Why marching bands need ear protection?
Most of the band members are subjected to hearing loss that results from years of training and playing with band members without hearing protection. Most of the instruments used by the bands produce high noise level ranging from 92-126 decibel which causes severe damage to the ear that result in hearing loss. A universities survey should that more than 60% of marching band members suffering from tinnitus and more than 50% developed noise-induced hearing loss.
So hearing protection is easy but what is the problem?
The problem is the companies making earplugs were not focusing on the musician they were supplying earplugs that block sound entirely and muffing it. the band members need to hear the music they are playing and moving in harmony with the music they play, they don’t want to block their ear. Most of the companies are supplying generic earplugs that cause discomfort during wearing and muffing sounds also the problem of boor fitting of the generic earplugs is one of the reason for band members to avoid using earplugs for hearing protection. Also, lack of proper education to students and the awareness of the problem results from not using hearing protection.
But what is the solution for this?
The solution lies in custom earplugs for the following reasons:
Custom earplugs have a superior fitting compared to generic types of earplugs that poorly fit the ear canal while custom earplugs are precisely fitting the ear canal
The companies start to focus on producing custom earplugs, especially for the musician. These earplugs are supplied with filters .these filters allow the band member to hear every single sound coming from his instrument or any band member instrument without damaging your ears as these filters prevent passage of sound with noise level more than 85 decibels allowing the band members to perform with comfort and enjoying their music
Custom earplugs are more hygienic compared to generic earplugs as they are easily cleaned while generic earplugs most of them are single or provide a good medium for bacteria as foam earplugs which lead to tinnitus and severe ear infection
Custom earplugs are more comfortable to the ear because of custom molding to the ear which produces superior comfort during placement in the ear and taking out while foam earplugs are causing discomfort during placement and take time to get used to it.
Also, custom earplugs are more durable compared to generic earplugs as it can serve from 5-7 years while generic types mostly used once.
The last reason that favor custom earplugs over generic ones is that custom earplugs are a good investment compared to generic types that used once so every time you use a generic type of earplugs you pay while custom earplugs you pay once and you enjoy more times using them compared to generic type
So if you are a band member you are strongly advised to use hearing protection earplugs especially the custom earplugs for hearing protection and a long life of music joy
Best Earplugs For Musicians 