Should I get 15 or 25dB ear plugs?

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Anyone have subjective experience with how much these mute the world?

I currently have some ER20 plugs that I find a nice level of noise reduction while still allowing normal conversation with people. Unfortunately wearing them for long periods is annoying as they move around making creaking and popping sounds.

I have decided to get some custom moulded "musician's plugs" from Ultimate Ear and have the impressions being taken on Monday.

Had they a 20dB option I would have gone for that and I'm not sure if 25dB will feel like I'm too isolated?

The background is last year I went to the Reading Festival and came away with constant ringing in my ears :(

I find myself generally more sensitive to noise than my friends and often find loud bars or live music on the verge of being too loud.

I'd like to wear them all day long at Reading this year and generally carry them when going out. Being able to hold down a conversation with them in is also a requirement.

If I get the 15s I can always take the ER20 or foam plugs with me if I know I'm going somewhere loud.
 
Every 3dB will effectively half the sound you can hear at a certain frequency range.

E.g a noise of 23dB will sound louder (double) than a noise at 20dB

I specify 26dB ear plugs in work as we have an C weighted level of 90dB, so effectlively the 'real noise' level is 64dB.

You're never going to know how good they are without trying them. I've got access to 5 or 6 different styles of ear protectors at work and some are truly rubbish.
 
You can get DIY kits for about £12-15 that have an SNR of 26db. Worth trying those to see if the amount of noise reduction is suitable (or if you need the UE ones at all).
 
Think I will try out the 15dB ones and also get 25dB cartridges for them if they are not too pricey.

For most situations I plan to use them I suspect something nearly 4 times quieter than my ER20 will be too much.

What I'm looking for is something to wear in noisy, at least partially social environments where the majority of people will not be wearing hearing protection.

When I go and watch the DTM (German touring cars) at Brands Hatch in a month you can bet my life I'll be wearing something with a lot more attenuation than 15dB. The cheapo foam plugs I bought at the track last time were very effective though do make normal communication next to impossible. The ER20 sound like I'm wearing nothing in comparison.
 
EVH said:
Every 3dB will effectively half the sound you can hear at a certain frequency range.

E.g a noise of 23dB will sound louder (double) than a noise at 20dB
Click to expand...

You're kind of half right.

Measuring perceived volumes in db is not the same as the power required to amplify to a certain volume.

I'm a live sound engineer and I use these:

I have the 15db filters and I would say this reduces the overall volume by about 35-40%. I imagine the 25db filters will maybe halve perceived volume.

Edit: if I were to buy again I would get these. Read the part about occlusion to see why :)
 
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3dB is a doubling of actual sound intensity, not a doubling of perceived volume. Anywhere between 6-10dB (it varies for each person, but 10 seems more common) is a doubling of perceived volume.

I'm also a sound engineer and I use custom molded pair of plugs with 20dB flat response filters for live work. :)
 
I doubt you'll be able to hold conversations easily with the 25db ones. I have some custom IEMs with roughly that attenuation and conversations are pretty tricky to maintain. Many musicians I play with use either the 15s or the 25s (or IEMs) and I'd say that the 15s are okay for conversation but the 25s are better suited for very loud environments (large stage work, basically) :)

Hope that's of some help. The cartridge / insert option is a useful one to explore as you rightly point out :)

arty
 
Thanks for the advice. I'll go for the 15dB ones and see how they go.

Will post back my experiences in a month when I've had a chance to wear them a while.

banja said:
Edit: if I were to buy again I would get these. Read the part about occlusion to see why
Click to expand...
I saw those and would most likely go for them if I could be sure of getting the mouldings and finished product completed quickly enough.

My decision to buy moulded ones came a little too late for comfort and ultimate ear offer an expedited 2 week turnaround.
 
Looking at the filters used (the silver metal part in the mould) and the EQ plots for the filters, I assume they (the filters themselves) are actually made by the same company as I linked to.

I don't recall how long mine took. They were more expensive though at £164.50.

When they're in, external sounds are quite clear and I actually find conversations easier (15db filters) but your own voice still sounds muffled, which is why the vocalist 17db version appeals to me.
 
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