Although many players think it's loud standing in front of a stack of Marshalls, it's nothing compared to being in the middle of an 18-piece jazz band. The sound from four or five trumpets can penetrate almost any barrier known to mankind and cause your eardrums to collide in the center of your brain.
For many years I used off-the-shelf plugs that have been recommended in this thread--the Hearos and The Alpine--and thought they were okay. I preferred the Alpines, but when those wore out, the replacements were a different size and didn't work as well. Regardless of which I used, I sometimes had a feeling of pressure in my ears and dullness of hearing after a gig, so I went to see my ENT. He told me my ears were in excellent condition for my age but I was still worried. He has an audiologist in his office so I saw her and wound up ordering a set of custom-molded plugs.
The molding process was a breeze and in three weeks I had my new plugs, which I had ordered with -25dB filters (she also had -15 and -9). They came with solid buttons too. Although it took me a few sessions to get used to inserting them, the improvement over the off-the-shelf plugs was amazing. If I am on one side of the band I put the solid button towards the band, if I am in the middle somewhere I put it towards the drummer. On one occasion where the band was on a really small stage, I put solid buttons on both sides.
This has been the best $150 I've ever spent on a music purchase. I have had no problems after gigs and the plugs are extremely comfortable. Although the lower volume makes things sound a little more dull, I actually prefer hearing the band that way.
The only problem is that I'm terrified I'll lose them and have to go back my Hearos or Alpines while I wait for new ones to be made, so I always make sure I put them into their case and into my bag after each gig.
Here is my lecture: You want your hearing to last forever, so don't cheap out on hearing protection!
Danny W.
