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I originally added this section to my website a few years ago to help other parents like myself who have young kids and are bringing them, or are thinking of bringing their kids to concerts. As a professional struggling musician, Berklee College of music graduate and a recording engineer I know how important protecting your hearing is. When I was still in College and still gigging with my band, I had custom molded earplugs made to protect my hearing. The fact is, once you've messed up your hearing it's gone and there's no getting it back. Just ask some rock stars like Pete Townsend or Jeff Beck who will never get that ringing out of their ears. Even as an adult now, after years of using earplugs myself, I can start to hear my hearing go a little and have some some mild ringing from the years of abuse. Just imagine if I hadn't worn earplugs?
So anyway, when my daughter was born a few years ago it seemed the days of going to concerts were pretty much over. Luckily though after a few years when she was a little older, one of my favorite bands Phish 
came out of hibernation and it seemed like the perfect chance to bring her to a concert. A lot of people told me I was crazy since she was only 3 at the time, but unlike rock clubs, the larger stadium venue seemed a better choice for bringing a child to a concert for the first time. I figured there were no mosh pits; there were actual seats, some civility, etc. Might as well give it a shot? Start 'em young.
Obviously the first thing I did after getting tickets was look to see what kind of hearing protection they make for children. Like I said, I have custom earplugs for my hearing, but what about kids? What sort of hearing protection do they make for them, or do they even make them at all? Would I have to use adult earmuffs or something? I did some on-line searching and ended up getting her a pair of kids headphones (in pink of course) for the concert.
Below are the old pictures I used to have up here from her first concert. They've really held up over time (almost 3 years now) and believe it or not still fit perfectly.
As you can see by the pictures, she absolutely loves the kids headphones and she wore them for the entire concert. Even after the concert she started wearing them for other stuff too. Around the house she would put them on if I was mowing the grass, vacuuming, or just doing anything that was, as she called it "daddy, you're too loud!!!". So of course whenever I plug in the ol' electric guitar to the 120 watt guitar amp, out come the headphones.
So I just wanted to end by saying thank you to everyone who has visited this page over the years. For some reason every year more and more people seem to visit (I guess more parents are being adventurous and bringing their kids to concerts). And If you are going to purchase some headphones for the kids to go to a concert or whatever, definitely check out my Amazon.com Links All the links are through Amazon.com and not some no name "Earplug Warehouse" on-line store you've never heard of before. Not to mention free shipping and all that if you go over $25. (I've even added some international links on the side if you're from the UK, Germany, etc)
So yeah, If do you end up going to shows, please enjoy the experience with them and remember that they are just kids, you might need to leave the show early, you'll probably end up buying more Popcorn and Ice Cream than you may have at previous concerts (you can still have beer) ;-), but as long as you have the headphones for their little ears, you'll be good to go.
So thank you again for checking out my page, and hopefully if you end up going to a concert too, you'll have a great time. Thanks again for visiting!! Erik
