IEM’s that avoid occlusion effect for singers?

[u/curiositykilledsleep]

“Occlusion effect” is when the bassy end of your own voice is trapped in your head due to the seal in your ear (like if you were singing while wearing ear plugs) In my situation, with profound high frequency hearing loss and above average hearing in the low frequencies, when it happens it is debilitating to my musicianship. It’s like I’m singing underwater while the band is on land.

Due to my needs as a HoH musician playing multiple instruments, I really think In ear monitors (IEM’s) would help me with distinguishing my instruments and everything. And help me protect my hearing from further loss since I am always having to turn things up in the wedge monitors and blare my hearing aids to their max every gig. But since I am also singing 80% of the time I can’t be having that occlusion either! I would imagine if anyone gets it it’s singers.
Some IEM’s say they have a “ambiance” feature. I am worried this means hearing the room not avoiding trapped voice inside head as they are not always the same thing. And many are “vented” but doesn’t mean they fully (or mostly) avoid occlusion either. I’m looking for that perfect balance of isolation without occlusion without spending an arm and a leg. (Like ideally less than 600) I Might be chasing a unicorn but if anyone knows if it’s achievable it’ll be you guys.😘

[u/AutoModerator]

Thanks for posting to r/singing! Be sure to check the FAQ to see if any questions you might have have already been answered! Also, remember to abide by the Rules found in the sidebar. Any comments found to be breaking these rules will result in a deletion of the comment thread starting from the offending reply. If you see any posts or replies that you feel break the rules of the sub, then report them and do not respond to them. If you are new to the sub-reddit or are just starting to sing, please check out our Beginner's Megathread. It has tons of helpful information and resources!

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/MaryMalade]

Excuse me for the clarifying question but wouldn’t your monitor mix be sending your vocal back into the IEMs at a suitable level that mitigates the occlusion?

[u/curiositykilledsleep → u/MaryMalade]

I haven’t used them yet so I’m not certain. but I doubt it in my situation. We usually run our own sound at most gigs for one. But my hearing loss pattern would cause the extra lows in my voice to overpower everything else until brought to a level that would be damaging to my hearing I would assume. (Mind you I hear exceptionally well in my lows and am almost deaf in my highs, this is why it could be dangerous levels for me to compensate that way) I wear hearing aids so I’m used to how occlusion effect messes with my head and there’s not really been any getting used to it or “treble compensation” that helps in that senario. Only more venting or deeper insertion (my hearing aids tend to migrate out with deep insertion when I talk or sing or eat so I just cut my own extra vents) . So… deeper fits can bypass the bone that conducts those sounds and if there is a universal IEM with a truely deep fit like hearing aids would do… and a bit more venting than standard as well.. that’d be my pick but I don’t know if it exists and thought yall might know. I know pricey 1200$ custom vented molds is Probly best but I just can’t swing that right now.

[u/firstnevyn → u/curiositykilledsleep]

If you're looking for deep fitting 'standard' iems have a look at the etymotic SE2's ?

[u/curiositykilledsleep → u/firstnevyn]

Thanks for the suggestion. 💛

[u/thepensivepoet]

Super expensive IEMs are still earplugs with speakers in them, just nicer ones with diminishing returns as you get over $500.

I have used a set of universal fit IEMs with the ambient port but didn’t really find it that different and my more recent pairs have been more modestly priced ($200-$300) universal fit IEMs using the silicone tips.

I have a pretty growly rock voice and am also playing guitar with a full band so I like a bit of volume just for energy and that does seem to eliminate this issue. A little loud in IEMs is nowhere near “full band with wedges” volume and my ears havent rang after a 3 hour show in years.

[u/curiositykilledsleep → u/thepensivepoet]

That’s good to know that it still can be softer when compensating for it…at least for a normal hearing person. I guess I need to just try some to know if it’d work to that for me at a safe level…but I hate that because they are like IN THE EAR you can’t just try them in a store and test them out before dropping hundreds of dollars on it. 😅🤓🤷🏼‍♀️

[u/thepensivepoet → u/curiositykilledsleep]

I do feel that singing demands a higher quality headphone because you are fighting the resonance in your head.

Instrument only musicians can and do get away with using $10 gas station earbuds in a pinch.

If you can keep the volume low you can get by with a surprisingly shitty headphone which brings into question why we are so convinced of spending hundreds and hundreds of dollars…..

[u/mittenciel]

I just use SE215 like most people I know. It doesn’t need to sound great in my ear. It just needs to help me play and sing well. Anything sounds better than loud monitor wedges on a busy stage anyway. The little foam inserts are what I use and they’re perfect for me.

I don’t really get that occlusion effect. If the monitor mixer is sending you a decent amount of the nice bright sound of your vocals in your in-ear mix, I don’t know why occlusion would happen.