Yesterday, I went to a punk rock show and had tons of fun. One of the bands playing (Jeunesse Apatride) hadn't played in 5 years and the crowd was wild. The other bands playing were also great. Here's a few links if you enjoy Oi! and Ska:
Sadly, those kind of concerts are always waaaaayyyyy too loud. I mostly go to small venue concerts and for some reason the sound technicians think it's a good idea to make everyone's ears bleed. You really don't need to amplify the drums when the whole concert venue is 50m²...
So I bough hearing protection. It was the first time I wore earplugs at a concert and it was great! I can't really compare the model I got (Alpine MusicSafe Classic earplugs) to other brands since it's the only one I tried out, but:
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They were very comfortable. I wore them for about 5 hours and didn't feel any discomfort.
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They came with two sets of plastic tips you insert in the silicone earbuds. I tried the -17db ones but I decided to go with the -18db inserts as it was still freaking loud.
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They fitted very well in my ears even tough I was in the roughest mosh pit I've ever experienced (and I've seen quite a few). I was sweating profusely from all the heavy moshing and never once I feared loosing them.
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My ears weren't ringing when I came back home so I guess they work.
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The earplugs didn't distort sound, only reduce the volume.
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They came with a handy aluminium carrying case that's really durable. You can put it on your keychain and carry them around safely.
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They only cost me ~25 CAD with taxes.
The only thing I disliked was that I found it pretty much impossible to sing while wearing them. as I couldn't really hear myself. With a bit of practice, I was able to sing true but it wasn't great :(
All in all, I'm really happy with my purchase and I don't think I'll ever go to another concert without earplugs.