Earplugs are a staple in my daily life. I’ve been using those silicon earplugs, at least as far back as 1997, during rehearsals and gigging. There has been only a few times where I either forgot to put in my plugs or they’ve fallen on the floor and gotten dirty, so I didn’t want to put them back in my ears, forcing me to hear the music sans earplugs. I think even as far back as 1986, I used earplugs at least some of the time. I also have worn them at concerts since the mid 90’s. The reason I do that is because I’ve recognized the damage that can occur VERY quickly from loud music and sounds. As a matter of fact, even low level sound is damaging to our hearing, particularly when it is constant.
I’m a very light sleeper and tend to be easily disturbed during sleep, so I’ve been wearing silicon earplugs that mold to my ears, for sleep, during the last 13 or 14 years. I’ve also been wearing an eye mask in recent years. I find the quietness is a release from the the stress and noises of the world. I love silence and quietness, and pure darkness. The world is so noisy and chaotic with everything competing to overwhelm the senses. I like to escape that stuff.
I haven’t tried what the guy in the video suggested but it might be an interesting experiment to try. Maybe I’ll give that a try his suggestion the next time I mix a project.
Something that I love doing, but haven’t done recently, is to play my electric guitar, wearing earplugs, so that I can’t hear what I’m playing. Instead of hearing, you FEEL your playing. The sensation of just FEELING can be amplified if you play in the darkness. Preferably total darkness. So, you don’t use your sense of sight or hearing. You just feel your …., instrument and music. I never practise with my electric guitar plugged in…, well, it’s extremely rare that I do. I like to feel the plucking of the strings acoustically. Playing in total darkness with earplugs that don’t allow you to hear yourself, is a great form of meditation….and there’s something magical about, something much deeper than I can explain through words.
Just one and a half hours ago, I was cruising in my car with my girlfriend, playing one of my CD’s that consists of all original music. I had the volume moderately loud. I varied the volume between 18 and 22 on the displayed volume (that probably doesn’t tell you much because there is probably a tonne of variation in the calibration between CD players and stereo systems). Right now, my ears are ringing with tinnitus, just from listening to my music at those volumes for maybe 15 minutes. I’m not surprised at this because I get amplified ringing in my ears even after watching tv at moderate volumes for not particularly long periods. Sounds of any kind are damaging to the ears. The amount of damage and type of damage is relative and dependant on the volume, duration and frequencies of the sounds. We need to rest our ears and step away from the noise of the world for the sake of our hearing and our mental health. Silence and stillness is a beautiful thing.
).
