Rooster, are you a horn player or a rhythm section guy? As a saxophonist, earplugs have always been a challenge for me; when I have them in, all I can hear is myself. With the cheap plugs it's horrible, and with the more expensive Etymotic plugs it's much better, but still not very fun. I haven't yet shelled out the dough for custom plugs, but I'm considering taking the plunge.
The orchestra world is very weird. They all have plastic sound shields behind thier heads. And on the rare occasions that I get called to play with the local symphony, the string players all reach for thier earplugs when they see a saxophone or two setting up for rehearsal. Always makes me feel welcome!