# Metal fan suffering from severe Tinnitus commits suicide



## Xaios (Jul 23, 2009)

Copied from this article on Metalstorm.ee...



> Sad news in the Belgian newspapers today. Dietrich Hectors, a 29-year old Belgian metalhead (and a doctor of engineering) killed himself last Friday because he was suffering from a severe form of tinnitus and hyperacusis. Tinnitus is an incurable condition, where the ear is permanently damaged, resulting in an over-sensitivity to certain frequency ranges of sound. Despite taking some sort of medication, in the end, every single sound hurted his ears, especially his own voice. "This disease controls my life: every word hurts."
> 
> His ears got damaged permanently after a Sepultura concert in 1996. From then on, he used ear plugs for almost every loud activity. After a rehearsel with his metal band - where he forgot his plugs because he was in a hurry - his condition got worse. Eventually, Dietrich Hectors was forced to quit the band in 2003. He also gave up most of his social life - avoiding pubs etc. - locking himself up in total loneliness and silence. After visiting a small, local music festival in 2006, he took off his ear plugs, just when people started firing fireworks right next to him. When he got his plugs back in, already a few explosions had passed. The next few days, his ears started hurting like never before.
> 
> ...



Talk about sobering. As a musician, if I had to suffer through that, I don't think I could bear it either. It's like an unimaginably cruel joke, taking one of your greatest joys in life and turning it into the ultimate torment. Not fucking fair.



R.I.P.


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## aphelion (Jul 23, 2009)

hectic


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## AySay (Jul 23, 2009)

That's really sad, but you gotta be pretty careless to get that far along. I mean, all his little mishaps after the sepultura concert and being diagnosed with tinnitus were preventable... 
I also think it's the metal community's fault for this overly loud shit. It takes away all the nuances of the music while failing at being anymore bt00talz or whatever.


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## scottro202 (Jul 23, 2009)

thats too bad.  makes me glad that I wear earplugs at every concert, gig, or rehersal I go to. I was at a blues jam tonight, and where most people couldn't hear afterwards, my ears didn't even ring. 

this should be a lesson to every musician that DOESN'T wear earplugs, to make the trip to guitar center/sam ash/whatever to spend the $10-15 and get some hi-fi earplugs, and save their ears.

I can imagine what it would be like. yesterday I shot a gun for the first time (no earplugs), and me and my grandfather were listenin to a comedy tape on the way back, and I couldnt bear it. (it's gone now thankfully). 

My thoughts and prayers go with his friends and family


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## EliNoPants (Jul 23, 2009)

that really sucks, i've got minor tinnitus and i hear a ringing constantly, but i've never had actual pain from it, that is an incredibly sad story...something like music going from being the greatest thing to being the worst


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## MTech (Jul 23, 2009)

that's awful...I'm wondering if we'll hear a lawsuit on sepultura because of this next.


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## ralphy1976 (Jul 23, 2009)

that is really bad. sometimes i wonder about modern science, being a scientist myself, that we spend gazillions of dollars on theoretical research but seem to do not as much as we should in medical development.

Hopefully wherever that gentleman went he is now in peace.


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## drmosh (Jul 23, 2009)

AySay said:


> That's really sad, but you gotta be pretty careless to get that far along. I mean, all his little mishaps after the sepultura concert and being diagnosed with tinnitus were preventable...
> I also think it's the metal community's fault for this overly loud shit. It takes away all the nuances of the music while failing at being anymore bt00talz or whatever.



Some people are just more sensitive to tinnitus than others, and it's not just loud noises. Stress is a major part of it.

And blaming the entire metal community is just ridiculous


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## AySay (Jul 23, 2009)

drmosh said:


> Some people are just more sensitive to tinnitus than others, and it's not just loud noises. Stress is a major part of it.
> 
> And blaming the entire metal community is just ridiculous



Yeah...the metal community thing was a little over the top.


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## signalgrey (Jul 23, 2009)

thats horrible. ive been wearing some kind of plug for a few years now. even if its tissue paper. anything is better than an ear fucking.

it also dosent hurt to turn it down.


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## Empryrean (Jul 23, 2009)

dear god im scared now, I get a painful screech in my ears when im playing on my 7321 a 'little' loud, i really hope the pickups are just microphonic and it isn't my ears. do microphonic pups do that to you?


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## ShadyDavey (Jul 23, 2009)

In a similar vein for those of you who are aware of a bass player called Marcel Jacob (worked with Malmsteen and Europe as well as Talisman with Jeff Scott Soto):

BLABBERMOUTH.NET - TALISMAN/Ex-YNGWIE MALMSTEEN Bassist MARCEL JACOB Dead At 45


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## Origins (Jul 23, 2009)

R.I.P

I think that the fault come from both sides: gigs are too loud, people don´t use ear-plugs.
last month we saw a gig with my gf and we were just in front. She didn´t use ear-plugs because she didn´t feel the need to. I cannot force her to do it, but I know she might get some problems by doing that all the time.

I don´t think that metal gigs are louder than a Madonna concert or any other´s. People tend to forget that it´s not the music but the loudness to take in count. I would blame people who are in charge of organizing any musical event if it´s too loud. 
Anyway when I go to a gig, I even need the ear-plugs to actually hear what is going on. What a shame..



> that is really bad. sometimes i wonder about modern science, being a scientist myself, that we spend gazillions of dollars on theoretical research but seem to do not as much as we should in medical development.


That´s because they don´t care about Tinnitus.
It´s so much more interesting to make fluorescent rabbits and to clone sheep you know


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## Scar Symmetry (Jul 23, 2009)

I say good on him, I don't even want to think about a life without music/friends/speaking.


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## ShadyDavey (Jul 23, 2009)

I actually went to a Dave Lee Roth concert in the 80's and it was painfully loud - the same thing happened at a Motorhead concert (yeah, what was I thinking) with the result that I couldn't hear properly for days. You only get one set of ears and it really does pay to take care of them before something irreversible happens.



> That´s because they don´t care about Tinnitus.
> It´s so much more interesting to make fluorescent rabbits and to clone sheep you know



Cynical, but very true.


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## Senensis (Jul 23, 2009)

It's really sad to see such an ending to a young man's life. Gigs are just too loud, earplugs or not - anyway, how much more cynical can it get : sound pressure is supposed to be heavily regulated, yet earpluggs are given out because it's too loud. Right. (I actually avoid the biggest concert place in Paris just because they just set it all up to 11 everytime there, it hurts even with high end earplugs).

Hoh, and read up a bit about Tinnitus before saying life scientist don't look into it. It's basically cell death, so there is just no way to revert it. The only practical thing to do is cut the nerve connecting the eardrum to the brain, so you loose the Tinnitus... and the hearing at the same time. And it's not even sure it will suppress the background hiss. Otherwise, the option is heavy medication with numerous side effects. To sum it up : wear earplugs.


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## distressed_romeo (Jul 23, 2009)

Wow. That's really sad.

Makes me really glad my old band always used to wear earplugs at every rehearsal. I've been lucky in terms of concert going though. The only one that really affected my hearing was Motorhead almost ten yers ago, and even that only lasted about ten minutes.


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## vampiregenocide (Jul 23, 2009)

Man...thats deep. I'm sure if they researched it, there could be some sort of surgery to cure tinnitus.


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## ShadyDavey (Jul 23, 2009)

distressed_romeo said:


> Wow. That's really sad.
> 
> Makes me really glad my old band always used to wear earplugs at every rehearsal. I've been lucky in terms of concert going though. The only one that really affected my hearing was Motorhead almost ten yers ago, and even that only lasted about ten minutes.



I saw them as part of their "Merry Christmas and Fuck Off" tour - the PSH (partial shift of hearing) lasted days...as did the aftereffects of Suicidal Tendancies and Living Colour at the same Venue (Nottingham Rock City).

Hence, I don't go there any more.



vampiregenocide said:


> Man...thats deep. I'm sure if they researched it, there could be some sort of surgery to cure tinnitus.



The cells die man, there's nothing that you can do - look at Paul Gilbert, or Jeff Beck....all you can do is prevent further deterioration.


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## Origins (Jul 23, 2009)

Senensis said:


> Hoh, and read up a bit about Tinnitus before saying life scientist don't look into it. It's basically cell death, so there is just no way to revert it. The only practical thing to do is cut the nerve connecting the eardrum to the brain, so you loose the Tinnitus... and the hearing at the same time. And it's not even sure it will suppress the background hiss. Otherwise, the option is heavy medication with numerous side effects. To sum it up : wear earplugs.



Don´t tell me what we cannot do man.
I don´t think we ever thought about going on the Moon two hundred years ago. We did.
There is always new incredible things we discover every single day.
We can pretty much play God.
Only we don´t do the right things.


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## vontetzianos (Jul 23, 2009)

That's really sad. I really feel for him not being able to do the things he loved let alone even endure his own voice. I've started to be really careful with my ears nowadays, and even though I don't play live at the moment I still am careful around high volumes.


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## Nick (Jul 23, 2009)

yeah ive recently started using earplugs at gigs and practice fuck going back to 

3333333!


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## Rick (Jul 23, 2009)

Wow, that really sucks.


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## Arteriorrhexis (Jul 23, 2009)

That's horrible...
That scares me because every time I have practice and someone hits the snare I flinch.


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## Sang-Drax (Jul 23, 2009)




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## powergroover (Jul 23, 2009)

Origins said:


> R.I.P
> 
> 
> I don´t think that metal gigs are louder than a Madonna concert or any other´s. People tend to forget that it´s not the music but the loudness to take in count.





metal is not the one to blame


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## vampiregenocide (Jul 23, 2009)

ShadyDavey said:


> The cells die man, there's nothing that you can do - look at Paul Gilbert, or Jeff Beck....all you can do is prevent further deterioration.



Yeah but there must be some way to remove damaged tissue and place either synthetic or grown fresh tissue instead. I mean, they can reattach arms, remove half a brain and replace hearts with animal hearts, surely replacing some damaged ear tissue wouldn't be that hard? I don't know, I'm sure they'll come up with something at some point.


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## Esp Griffyn (Jul 23, 2009)

Origins said:


> Don´t tell me what we cannot do man.
> I don´t think we ever thought about going on the Moon two hundred years ago. We did.
> There is always new incredible things we discover every single day.
> We can pretty much play God.
> Only we don´t do the right things.



Stem cell research is a coming along, but we are a long way from being able to replicate the cells destroyed by high noise pressure, and even if they could be replaced, performing a surgery inside the skull via the ear canal would be nigh impossible.

Sure, we can't say for sure that we won't ever be able to cure tinitus and other such ailments, but for now it looks a hell of a long way off. Wear ear plugs.


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## WarriorOfMetal (Jul 23, 2009)

I posted this over on MetalStorm also, but I'll repost it here:

It's worth mentioning that low frequencies can do just as much (if not more) damage to your hearing as the highs...I say possibly more, because people don't think of them being as damaging.

Cheap foam earplugs don't block low frequencies very well...but they drastically reduce highs and lead to horribly muffled sound with lots of low frequencies that can still do some damage. You should look for earplugs that have a flatter frequency response...things will sound better overall, and you still get protection. If you're serious about music and can afford it, custom earplugs are the way to go (I've been wanting some for a while, I just haven't been able to afford it)...but the next best thing would be something like the Etymotic Research ER-20 or Hearos Hi-Fi (they're the same thing, just re-labeled). I've been using those for a few years, and they're significantly better than foam plugs, and not very expensive...about $10-15 at Guitar Center in the US...not sure about other places.


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## kmanick (Jul 24, 2009)

wow that sucks
RIP
I have tinnitus in my right ear and I've been to several specialists and there's not much they can do.
Mine didn't even start from volume either, mine started after a sinus infection last march. 
Now I wear plugs all the time (at shows) and never play loud when I practice at home.
I recently started taking Klonapan at night and it actually does kill the hiss, but you have to be careful with the dose because there are a lot of negative side effects (that I experienced with a higher dose).


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## leandroab (Jul 24, 2009)

I dunno about frequencies... But any sound pressure above some threshold (I think 170dB) can perma damage your hearing... It doesn't matter if it was 10Hz or 100000Hz...


Anyways, this sucks man...

He's probably in a better place.


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## biggness (Jul 25, 2009)

Man that sucks.  

I try to watch out for my ears as much as possible. A good rule of thumb is: If it is too loud for you hear normal talking voices, then it is damaging your ears. 

On a lighter side:
I have a friend who has been a drummer for about 15 years. He has never wore any type of ear protection. I never noticed he had any trouble hearing, till one he came down stairs and I asked him "Hot in here?" and he replied, in all seriousness, "Hard of hearing?"


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## alex103188 (Jul 25, 2009)

Welp, sounds like I'm getting some earplugs!

I've been playing guitar since I was 15 but just recently started jamming with a solid drummer every weekish and he uses plugs. This sort of seals the deal.


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## Harry (Jul 25, 2009)

Wow, that sucks a lot 
Hearing damage is somewhat unavoidable in in the western world anyway, so I wouldn't get too hung up over going to a hearing test and finding out you ears are damaged to at least some extent, as long as you've worn ear plugs regularly enough you'd be fine I imagine.
I used to not wear ear plugs, the god awful ringing in my ears used to really piss me off, I now use them all the time where possible.


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## Swippity Swappity (Jul 28, 2009)

Who else just turned down their music?


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## Esp Griffyn (Jul 28, 2009)

leandroab said:


> I dunno about frequencies... But any sound pressure above some threshold (I think 170dB) can perma damage your hearing... It doesn't matter if it was 10Hz or 100000Hz...
> 
> 
> Anyways, this sucks man...
> ...



70Db is enough to cause permenant damage. The higher the Db, the less time damage takes to occur.


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## Anthony (Jul 28, 2009)

Wow. That guys is the most metal man to ever exist. So metal that he couldn't live without metal. Every band should dedicate a song to him.

RIP


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## cataclysm_child (Jul 28, 2009)

That´s why I ALWAYS wear earplugs... ALWAYS! And if I forget them I go to the bathroom, take some paper and make it wet then make it fit in my ears.

I know I would do just the same thing as he did if that happened to me. Such a tragic thing to happen. May he rest in peace.

Btw. Do you guys know that if you like what you hear the ear can take more dB without getting damaged then if it´s something loud that you don´t like. Even if the noise you don´t like is less dB... Pretty strange.


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## scottro202 (Jul 28, 2009)

cataclysm_child said:


> That´s why I ALWAYS wear earplugs... ALWAYS! And if I forget them I go to the bathroom, take some paper and make it wet then make it fit in my ears.
> 
> I know I would do just the same thing as he did if that happened to me. Such a tragic thing to happen. May he rest in peace.
> 
> *Btw. Do you guys know that if you like what you hear the ear can take more dB without getting damaged then if it´s something loud that you don´t like. Even if the noise you don´t like is less dB... Pretty strange*.


 
not to sound like a dick, but is there any proof of this? because that sounds kinda hard to beleive, it'd be freaky if it was true though.


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## cataclysm_child (Jul 28, 2009)

Hmmm... I learned that years ago. Can´t really remember about the proof, but I did learn it in a sound engineering school. I´ve read the exact opposite too, so who knows. Maybe I shouldn´t way it like it´s a fact, but in my case it seems like that cause I can listen to music I like REALLY loud, and I´ve done that for years without any damage. If I forget to turn the volume down to the next time I hear how loud it actually was, haha. I try to be careful with that loudness even if it can be hard sometimes though.

Another thing I learned is that if you start out with a low volume and gradually increase it the ear can take much higher sounds, and it won´t sound as loud as if you turned the volume right up.

Anyway, as weird as it sounds. I think my ears could take more of some great music than like sitting and listening some industrial working machine noise. Actually, I´ll try to send a question about this to the illustrated science magazine who answers all kind of questions like that


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## poopyalligator (Jul 30, 2009)

I know about this all too well. I went to a show one time, and i wasnt wearing ear plugs. I was really close to the monitor. I noticed a small ring in my ear after the show which i didnt think too much about. I woke up the next day and it was still there, and still didnt think much of it. A couple of days passed by and it was still there. So i thought i would wait it out a couple more days. After about a week it was still there so i decided to go see a doctor. He told me that since it was there for so long my tinnitus was more than likely permanent and would never go away. He even gave me a pamplet about life with tinnitus. Needless to say i was super depressed. After about two more weeks of this horrible ringing in my left ear it finally went away. I went to my doctor to tell him the good news, and to see what he thought about the situation. He told me that the odds of something like that disappearing after three weeks of having it were about 1 in a million. Needless to say I wear plugs at every show, and every time I go anywhere there is going to be an excessive amount of noise. I wear them even when i mow the lawn. There are a lot of places that make custom plugs that fit your ears, and i would strongly recommend that every body who plays their music out, or just loud in their house should get some made. With that being said, I have noticed how many people dont wear them while playing or attending shows. I went to the mayhem metal fest a couple of weeks ago, and noticed NOBODY was wearing plugs except for me, one couple, and the security guards were wearing them. Out of thousands of people being exposed to some of the loudest music i have ever heard only 3 people could be seen wearing plugs.


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## Riffer (Mar 24, 2010)

Half the time at shows my ears hurt more when people try and scream into my ear so I can understand them talk. YOU DONT HAVE TO DO THAT! If you just cup your hand so you're shielding the sound coming from the stage and talk at regular volume into my ear, I usually can understand you pretty well. My friend always uses his hand to shield the noise then proceeds to yell at full sceaming volume into my ear canal.


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## tekkadon d (Mar 24, 2010)

EliNoPants said:


> that really sucks, i've got minor tinnitus and i hear a ringing constantly, but i've never had actual pain from it, that is an incredibly sad story...something like music going from being the greatest thing to being the worst



really? maybe its not the same but if its too quiet it annoys me cause i hear like a ringing and at night i cant sleep without music cause the ringing is just too annoying.


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## SD83 (Mar 24, 2010)

tekkadon d said:


> really? maybe its not the same but if its too quiet it annoys me cause i hear like a ringing and at night i cant sleep without music cause the ringing is just too annoying.



Same here, but only sometimes, and just for a short period of time... the more I concentrate on hearing it, the louder it gets... someone told me that has more to do with stress than permanent damage. 
Poor guy, but maybe his story will remind someone out there to wear earplugs... what it reminds me of is that music nearly everywhere I go is too loud for my taste. You can't do that much about it in rehearsals I guess, but everything else... talking about parties, is it necessary to play the music as loud as in the club? So you can't understand someone sitting 1 meter away from you? It's even worse in some people's cars. It hurts even with earplugs, fuck that! This entire "if it doesn't hurt, it's not loud enough" thing sucks... and it looks like it's not only ruining peoples ears, but also lifes.


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## Spaced Out Ace (Apr 7, 2010)

Ear plugs and noise canceling headphones are your friends [like Paul Gilbert, but even if you don't have music being produced in the head phones]. It's better than killing your hearing.


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## Spaced Out Ace (Apr 7, 2010)

WarriorOfMetal said:


> ...but the next best thing would be something like the Etymotic Research ER-20 or *Hearos Hi-Fi* (they're the same thing, just re-labeled). I've been using those for a few years, and they're significantly better than foam plugs, and not very expensive...about $10-15 at Guitar Center in the US...not sure about other places.


 
Are they the ones who make the Skullplugs or whatever, or is that another company entirely?


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## IDLE (Apr 8, 2010)

That's too bad, I've heard of a few treatments that actually reboot the brain and stop it from expecting those signals from the ear much like the phantom hand stuff. Apparently it's quite radical but...


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## kittencore (Apr 8, 2010)

god this scares me.... i wonder if i should start wearing ear plugs... my ears are still ringing from the boo, oceano and danza show like 2 days ago.


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## WarriorOfMetal (Apr 9, 2010)

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Are they the ones who make the Skullplugs or whatever, or is that another company entirely?



I have no idea what these "Skullplugs" are....probably another company.


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## Sepultorture (Apr 9, 2010)

practice, concerts, loud work spaces, fucking ear plugs all the time

i'm getting in with a live concert production company here in ontario and as soon as i am hired i will be at the hearing clinic to have my custom molded ear plugs made

i like hearing and i couldn't live if i can't bear hearing anything


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## 13point9 (Apr 9, 2010)

Ive just ordered some full range High fidelity ear plugs for me to use until i can afford to get the moulded ones, really starting to worry about my hearing in the future


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## BrailleDecibel (Apr 11, 2010)

I always wore ear plugs in my old band, because we played at ridiculously high levels, but I haven't been in my current band because we don't jam as loud. But alas, I believe I'll be starting now. That Tinnitus is nothing to mess around with.


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