Question to Musicians: Using Earplugs While Playing Music

[bwspot]

I want to get back to playing drums. I do have electronic drums set.
I am not a professional drummer, I just do it as a hobby in addition to other stuff i like.
It makes me happy and although I do have T i want to enjoy it if I can.
My goal is to learn basic snare rudiments and beats. I am not planning to play gigs. I just want to be able to play some music. I already learned few rudiments and groves but T scared me and I never got back to it.
I learned about 20 groves from
http://www.chiefjosephmiddleschoolmusic.com/resources/Tommy_Igoe-Groove_Essentials-47_Grooves.pdf
and I want to be able to finish my journey and learn all 47.

I had a long break due to lack of time and then my T started so I never got motivated to practice again.
Yesterday I went to listen to some live music and I got excited again.
I dont want to play everyday but I want to practice like 2-3 times a week until I complete my mission.

I am able to set the headsets volume but if the volume is too low I hear hitting against the rubber with my sticks which makes the drumming sound like crap. I think the best approach would be to get some good isolating headsets.

What I wonder is if I practice on the pad, should i protect my ears? Should I wear some plugs?
Are Er20 enough or should I get some custom plugs.
Even if i play with headsets, should I use any further protection?

It seems like if I would get musician earplugs, I would be protected when necessary.
So even with headsets the plugs would adjust the volume automatically and while playing on the pad every time I would hit the pad too hard I would automatically be protected?

http://www.hearingreview.com/2014/07/high-notes-musicians-earplugs/

What are your thoughts?

 

[Della]

Hello, @bwspot ... I'm sorry no one ever replied to your post! I just stumbled across it today myself. You may have moved on by now, but I thought I'd share what I do to cope with T while still doing my music. I'm an electric bassist doing mostly jazz, and used to play professionally but nowadays I mainly just play for fun. I am able to do an occasional paying gig, and some friends and I have a group that plays weekly in our living room. I would say absolutely get some custom musicians earplugs. They really make a difference. I have two sets of them with different strength filters, one for moderately loud environments and one for really loud ones. (I also have a couple of different kinds of off-the-shelf sets for noisy restaurants, movie theaters, etc.) I carry all of these with me all the time, and I'm religious about using whichever ones will protect my ears the most in a given situation.

I've often done what you suggest, combining earplugs with headphones, and I find it helpful. Not always comfortable for extended periods, but you can't have everything. The most important thing is to experiment, carefully, and to put the health of your ears first. Good luck!

Della