Taking Care of Your Ears

Whether you're a gigging musician or a concertgoer, taking care of your ears is important. Here is a list of things you should be aware of when protecting your ears.

1. Wear earplugs: A single concert can be loud enough to give you permanent hearing loss. Always wear earplugs when attending concerts and when rehearsing to minimize this. If you want shell out some cash, custom made ear plugs will fit more snugly, discreetly and will sound much clearer.

2. Higher frequencies tend to damage more than lower frequencies: Studies show that the human ear shields itself from lower, bass frequencies better than higher, treble frequencies, such as a guitar, trumpet, or cymbals.

3. Tinnitus: Listening to loud music for prolonged periods can result in a permanent ringing in your ears known as tinnitus. As a personal tinnitus sufferer I can safely say you don't want this!  This ailment is incurable and irreversible.

4. Don't wear in-ear headphones: Headphones in general increase your risk of hearing damage. In-ear headphones (ear buds) increase this risk a significant amount. If you must, try your best not to listen to your music too loud!