magee Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 The singer/guitarist in my pub blues band suffers from tinnitus. It's pretty bad - he says even playing an acoustic guitar can trigger it. He's tried good quality ear plugs before but said while they were fine when playing guitar they didn't work when he started to sing. Moving his jaw had an effect on the shape of his ear canal and sudden bursts of sound rushed in. It was worse than having none. Has anyone had this experience? Does anyone know of any kinds of earplugs which are good for this and combat the change in shape of your face/ear canal when you're singing? Matthew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franzbassist Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 What "good quality ear plugs" was he using before, as custom moulded plugs should address this. I do plenty of backing vocals in my band and have never had this problem with my [url="http://elacin.com/hearing-protection/music/"]Elacins[/url]. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 The ACS PRO range seems to be aimed at singers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dood Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 Moulded plugs every time especially those such as the ACS above that use the ET type filters (ET being Etymotic Research the company who make the actual filters and process the moulds) When you go to have the ear impressions taken so that the plug fits your ear properly, the audiologist / technician may ask if you'll be using the plugs whilst singing and will ensure that the impression is taken to suit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colgraff Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 (edited) Professional standard swimming plugs might be a solution as they are designed to stop any water getting in, even when breathing hard. Edited March 4, 2016 by colgraff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
essexbasscat Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 I had a pair of Pro Safe moulded earplugs made last year. The conversation between the audiologist and myself went something like....... "Please place your finger between your front teeth and very gently bite while the moulds set. I bet you wonder why I've asked you to do that ? " "Well, yes, I am curious" "It's because the ear canal changes shape when the jaw moves. If you don't take the moulds with the jaw open, the earplugs won't be so good " "Ah, yes. I'm glad I've got someone that knows what they're doing " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulWarning Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 or singer uses ear plugs, which means he's always asking us to turn up the monitors so he can hear himself, I always smile, sort of defeats the object of ear plugs I would have thought, IEM is another thread btw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 Another vote for custom moulded earplugs. I've had my Elacins for years, which I bought for tinnitus, best investment ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Dare Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 I get requests from others for earplugs when I sing.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzyvee Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 (edited) [quote name='magee' timestamp='1457098334' post='2995326'] The singer/guitarist in my pub blues band suffers from tinnitus. It's pretty bad - he says even playing an acoustic guitar can trigger it. He's tried good quality ear plugs before but said while they were fine when playing guitar they didn't work when he started to sing. Moving his jaw had an effect on the shape of his ear canal and sudden bursts of sound rushed in. It was worse than having none. Has anyone had this experience? Does anyone know of any kinds of earplugs which are good for this and combat the change in shape of your face/ear canal when you're singing? Matthew [/quote] I had the same problem out sound leakage, not the tinnitus though, when I had my first set of ACS plugs and when I rang them to discuss the issue they said that it was because he guy who did the ear impression should have done an open mouth moulding. I got another impression done with my gob open at Boots and I now don't get that problem anymore. Edited March 5, 2016 by jazzyvee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magee Posted March 6, 2016 Author Share Posted March 6, 2016 That's all really helpful. It sounds like opening your mouth when getting the fitting is the secret. Thanks all. Matthew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dood Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 [quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1457130008' post='2995773'] or singer uses ear plugs, which means he's always asking us to turn up the monitors so he can hear himself, I always smile, sort of defeats the object of ear plugs I would have thought, IEM is another thread btw [/quote] I sing with ear plugs but my trick is not to put vocals in the monitor. Why? Well, I have moulded plugs and a set of different filters. -25dB and -15dB seem to be the ones I use most. You know when you have earplugs in, you can hear your voice inside clearly? I use that to my advantage by choosing which filter helps make the ambient volume similar to my 'inside head' volume. My band mates noticed a vast improvement in my pitching! Another bonus is that I pitch harmonies to the guitar and bass notes and not be thrown by other singing. cool eh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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