Tinnitus anyone?

[chartrusepengui]

I am a music teacher, an avid hunter and official. I have always been concerned with my ears/hearing. I have gone to an audiologist and have been fitted for a pair of special custom ear plugs. These plugs filter the sounds that cause problems and cut sounds of certain frequency - lowering decibel's to a safe range.

Basically they work like this - once you put them in you can stand if front of a pep band, on a firing range, or with a person blowing whistle in your ear - yet still hear a normal conversation with the person standing next to you. They h ave been great, and are comfortable. No problems with normal conversation with or without other noise around. You can have them customized for shooting, music, gunfire, etc or for all. They are not cheap - I paid around $300 for the first set - but upgraded so that one set would cover everything. However - they last. I've had them for 17 years and they are still good. I work with the wife of the guy that fitted them and see him fairly often. He has checked them - and they are still like new. Just follow the directions for cleaning and you'll have no problems. he told me that the only thing you need to worry about is not losing them. I'd ask when you go to the ENT.

[phansen]

I had the same problem that you described and simply changed whistles and that corrected it. Fox40 made my ears ring all night. I use an old Acme whistle with the little bead in it and have no problem.
Also tried the noise reducing ear plugs to reduce certain pitches and frequencies, but thought I was missing too much on the court and couldn't get comfortable with them.

[chartrusepengui]

Originally Posted by phansen

I had the same problem that you described and simply changed whistles and that corrected it. Fox40 made my ears ring all night. I use an old Acme whistle with the little bead in it and have no problem.
Also tried the noise reducing ear plugs to reduce certain pitches and frequencies, but thought I was missing too much on the court and couldn't get comfortable with them.

just curious - how did they make you miss thiings. With mine I hear everything - it's not like sticking one of the industrial ear plugs in. Perhaps we aren't talking about the same thing.

[phansen]

Originally Posted by chartrusepengui

just curious - how did they make you miss thiings. With mine I hear everything - it's not like sticking one of the industrial ear plugs in. Perhaps we aren't talking about the same thing.

Mine was molded to fit inside the ear canal so it couldn't be seen. there were no batteries or electronic device with it. It had a small hole it. Can't tell you much more than that. I still use them for loud events, but for officiating I'm just not comfortable using them.

[chartrusepengui]

Mine were molded as well - no electronics involved either. I wear them a lot depending what my teaching assignment is. If in front of a large group band for example - definately wear them all day. This year I am doing choral and don't use them as much. Being that I had to wear them all the time when I got them - I became very comfortable with them quickly.

[ref2coach]

Here is a whistle you might want to try. Best Whistle
I will get one before soccer season starts. I won't give it a try in Basketball because our local association specifies the use of the Fox 40