Flute playing can be a bitch to your ears, that’s why i like to switch to accordion a lot.
I don’t like those high pitched notes, and i’m afraid they’re damaging to our ears too.
Are custom musicians ear plugs that level out the sound a wise choice here ?
If you are concerned I would suggest talking to a hearing specialist.
I’ve never had an issue with the flute. Whistles are another matter. Whistle workshops can be painful. Accordions bother me too - but only certain notes/frequencies.
I use the generic foam plugs available most anywhere these days. I’ve also used the hifi musicians (Hearos) plugs. Both protect, The hifi plugs sound better.
Feadoggie
Believe it or not, I know an individual who wears industrial ear defenders when practicing his flute and whistles, and he swears by them!
My experience with hearing specialists and musician’s earplugs is very bad. A lot of these folks know very little and the product, while expensive, was worthless. The foam earplugs work well and the industrial muffs better.
An Otolaryngologist told me many
years ago that when he went to a
rock concert he’d form playdough
in his ear covering the opening of
the ear canal. Cheap and effective.
Colorful too. I used it playing
in rock bands for many years.
These are dandy–http://www.etymotic.com/consumer/hearing-protection/er20.html
I’ve been using these for about 7 years now:
http://www.sensaphonics.com/er-series-musician-earplugs-custom
I never had luck with cheapo earplugs, they either hurt my ear canal or simply didn’t work. I use these and the great thing is I can pop different decibel filters in depending on if I’m at home or playing live with a band. Definitely worth the price, mine are still working great after all these years. The trick is finding a location where they can take molds of your ears and make them. I was lucking in that I lived in Chicago at the time and Sensaphonics is located there.
I’m one of those kooks that use the earmuffs like you would use for power tools. I don’t use them all the time, but often every day. The place I play makes a difference for my ears. A small room, or playing a whistle in front of a table seems to bounce the sound right back to my ears. My favorite place to practice is next to a shallow desk right in front of a window near a corner wall. I almost always use the ear muffs or even big pillow-like headphones when I practice there. I can still hear myself very well. The concertina can become painful, while the flute is less so, but still loud enough to cause concern. I’ve tried foam earplugs and the ones they sell over the counter at music stores and found them to be about as effective as a wad of paper towel stuck in my ears. (A trick I have often used at sessions to cut the background noise and take the harshness out of loud music.)
Many Tnanks!
I think i’ll go for the custom ear plugs, although i’ve been told that our ears keep on growing and we’ll need a check up every 5 years, or whenever we notice they don’t block the high pitched notes any more. But i wouldn’t use them in a session, that would look very weird 