I tried to purchase some earplugs from etymotic.com just now-- wouldn’t work for me either. Lots of typing, no results. So it’s not just you, avanutria.
[edit]
Woops, will try Lee’s suggestions.
[ This Message was edited by: thurlowe on 2002-08-14 12:26 ]
Thurlowe - I’m planning on just calling the number tonight.
For reference, the trouble I had with the site: when I registered, it gave an error, but then I was able to log in, so it did save my info. Then I tried to continue on from the “confirm your information” screen and it errored again. Couldn’t get any farther.
Whoops, just saw Lee’s post. I’ll try that when I get home. Thanks for the tip!
[ This Message was edited by: avanutria on 2002-08-14 12:28 ]
On 2002-08-14 12:25, LeeMarsh wrote:
I ordered from the site with out any problems.
How much was shipping?
On 2002-08-14 14:27, avanutria wrote:
On 2002-08-14 12:25, LeeMarsh wrote:
I ordered from the site with out any problems.How much was shipping?
Each set of plugs runs $10 .
Total shipping (one or more sets) UPS Ground $5 or next day UPS $20.
I got one set of plugs, one cord ($1), and ground shipping for a total of $16.
I got them for Little Bob, my daughter, she’s in a punk rock band. If she likes them I’ll order more, and in a variety of colors (To match her hair color’s that change weekly).
I just ordered from that website and it was fine.
I must say, I’m so glad someone brought this up. I ride mass transit every day and about five years ago, I started wearing earplugs during my commute, because the trains & buses could get so loud. A bit of trivia: The NYC Subway is actually a major source for New Yorkers’ hearing loss problems. And the sound of trucks passing you on the freeway–if your car windows are down–is about 100 decibles–with 80 being the threshold for “safe.”
Anyway, I practice my D whistle at bus stops (with the earplugs already in anyway), and it’s MUCH nicer for my ears than at home. In fact, I don’t even play my D or even C whistles much anymore because they are too high; the Bb or the A is easier on the ears. And I play mostly one-octave folk & traditional music. How people stand those jigs & reels in the upper octaves is amazing to me.
Point is, if you are really worried about hearing loss, you might want to think about other activities that could be exacerbating the problem, and wear For instance, I take earplugs to movie theatres, esp any action pictures, and I can always hear the whole movie just fine. And you’ll be saving your hearing for when you want it–for whistling!
I have similar earplugs that I wear in the car. Believe me there’s lots of sound that gets through so don’t think I’m being a doink. Highway driving in a Black VW Golf with no air conditioning means I have to have a window open, and at 120km/h it gets noisy, especially for long drives. I also wear them at the occassional rock concert. I highly recommend getting a pair. Uh, did I mention that I play uilleann pipes;-))
You might also check your local sports/ gun/ hunting stores. Shooting sports require hearing protection, and they have earplugs and electronic headphones that let all sound thru under the danger limit, but attenuate everything above. Of course, electronics cost more! 
And please, please, please, DO NOT TRY TO BLOW into any 12 gauge “low whistles”… They usually forget to drill holes anyway…
Beth, in college I too was diagnosed with a listening problem. They said my ears were fine, but in effect I needed to see a person speak in order to really understand what they were saying. I can’t gather words on tape or sometimes if a person talks to me from another room or with their back turned.
As far as whistling, I’ve had one bad session where I was blasted by two explosive singers and one speaker pointed toward me, and I won’t do THAT again any time soon.
I play quieter whistles than the Burke or Sweetheart when I’m practicing at home in the kitchen, but if I’m in the livingroom with the furniture and rug and wall stuff, I seem to be okay.
When I was talking with Ralph Sweet and another local sessioner, John K, about how a particular whistle hurt my ears in the upper register, they both played it and said it sounded fine to them. Then one of them pointed out that they were both fifers, and their ears were used to high and loud. I think they both have some serious loss that I’d like to avoid!
I think it’s absurd how people in general treat their hearing. Going to family dances held by my church, I’m shocked how loud the music is. And there is these little 5 year old kids dancing right in front of the speakers!
But if you want loud, go to an east indian wedding. Yikes!!!
Thanks everyone for all your replies. I purchased a pair of etymotic plugs today from a local audiologist. They are plugs designed for musicians that supposedly do not alter the sound enough to interfere with quality control. He said the only negative was comfort in the one size fits all variety, and for someone who is very serious a custom pair can be made, but with a considerably higher cost of $130. I’ll try these out and report back later.
A guy I know in NY is a musician and has this to say on the subject:
Schedule an apointment with one of your local audiologists. They’ll be able to take a mold of your ear and send it off to a lab to be manufactured into silicon plugs. They can answer any specific questions you might have, but if you’re looking for “hi fi” plugs, you’ll probably want to get molded plugs that have removable filters.
If you say “removable filters” to the audiologist people, and they say “huh?”… try a different place =) They should be ~$70-100
I’ve gone ahead and ordered the $10 ones, though - if they don’t work well, I’m not out much.
[ This Message was edited by: avanutria on 2002-08-14 20:31 ]
I don’t know how you guys can say that whistles might cause hearing loss.
I can hear all of you just fine.
(ducking the rotten tomatoes)
I have to agree with Sean. While I need to stuff paper napkins in my ears at action movies, playing a high D whistle doesn’t hurt at all.
Mike
As long as we’re talking about hearing loss, I thought I’d through in this little bit that I heard from a study last year.
With age most folks experience some hearing loss; however, it varies by gender. Women tend to lose hearing in the lower frequencies ,while men tend to lose hearing in the upper frequencies. It partially explains why my dearly beloved has problems with my high whistle playing; of course, it couldn’t be the quality of my play or my playing the same tune for the 10th time in a row, trying to get through it just once without a mistake. Of course not.
Hmmm… so as I age I’ll have an excuse to listen more to my mates than my dearly beloved? Nah…
that won’t fly. But, I expect that the reverse will, my wife will hear more from her friends
than from me.
A thought, maybe that’s how we’ll stay togeather, we’ll hear less and less of what we sat to each other.
Enjoy Your Music,
Lee Marsh
[ This Message was edited by: LeeMarsh on 2002-08-15 10:38 ]
I remember Bill Oach’s mentioning ear protection when it came to playing third octive notes. In fact, I haven’t tried to play those fife songs because I do not have ear protection at this time.
My bird screams ALOT, worse than my whistle, and sometimes I wonder if that’s going to bother my hearing in the future.
In fact, I’m having a hearing problem at this time. It started (or I noticed it) about a year ago in my left ear, which is muffled most of the time. I’ve really got to go to the doctor for it and get some tests. I suffered blunt trama to the left side of my face 11 years ago, split my ear, and lost a bit of hearing, as well. I haven’t noticed a problem, but maybe I have some scar tissue now.
On 2002-08-15 10:46, mamakash wrote:My bird screams ALOT, worse than my whistle, and sometimes I wonder if that’s going to bother my hearing in the future.
Mama, we call it ‘macaw deafness’ when he’s perched on your shoulder and (heavens!) a bicyclist goes by. Can’t hear out of that ear at all for a few seconds, but the caique takes the cake when she decides that she’s had enough of the whistle. She can carry on a high pitched, grating rant for many minutes on end, it seems, without pausing to take a breath.
Third octave D and E on my Susato small bore D will have you all running for (ear) cover!! (And then there’s always upper C and above on the VSB high G! These notes will cut through anything.)
Got my earplugs today, very nice. One keeps falling out but I think the problem is me, not the plug. 
They do dampen the sound quite well, and listening to the SLC MP3s as a test, it sounded just like I’d turned down the volume a bit, except for a bit of that rumbly sound you get when your ears are plugged. Or maybe that’s just me as well.
But now I can sit near the piper at the Boise session!
Our ears are more sensitive than many would care to believe. I highly recommend the Etymotics earplugs…they work quite well and don’t distort the sound the way foam plugs do. I should also add that stuffing napkins or cotton in the ears is useless–it gives the illusion of dampening the sound, but it offers no actual protection to your ears.
Since most of us spend a portion of our days hanging out in the higher octaves, I would strongly urge everyone to read the following excellent and alarming article:
http://users.uniserve.com/~lwk/flutesor.htm
Hearing loss cannot be undone, and educating oneself on the subect and taking appropriate action seems like a worthwhile investment to make for a sense which is of obvious importance to all of us here.
best,
Micah
[ This Message was edited by: Micah on 2002-08-21 23:20 ]
On 2002-08-15 08:00, burnsbyrne wrote:
I have to agree with Sean. While I need to stuff paper napkins in my ears at action movies, playing a high D whistle doesn’t hurt at all.
Mike
I wrote the above earlier in this thread. On Tuesday I received my new Dixon hi D with brass tuning slide. I now know how painful the high A and B can be in a confined space! Before this I had only played Gen-type whistles which don’t generate the volume of the Dixon. So I will be pulling out the earplugs when playing the second octave.
Mike Burns