Hearing Issues

[Parker135]

Thank you!  I enjoyed that.  My impression is that Loop is a reputable company with actual data to support their claims, maybe a little too much marketing hype, and that results are going to vary from person to person as usual.  I'm always looking for something that will attenuate the sound without getting mushy, and so far I haven't found the magic solution.  

[CZ in AZ]

23 hours ago, Michael Eskin said:

I just picked up a pair of the Loop Experience earplugs, will be trying them for the first time in a session tomorrow, will report back. 
 

Cool - I look forward to "hearing" what you think of them. I have the Engage2, which is a bit less blocking than the Experience model.   I practice with them all the time and mostly have them in for sessions too.  I kept them out for the gig I did last weekend and it felt great to know that even if I was exposed to high volumes at the gig, I had been protecting my ears at other times. 

 

Thanks John for the link to the SB episode. It was good to hear the differences in the various loop levels and to see that the audiologist verified the actual sound reduction with what they claim in their marketing.  I don't think their assessment totally pertains to those of us playing music as it didn't address the clarity of the sound with different earplugs except to say that musician earplugs use filters instead of occlusion.  I was sorry that they barely touched on the loop design outside the ear canal. I think the design helps ensure a good fit and stability once they are in. 

 

Cheers, Claire 

[Michael Eskin]

Tried the Experience model tonight for my pub session. Too much attenuation for general purpose session use but an interesting diagnostic tool, you can definitely hear yourself but it's a very narrow band of midrange .

[Parker135]

My Loops arrived this afternoon.  I haven't tried them in a session yet, but I can at least say they're very comfortable.  I've tried them here at home and like what I hear.  Looking forward to trying them in our session next week. 

[CZ in AZ]

Michael interesting about the mid range- I will think about that next time I play in a session.  Parker- let us know how the Loops work for you in the session.  

Edited July 13 by CZ in AZ

[Don Taylor]

I am interested in Loops but not for music. 

 

As I get older I am finding it harder and harder to hear/distinguish spoken voice over background noise especially background music/effects in modern movies.  Is it just me or is there really far more background sound than there used to be?

 

Do those of you that have tried Loops think that they would help?

[alex_holden]

7 hours ago, Don Taylor said:

As I get older I am finding it harder and harder to hear/distinguish spoken voice over background noise especially background music/effects in modern movies.  Is it just me or is there really far more background sound than there used to be?

 

That's definitely a problem with the way sound is mixed in many recent movies and TV shows. I have the same issue and I don't think it's my ears because I can still easily understand dialogue in shows made decades ago. Some recent TVs have an audio setting called 'enhance speech' or similar that tries to compensate for bad sound mixing and mumbling actors but I don't know how well it works. I'm told that young people commonly watch shows with subtitles turned on all the time even if they have good hearing.

[Phil Hague]

HI, I understand the difficulties. I also have hearing problems. In noisy areas ( such as pubs ) I could not bear the babble or make out what anyone was saying. I went for a hearing test and I have modern hearing aids now. What an unbelievable difference they make. The modern hearing aids balance out the loud sounds and enhance the sounds I was unable to hear clearly. 

[Parker135]

A little report on my Loop Experience 2 earplugs from our session last night.  They're probably the most comfortable earplugs I've used, and they work great at home for practice, but I found them to have too much attenuation for the session.  I can't really speak to how clearly I could hear the others as they brought everything down to such a low volume that I had to remove them to continue playing.  I might try changing the tips to smaller ones to let a little more ambient sound "leak in" next time.  I'm going to look again to see if they have a model with less attenuation.  All that said, if I were back in the small room with a dozen or so concertinas in the workshop in MN, they may have been perfect! 

[Michael Eskin]

I picked up a new pair of the Loop Engage 2 earplugs and found them very useful at my session.  I was able to both hear the other players as well as myself quite clearly, albeit at a reduced volume and the overall background noise from the pub was quite nicely reduced. 

I found the Experience model had too much attenuation for sessions unless I very loosely seated them in my ears. They're great for loud concert venues, had a chance to try them out at a county fair rock band performance last weekend.

Edited July 25 by Michael Eskin

[Parker135]

I finally got to try my Engage 2 earplugs in our session.  The attenuation was pretty much spot-on for me.  I was playing my mandolin rather than concertina, so I had to lean into it a little to hear it clearly, but that was fine.  It got better as I got more accustomed to the earplugs.  As Michael says, the Experience ones have too much attenuation for acoustic sessions, but it appears that these Engage 2 ones are going to do the trick.

[Michael Eskin]

I just got a set of the new Loop "Switch" model that has a control that lets it act as an Engage, Experience, or Quiet model all in one earplug. Can't wait to try it out at my session on Tuesday!

 

[Leonard]

In what price range are these plugs?

[Michael Eskin]

On 8/10/2024 at 11:39 PM, Leonard said:

In what price range are these plugs?

 

The "Engage 2" model are about $35 on Amazon.

The "Switch" model, which has the ability to emulate three different models of Loop earplugs in one earplug, is closer to $65

[CZ in AZ]

I am so glad that you all are finding the Loops useful! I also found the Experience to be too much for the session setting unless it’s really a big loud session. The engage are really good for me.  Sometimes I only put an ear plug in my sensitive ear, and leave the other one open and that seems pretty good for a very small session of just two or three players.

 

A word of warning on the switch model. I got that one first, but found that the loop portion, where the mechanism is, was too big for my ear. As a result, it popped the earplugs out and they would not seat well. I have pretty small ears, so this is probably not a problem for, larger eared people. I look forward to hearing how they work for you Michael. 

The more we can protect our ears when practicing the longer they will last. It is very motivating!

[Steve Schulteis]

On 8/10/2024 at 8:20 PM, Michael Eskin said:

I just got a set of the new Loop "Switch" model that has a control that lets it act as an Engage, Experience, or Quiet model all in one earplug. Can't wait to try it out at my session on Tuesday!

 

What's your verdict? Does the Switch work comparably to the single-setting versions? I'm planning to pick up new earplugs to carry with me, and being able to use a single set across a range of situations would be really great.

[Michael Eskin]

I find that the Switch in the "Engage" setting has slightly less attenuation than the Engage and Engage 2.

I haven't compared them with the "Experience" and "Quiet".

[Matthew Heumann]

While I have exceptionally good hearing, I suffer from rather severe age-related tinnitus which makes my treble concertinas sound like kazoos. But I found that a set of headphone-style hearing protectors separate the tinnitus frequencies from the 'tina. The tinnitus stays in the inner ear, and the concertina comes through the facial bones & sinus as a nice clean pure tone. And headphones are easier to remove than the usual earplugs, and I can hear voices with them on just fine. So what if it makes me look like an audio nerd. At 73, who cares.

My Baritone however does not get distorted by the tinnitus due to the much lower frequencies.