I have tinnitis and can confirm it is not fun.

BUT, not worth smoking a Sig Sauer over...

It is thanks in large part to my Rogers Powertone snares! Thanks Rogers!FYI

I Always use earplugs! ... I have hearing protection molded to my ears, I usually need to get new molds every 5 years & usually use -15db filters... With professional hearing protection I can choose what level of reduction I want, (i have several sets of filters with differing db reduction). The quality is great, they provide even sound level reduction with out the High end loss you get with foam ear plugs... I highly recommend spending the $150 @ your local audiologist, (a small price to pay for protecting your hearing), if you play music and plan on continuing to play.

I make my living as a live sound engineer, My hearing is important ! Most shows are on average 100 to 110 db... after 15 minutes exposure to 85 db you are damaging your hearing. it is exposure over time & major spikes in db level that will damage your hearing. Do yourself a favor and protect your hearing.

Yes i wear them have been for year's.Back in the mid 70's i used earphone's they were used as my moniter's..Now i wear the small ear moniter's when iam playing gig's..At practicing i just wear the cheap orange or blue earplug's....Mikey

Molded to your ears plugs or better yet monitors in custom plugs either way 20DB protection .. I learned the hard way and way to late , started in the early 60.s and by 69 was playing in front of Vox super beatles and marshall stacks and now i have tennitis and it is not fun so I don't give a rats A$$ what it costs you get the plugs or monitors in ear it will be the best money you ever spend..

P.S. I like alien ears C3's

With me it's a must. I play in a very hard and loud rock band , i'm 41 years old and i still hear fine and i would like to keep my hearing for many more great drumming years to come . I see and hear kids at some show's laughing and say that s%*^# is for *****'s , I just say ok then cause we all know that they will be paying for those comments down the road.

On rehearsals: a must, I use a 3m safety headphones slightly earcup raised.

Live...depends on general volume, usually foam earplugs with a hole

Always. Standard issue military shooting silicone plugs. I find they enable me to hear better without any extraneous overtones, so that practicing precise press rolls, etc., is much easier, as is tuning up heads. I can also hear conversational speech perfectly in a huge hall with a loud band playing when wearing them. I understand they're now marketing the "Domestic Tranquility" model pair of ear plugs - you wear them while nodding and smiling and repeating "Yes, dear!"

In ear monitors for me. shure all the way.

I, too, am a fan of AE's C3s. I've had mine for about 4 years with no issues. I've replaced 2 cables but the monitors still work great. When I'm at a gig that I can't use my in-ear monitors, I use Hear-Os High Fidelity ear plugs. They're flanged silicone, so you can put them as far into your ear canal as you need to for as much or as little high frequency reduction as you like. I can still have a conversation with the other musicians while they're in my ears, but I don't push them too far into my ear canal. Here's a link: http://www.hearos.com/products/high-fidelity.

Before I used hearing protection, I'd go home with a headache and TERRIBLE ringing in my ears after every gig. Now, the only ringing I hear after a gig is from the tinnitus because I played for several years without hearing protection. Fortunately, mine is not too bad. Protect your ears!

Lynn