stronger ones. They drop the decibels by 25 and also cut out alot of the distortion
This thread is wild, I don't think all these people ragging on you have been to a concert louder than a coffe shop acoustic set.
To be completely honest, and I know this is terrible practice, I take my earplugs out during songs I want to sing along to. Sometimes the entire headliner (or opener, if thatâs why Iâm there) set. I canât recommend this, but itâs really the only thing that works if you really donât want to hear yourself over everything else.
Loops are the worst for this and eargasms aren't great either. I've found Earasers to be much better.
Thank you! I'll try them out
For sure. And I'm not sure why other people are harping so much on the fact that you must be loud. This is definitely a real issue with some ear plugs. When my wife was using loops, she spoke SO softly I couldn't hear her at all (even when it was quiet between bands) because her own voice was so loud in her ears.
Thank you, means a lot đđź I have no idea why i am being so heavily backlashed and mocked on this thread (just for asking for earplugs đ ), its frustrating, truly appreciate the kindness.
Try custom fit ear plugs instead of the cheap ones on Amazon.
The solution is not earplug based, it is based on you learning how to listen instead of speak at shows. Whether youâre screaming, singing, or just doing a running monologue to yourself about what a great time youâre having, you should stop doing all of those things, and then you can actually Enjoy the show without suffering from the sound of your own voice.
Literally everyone sing along at shows. Thats what i do. I do not speak or chat or scream for the sake of it (if i scream its when the artist literally ask to make some noise, so i listen). Artists ASK the crowd to sing, thank the crowd for singing, and if you look around you will see and hear everyone singing - at least in the shows that i attend. Really, there is no need to try and educate someone for no reason. You have earplugs suggestions? Would love to hear them. If not, then my concert etiquette is just fine.
No, I know how concerts work, I go 2x a month.
Iâm just offering you a solution. Youâre the one saying that you absolutely canât stand hearing your own voice while wearing earplugs. So since not wearing earplugs isnât really a good option, Iâm just saying you should probably stop talking. I know itâs not the answer you came for, but itâs the answer nonetheless.
Yes. I sing at shows and most around me are doing the same. Honestly don't see the need for earplugs. I am 61 and I have been to hundreds of loud concerts. My hearing is the same as it was when I was 23. I am tested yearly at work. Just don't stand in front of a speaker
Encouraging people not to wear earplugs is like telling people not to wear seatbelts.
Seriously, itâs like someone who makes it to 90 smoking two packs a day telling everyone else that smoking is safe. Lol.
My raging Tinnitus would disagree about the whole âno earplugâ thing
Not even. As I said my hearing is as good as it was 35 years ago. Been to hundreds of shows. I just don't stand in front of speakers. Yes a few times I was uncomfortable but I moved and was fine
Even if you're not right in front of speakers, dBs are regularly between 90-100 at a concert venue, which is enough to cause hearing damage. Maybe you do have superhuman ears, but then you're an outlier.
Do you have AirPods Pro? Theyâre amazing for shows. Turn on adaptive mode or noise cancellation (if the show is super loud).
This is potentially bad for your ears. ANC masks sound, it doesnât actually turn it down. So youâre blocking your ears but with tiny speakers that are also capable of damaging your ears in an environment that will need them to be turned up for you to hear over the concert. Even Apple doesnât recommend them for concerts for this reason, despite plenty of irresponsible blog posts suggesting otherwise. They donât have a PPE rating. Youâre actually likely turning up your earbuds too loud to feel like theyâre quieter.
Thanks for the reply. Interesting, how come my ears donât ring after shows when I use them? Also, Iâm not sure what you mean by âyouâre actually turning up your earbuds too loud.â Iâm not turning anything up whatsoever.
Sorry what I meant is youâre adding sound after reducing it, or rather that the earbuds are doing so for you. Plugging your ears with something turns volume down, but then to hear the transparency youâre listening to the drivers in the earbuds which is adding volume. Does that make sense? It could still be better than no earplugs, but will sound quieter to you than it is and not provide the same protection as earplugs. Even earasers and vibes and such balance the frequencies by letting a little sound through. They are still better than raw-dogging 125db. But itâs important to know that ANC can mess up your perception of how loud your drivers are and they will need to be turned up to hear clearly in a loud environment. So you may be just fine but itâs worth knowing itâs not as protective as earplugs, or as protective as it sounds like it is. There are a lot of variables though and I canât assume youâre running yours too loud.
So when I said youâre turning them up too loud I misspoke. I meant you have to turn them louder than you may realize they are in order to hear them in a very loud environment like a concert, and they are capable of being loud enough to damage hearing without seeming to be loud. ANC does quiet the signal but only the parts it considers noise, and earbuds need to be louder to be heard over a loud environment.
i'll give it a shot! thank you đđź
I love them but they crackle sometimes when the music gets too loud :(
Great show. Seems to have got cancelled.Â