When I was about 17 or 18, I made the mistake of going to a Parliament/Funkadellic show unprepared for the pant-shaking SPLs that they put out that night. Maybe an hour into the show, I finally tore a sleeve off my t-shirt, tore pieces off it, and stuffed what I could in my ears. When we left the show, I was in horror, as my ears were ringing. I couldn't sleep.. The next morning, they were still ringing and I worried like hell that I'd killed my hearing for good.. By the end of that day and the morning after, I was thankfully getting back to normal.
I then became something of an earplug junkie..
When I was in art school I did a lot of steel sculpture, and wore foam plugs beneath the gun-range earmuffs before I'd expose myself to the sounds of grinding. chop sawing or general resonant pounding that went on in the studio there.
I wear plugs any time I get on a plane.
I also keep a few pairs of foam plugs in my car (I use them on long trips, or for freeway travel with open windows)
I went to visit an engineer-friend some years ago and arrived while he was finishing his yardwork. I was amazed to see him running his big-ass backpack leafblower with protective glasses, but no plugs.. A recording engineer!!
Sometimes I'll even wear plugs when not "protecting" my hearing, sometimes just to acclimate to the attenuation for a little while before mixing (ie: while reading forums, downloading files from FTP). Then I take them out when I begin and my hearing seems super-acute for a while, even at very moderate SPLs .. I dunno, it's fun.
Maybe I'm a freak. I have no idea if I'm being overprotective, but I hear well, my audiometric test results always look like a line at the top of the graph, and I value the quality and quantity..
Do most of you use them as much? I'm curious about the etymotics or other fitted plugs. I've I've been perfectly happy with plain-old foam plugs, but a custom pair might make a good birthday or x-mas present.
BTW: Best AES swag ever? Fletcher/Mercenary's "HUH??" earplug pouches. I still carry the yellow one from the 1994 AES in SF.
-dave