Have any of you guys killed your ears??!!!

[Riffmeister]

My ears are shot!!! One Minute something may sound great, the next it sounds like crap, It may be at a comfortable volume one second and the next it is blasting my head off.

One minute I hear to much bass, then it is too much treble

Does anyone else have any of these problems? I know there are a lot of you guys who are subject to stage volumes a lot more than I am. I was wodering if any of you use any kind of ear plugs when you play.

I tried them and I jsut could not deal with everything being muffled so I stopped and now my hearing is ruined.

Sorry if this shouldn't be here, I know it's not thechnically an equipment question.

[RacerX]

What?









Heh heh heh heh

[Riffmeister]

What's up Ron

[Musician78]

I just use standard ear plugs. If I am jamming with other peopl, or at concerts or what not I am pretty anal about the ear plugs.

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

YOUR EARS ARE FULL OF WAX.

CLEAN YOUR FUCKING EARS, NEANDERTHAL!


Ha ha just kidding. But seriously, changing volume/tone like that does sound like either you have a gigantic blob of wax in your ear, or some kind of infection or something. Maybe, you know, check with a doctor?

Personally I have a little tinnitus (ringing) and sometimes if I get a lot of water in my ear when I shower, loud music sounds like it's being played out of one of those 1920's gramophones.

[Endrik]

My ears are fucked since I was 13, I started going to big stadium concerts before I could walk but when I was 11 or 12 the concerts became very frequent. Nothing is too loud to me anymore.
But right now I've been fucking sick for two weeks and one of my ears has an inflammation. I couldn't hear at all with that ear during the weekend but now I can a bit but it's all fucked up. It's like it has some weird alien-phaser-flanger effect on. My ears are like fucking out of phase compared to each other. Scary but cool at the same time. But I can't have this shit. I've studio times booked.

[Newc]

Earplugs do take some getting used to, but then it's totally worth it. Yes everything sounds muffled, but once you understand where the falloff occurs, you can adjust your EQ so it sounds normal. A lot of people try to crank their mids/treble and drop the bass so it sounds normal through the plugs, but it sounds like shit to everyone else.

That's why it's important to stand away from your amp when setting live/gig levels, and have someone else stand to the side of the cabinet adjusting the EQ, preferably with plugs in. Have them tweak the settings as you specify.

[fordsho90]

Sounds like you have an inner ear infection or a sinus infection go see a doc and get on some anitbiotics and it should clear up in no time.

[Sunbane]

Earplugs make things sound better in rehearsal IMO. They filter away some of the treble and high mids that sound like crap anyway.

[guitarsjb]

I had an ear infection, ended up with tinnitus after I got it healed up. I wear earplugs to practice and all shows now. Like Newc said, once you get used to the earplugs it's not bad at all.

[Jacksons Shred]

Def as fuck now! I constantly have to tell people to repeat themselves and that I have a hard time hearing. Guess it wasn't the brightest idea to practice 1 foot away from the blasting amp all the time eh?

Should have listened to Paublo Gilberto!

[dg]

Earplugs have come a long way. You can get them with a really good frequency balance now for a good price:

http://earplugstore.stores.yahoo.net/nasopl.html

The fact that your hearing is fluctuating like that sounds like there is more going on than typical high-volume exposure. Could be an infection or you may just need a good cleaning, like the others already said. If you have insurance, see a doctor.

[Riffmeister]

Guys, I have been to the Dr. a million times telling them that I hear this crackling and popping in my ears all the time. They tell me there is noting in my ears and they are clean as can be.

I do have what they call nerve defness, I'm not sure how I got that but I have had it for over 20 years, it's like I can hear people say stuff, but can't make out what they say.

I do have a TERRIBLE allergy\sinus problem that has developed over the last 5 years where stuff just drains into my ear all night long, but I keep it cleaned out everyday, I guess that is why the Dr.s Keep telling me there is nothing in it