Top 6 types of hearing protection for drummers.

Which is the best hearing protection for drummers? If a 1 dollar piece of foam does the job of protecting our precious hearing, why would some drummers shell out hundreds of dollars for something that does the same thing?

Here are the pros and cons of each type of hearing protection.


Foam earplugs (US$1)
My weapon of choice during practice sessions and teaching. They're unobtrusive, so bandmates and students won't notice. However, students who have small ear canals have had trouble getting a tight fit.

Pros: Inexpensive, replacable and widely available.
Cons: Won't fit everyone nicely. Tends to cut out more high frequencies than low. Lost easily.
Where to buy: Pharmacies, music stores.

Musician's earplugs (US$5-20)
Many of these earplugs claim to have a balanced frequency isolation than normal earplugs. Unfortunately, I find the triple flanged buds uncomfortable, and they never seem to isolate properly. They do looks nice because they come in a variety of colours.

Pros: More balanced isolation than foam buds (if you can find a tight seal).
Cons: Expensive, easy to lose.
Where to buy: Music stores, online.

Workers Earmuffs (US$10-20)
These come in different sizes and shapes and tend to be more comfortable than earplugs. However, they vary in isolation - some are more balanced than others. Remember to check the decibal noise reduction. (22db is usually sufficient).

Pros: Cheap and hard to lose.
Cons: Very obstrusive.
Where to buy: Hardware stores, online.

Drummer's Noise Isolation Headset ($60-200+)
Vic Firth makes a decent quality pair of noise isolation headphones. They aren't the most comfortable for people like me who wear specs, and start to feel tight after a while. Their sound quality is decent. Metrophone also makes a pair with 29db isolation and a built in metronome ($99). If sound quality is important, GK Music makes 29db "Ultraphones" for studio work and maximum isolation ($229). They look a bit nerdy for live settings though.

Pros: Great for playing along with tracks.
Cons: They get can a little hot and tight after a while (I know what you're thinking... stop it).
Where to buy: Music stores, online.

In-Ear Headphones ($50-300+)
Once you've listened to music through a good pair of in-ear headphones, you'll never go back to normal headphones. I would replace my UE Super.Fi 5 Pros ($200) any time of year simply because everyone sounds so good with them. They seem to have a more balanced frequency isolation than foam earplugs.

Pros: Great sound quality, good isolation. Ideal for live and playing with tracks.
Cons: Not everyone can get used to the feel of something sticking deep inside their ears. Can be pricey.

Custom molded earplugs ($200+)
What the pro musicians use as sound monitors as at gigs. They are guaranteed to be comfortable and isolate well because you have to go to a specialist to have the mold made. PerfectFit makes molds that that go with most In-Ear headphone brands.

Pros: Comfortable, great sound quality.
Cons: Very expensive. Takes up to 2 weeks for them to be made.

Rock Band vs DTXMania as a drum learning tool

When Guitar Hero came out, many guitarists bashed the game for bastardizing their art and reducing it to finger tapping game with 5 frets. Others argued the game's merits - that it inspires players, increases their appreciation for music, and that it's difficult songs requires a high amount of technical skill (and immortalizing Herman Li as some sort of guitar god).

This argument was brought over to the drumming community when Rock Band came out. While it's colourful 4-pad controller was similarly dismissed by purists, there's no denying that the game forces you to learn realistic drum patterns. Subsequent controllers (such as the ION drum rocker) amended this lack of realism. Nevertheless, the game is not ideal as a drum learning tool in many ways:

- Firstly, the game's 5-lane limitation makes the notation MORE confusing for beginners since one pad can double as many cymbals, so students may have trouble recognizing when to hit what when it comes to a real set.
- It's coulourful animations and design suggests it to be what it is - a game. Parents would scoff if they saw their son playing Rockband in their $30/hour drum lesson.
- Drum charts cannot be created or edited. Wouldn't it be nice if you could ask your student to transcribe their favourite song and then play it for you?

The computer simulator DTXMania (based on Rockband's predecessor Drummania) solves the above problems by having 8 lanes with separate notation for open hihat/ride/splash etc. As it is a sim, it relies on user-made simfiles, which means that you can find a plethora songs to play for free (including double bass songs). Granted, the quality of notecharts may vary, and there are less charts for beginners. But it's never too difficult to learn how to transcribe your own simfile.

Unfortunately, being a drum simulator, it does have its drawbacks: lack of online play, no free-soloing sections, few guitar simfiles. But for the solo drummer who looking for the most "realistic" drum game, DTXMania is the one.