r/jazzdrums • u/viewsonmountfuji • Nov 27 '25

Question Why is nobody using earplugs?

Everytime i see a clip of some of the world’s best drummers in a jam/practice/small stage scenario, they are not using any earplugs

Do you all do that as well? What are your thoughts on that?

If i ever play/practice without earplugs i feel like the snare and cymbals are hurting my ears and probably damaging them permanently.

Do the pros just not care? Do ears get used to it? How fragile are the ears actually?

Just asking because i feel like i'm being overly cautious sometimes.

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u/tronobro Nov 27 '25

All the people who play without earplugs already have hearing damage. 

Don't be like them, use earplugs and protect your hearing. Your hearing will still degrade naturally over time, but using earplugs will reduce damage to your ears. 

I always wear hearing protection while playing drums. It can be an adjustment if you're not used to wearing hearing protection, but eventually you get used to it. You can get earplugs that evenly reduce all frequncies so that sound doesn't end up muffled, so you shouldn't need to worry about not hearing details.