Hearing protection for concerts

[Natural Sound]

I go to a lot of concerts and I'm starting to feel/hear the effects of long duration exposure to loud sounds. I'm looking for some type of earplug that will attenuate sound level but retain audio fidelity. I have the standard foam type earplugs and they work well to lower the dB's but they also tend to be muddled in sound. There are a lot of options out there for musicians and such. I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with such a thing. I'll be going on another music cruise this year http://cruisetotheedge.com/. Which is basically 5 days of concerts. Last year I think I sustained additional hearing loss while photographing some of the event. Reason being is that the foam earplugs I had sounded like crap so I didn't put them in. I want to be prepared a little better this year. Any recommendations will be appreciated.

 

[fullheadofnothing]

I've had a pair of Etymotic earplugs for almost 10 years. They block sound evenly across the spectrum, so they don't have the overly muffled sound of foam plugs. They are made out of silicone, so you can clean them as necessary and reuse for years.

 

[vladimirwolfe]

Second thumbs up for the Etymotic. I've had mine for close to a decade too and they're still going strong.

 

[johnsonad]

If your insurance covers audiology, I recommend having a custom molded pair or two made. I have one pair for concerts (even 15dB drop) and another for riding motorcycles.