As a music enthusiast and audiophile, I get this question from my readers and followers on social media platforms like Tiktok and Reddit: Why do singers wear Ear Plugs at concerts and different gigs? I always answer them with one sentence: It is said that a single concert is enough for permanent hearing loss, and no singer ever wants to get tinnitus. Got an idea?
In this article, I have answered this query in detail for my followers, and the benefits ear plugs bring to the singers. Moreover, you will learn about whether singers can hear the crowd or not while wearing earplugs.
Why do singers wear Ear Pieces?
If you have witnessed a concert and a live show of your favorite singer, you would know how the sound of instruments and audience gets loud. The roaring crowd, dazzling orchestra, and singing mix into the bluster.
How can singers then manage to hear their voice to configure whether they are on point or missing any part of the tune? Knowing the reasons and issues singers face while performing on the stage clarifies the need for in-ears for singers.
Several reasons persuade the singers to wear earplugs while singing on the stage include the following.
What do in-ear monitors sound like | IEMs?
The singers use in-ear monitors on the stage to balance the sound quality during the performance. IEMs help monitors the performance with the help of the drivers and the dynamic soundstage they produce. Moreover, the in-ear monitors bring the dB to a lower level, allowing you to hear the sound according to your needs.
Do singers have lyrics on stage | Click Track?
Singers don’t have lyrics before performing in front of an audience. However, reading from a screen might not go well with the audience. In this case, it would be unprofessional and have a poor impact. So, to deal with this issue, the earpieces help them with the lyrics.
Different singers use click track – Metronome phenomena that bring balance to the lyrics and the music. It helps the singers manage the music’s tempo and provides a hint while listening to the orchestra with the proper timing.
Avoid Hearing Loss
The main reason why singers wear earplugs is to avoid hearing loss. Music concerts and gigs bring loud noise that bursts into the ears of the singers, which leads to hearing problems like tinnitus. Overall, the earplugs disconnect you from the crowd, but you should not compromise your health at any cost.
Loud noise and frequencies can damage your hearing capability, and you will become a deaf singer. Would you risk your hearing in return for mixing and clear audience interaction? If not, then wearing earplugs is the wise move.
You can read it also: Why Do Singers Wear Headphones While Recording
Help in Moving Freely
The earplugs or pieces help you move freely on the stage to interact with the audience. It further brings more relaxed singing than the wired or wedge monitors used to do. So, earplugs bring convenience to the singers on the stage in every possible way of unbound feel.
Earplugs for Orchestral Musicians
The orchestral musicians are the necessary part of the show to produce the music for the singers. Earplugs lower the impact of all other noises and enable you to listen to your instrument to the dB you want to hear. Like, if you are a drummer, you can wear ear plugs and decrease upto 20 dB of the sound.
Can singers hear the audience?
The earplugs lower the music and audience sound, letting them focus more on their voice and keep up with the tone. The singers mainly can not correctly hear the audience because they protect their ears from roaring audience noise – it is like wearing earplugs in the club. So, I would say they listen to the audience’s noise and shoutings but can not correctly hear them as they have to keep track according to the metronome.
Final Words
In this article, different reasons persuade the singers to wear Earplugs, and one of the main reasons is hearing loss from continuous sound. Moreover, I have enlisted the critical benefits of the earplugs and earpieces to bring to the singers along with the audience interaction using earplugs.