The Triumph show in Houston was on May 22nd. I knew from past experience that it was likely to be very loud. While I enjoy the music, these days I’m sensitive to very loud situations. In high ambient noise situations I can start to feel claustrophobic. The world starts to close in on me in a very uncomfortable way.
Further, I’ve lived with a little hearing loss most of my life. So, I want to protect my hearing, even when I’m out to enjoy a concert. To that end, I recently revisited the idea of high-quality hearing protection.
The Etymotic Research ER20XS High Fidelity Reusable Earplugs served me very well for the Triumph show. These discrete, little earplugs provide a 20 dB reduction in volume at the ear without appreciably altering the tone. They’re comfortable to wear. I used them for all but a couple of my favorite songs.
More recently, I used them when we were treated to a concert featuring Pat Benatar & Neil Geraldo opening for Bryan Adams. That show was not nearly as loud as Triumph, so I only wore them toward the end of the show as I was getting tired.
Along the way I was reminded that hearing is a complex process. Middle and high frequencies we hear with our ears. Lower frequencies we actually feel with our entire chest cavity. So, when the ear plugs are in there is a sense that low frequency impact (think kick drum) is still quite dramatic.
I’ve long been a fan of Etymotic Research. They are a company founded to create medical instruments for audiologists, with deep roots in engineering. Only later did they branch out into consumer products.
I’ve used several different models of Etymotic earphones over the years. I still have their ER3SE Studio Edition Earphones. I admit that I use them less since mobile phones abandoned the once ubiquitous 3.5mm mini-jack. I do have a Bluetooth receiver that I can use to link them to my phone, but my Pixel Buds are what I use for casual listening these days.
You can buy basic hearing protection dirt cheap at any drug store. Those ear plugs are simplistic. They block the ear canal entirely. That’s great if you’re operating a jack hammer, not useful if you’re trying to enjoy a concert.
The Etymotic “High Fidelity” ear plugs are a great solution for those times when you do want to hear well, without putting your hearing at risk.