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Ear Plugs Don’t Work


Billy Apple

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Here's a simple experiment.

Unplug your bass and pluck the a-string.

Not very loud is it.

Now press the headstock against the bony part of your head or even a tooth and pluck the a-string.

That's at least four times louder, plenty more than 20db of attenuation. Bone conduction is very inefficient - as you might expect, otherwise we wouldn't need outer and middle ears...

 

(Also... as you can use bone conduction to pick up sound from anywhere on your head, including your jaw, I don't see how ear defenders are going to stop it - you need your entire head in a sonically isolated bubble... ear defenders work by sealing better and attenuating more than earplugs, bone conduction has little to do with it.)

Edited by Stub Mandrel
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5 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Here's a simple experiment.

Unplug your bass and pluck the a-string.

Not very loud is it.

Now press the headstock against the bony part of your head or even a tooth and pluck the a-string.

That's at least four times louder, plenty more than 20db of attenuation. Bone conduction is very inefficient - as you might expect, otherwise we wouldn't need outer and middle ears...

 

(Also... as you can use bone conduction to pick up sound from anywhere on your head, including your jaw, I don't see how ear defenders are going to stop it - you need your entire head in a sonically isolated bubble... ear defenders work by sealing better and attenuating more than earplugs, bone conduction has little to do with it.)

I actually find ear defenders worse for bone conduction, the volume required to pass via bone conduction in free air would be immense anyway so unless you rest your head on the PA speakers during gigs I don't think any of this matters. 

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1 hour ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

WHAT?? I get to page 8 of 11 and then find out I've been reading the abridged version!! I demand a refund 😂

It's OK, you didn't miss much, just some diagrams of the inner ear and some 'before and after' shots of an ear drum after a Motorhead gig.

As a result a couple of people got triggered by the eardrum pix and went to the BC Safe Room and couldn't get in because @ped had the key and he was off down at Greggs getting a steak bake and all hell broke loose, these two crying and weeping anyway luckily @Richtipped up and he's got the knack for opening the door without a key and he opened the safe room door and there was no space to get in because someone had put the old photocopier in there. So basically the usual thing happened and some posts got removed.

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9 minutes ago, skankdelvar said:

It's OK, you didn't miss much, just some diagrams of the inner ear and some 'before and after' shots of an ear drum after a Motorhead gig.

As a result a couple of people got triggered by the eardrum pix and went to the BC Safe Room and couldn't get in because @ped had the key and he was off down at Greggs getting a steak bake and all hell broke loose, these two crying and weeping anyway luckily @Richtipped up and he's got the knack for opening the door without a key and he opened the safe room door and there was no space to get in because someone had put the old photocopier in there. So basically the usual thing happened and some posts got removed.

 

Hmmm, steak bake.

I could just go a steak bake.

Why isn’t there a 24 hour Greggs?

They’d make a fortune round here.

Mostly from me.

Hmmmm. Steak bake.......

 

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5 hours ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

Er, what’s a steak bake?

It’s a meat based version of the McDonalds apple pie. Cool and crumbly to the touch but with insides “hotter than the sun” giving the same effect as biting into liquid lava.

 

 

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Sort of relevant to the thread title...

I use all sorts of earplugs in my workshop, as well as ear protectors, they just plug my ears and reduce the noise.

I bought some mid-price musician type ones off eBay. They are clear silicone with a black insert that has a filter inside it. They don't cut the volume as much compared to normal ones but do give a more natural sound. They are sold as 20 dB but looking around 12dB seems to be typical and roughly halving thr loudness seems about right.

Similar to the ones on the right here. Are these likely to be of any benefit or am I better off sticking with my 'workshop grade' ones.

s-l1600.jpg

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On 04/08/2019 at 20:41, Billy Apple said:

No. A consultant in a well known London hospital. Who is working with the construction industry to help with long term hearing loss of construction workers. Also works with classical orchestra musicians.

Well, he's the only audiologist/ENT consultant I've heard of who's saying that. It's the exact reverse of everything I've ever been taught about it (as a punter, that is).

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  • 3 months later...

Occlusion – the booming effect we hear when our ears are blocked, caused by sound (particularly lower frequencies) being transmitted through the bones of the head to the ear canal. This is particularly a problem for singers and those instrumentalists whose instruments are in contact with their head, e.g. brass and woodwind, higher strings. The effect can be reduced by wearing earplugs deeper in the ear canal, or by using vented earplugs.

From this website: https://www.hearformusicians.org.uk/hearing-protection

Edited by gjones
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On 04/08/2019 at 20:24, mikel said:

Dont care who he is or what his qualifications are, but he is wrong. I have used quality ear plugs for years and they have made a huge difference. Over ear defenders are good for industrial noise but hopeless for gigs where you need to hear the music, but quieter.

I have a very expensive set of Peltor active ear defenders as one of my other hobbies is target shooting and I am a qualified range conducting officer for our club so I need to be able to hear very well while not suffering the ‘crack’ on discharge (cue the carry on jokes). I have worn them at a practice, partly as a mickey take and partly in the hope that the lead guitarist would get the hint and they are brilliant. I imagine it's that sort the doctor is thinking of and is looking for maximum protection as would be their ideal (but forgetting practicality). Would I wear them at a gig? Would I stuff, you would look an utter pillock. I am more than happy with the job my moulded plugs are doing. 

 

If anyone is interested you can get a good idea of sound transference through the bone by gently touching a tuning fork behind the ear. It’s quite a weird experience at first.

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