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I originally blogged about this a couple of years ago, and it still amazes me when I see pipers of all levels playing their pipes without ear protection. Pipes are loud. Hearing damage is cumulative. It might be okay to be around loud pipes for a few minutes a day, but if you are practicing for longer sessions or playing in a pipe band, you'll definitely want to reduce the amount of sound hitting your ear drums. But even if you don't are about damaging your ears, it is actually more enjoyable to play with a slightly quieter sound — and you can hear and tune your pipes easier. Pipers used to argue that earplugs muffle or distort the sound, making it hard to tune the pipes or hear the playing. This is true with the cheap foam earplugs. Today, there are a couple of great options that offer hearing protection specifically for musicians. They ...