Klarinet Archive - Posting 000197.txt from 1997/05

From: WWQUINTET@-----.com
Subj: Hearing Conservation
Date: Thu, 8 May 1997 08:32:32 -0400

Hearing conservation is a vitally important topic that should be taught in
the curriculum of any music department, and in the studios of all private
teachers. The following is a compilation of information acquired from
numerous sources dedicated to the prevention of hearing loss in musicians and
music lovers.
Pass this along...

*********************
Protect Your Ears

As we all know, hearing is of special vocational importance in musicians.
Regularly, performing artists have hearing demands that are much greater than
those required in most professions. They must be able to do more than simply
understand conversational speech. They are required to accurately match
frequencies over a broad range, including frequencies above those required
for speech comprehension. Even mild pitch distortion may make it difficult or
impossible for musicians to play or sing in tune. Unfortunately, hearing
conservation for musicians often falls on "deaf ears" (pun intended) because
it's difficult to show individuals they have a problem...until it's too late.
Hearing loss doesn't begin to show up in tests until 30 percent of hair cells
are destroyed, and, of course, by then the damage has been done.

Hearing loss doesn't begin to show up in tests until 30 percent of hair cells
are destroyed...

Federal standards indicate that sounds over 85db(average jazz band or
orchestra peaks well above 110db) will eventually damage hearing. Normally
the body signals that something is wrong by delivering pain, but this is not
the case when hearing is involved.

There are some simple ways to determine if you've been exposed to excessive
noise levels:

- Ringing in the ears after an event.
- Sounds seem slightly muffled for a period of time following exposure.
- During the event you need to shout to be heard 2 feet away or can't hear
normal levels of conversation during the activity.

Unlike a dental cavity, which can be filled, a music-or-noise-induced hearing
loss cannot be reversed. The first thing to be noticed in noise/music induced
hearing loss will be confusion in discerning the consonants during
conversation -- the p's, t's, th's, b's, etc.
In music, it will be the overtones, rather than the fundamentals, that will
be missed. It's the subtle shadings, the colorations, that will be noticed to
be gone.

Hearing Loss in Musicians

Occupational hearing loss is sensorineural hearing impairment caused by
exposure to high-intensity workplace noise or music. It has been well
established that selected symphony orchestra instruments, popular orchestras,
jazz bands, rock bands, car stereos, and personal headphones produce sound
pressure levels intense enough to cause permanent hearing loss. Such hearing
loss may also be accompanied by tinnitus and may be severe enough to
interfere with performance. The amount of hearing loss is related to the
intensity of the noise, duration and intermittency of exposure, total
exposure time over months and years, and other factors.

Rock musicians have always been the target of inevitable hearing impairment,
but recent evidence have found an increased incidence of hearing loss among
professional classical musicians as compared to the general public, and sound
levels within orchestras have been measured between 83db and 112db. Because
musicians practice or perform 4 to 8 hours a day, such exposure levels may be
significant. Players seated immediately in front of the brass section appear
to have particular problems.

Audiometric evaluation of an orchestra revealed a hearing loss in 7.3 percent
of string players, 20 percent of wind players, and 28 percent of brass
players. ALL percussionists had some degree of hearing loss.
In another survey, out of 250 professional musicians who were evaluated at a
clinic for non-hearing related injuries, 89% had some noise/music exposure as
evidenced by an audiometric notch in the 3,000 to 6,000 Hz region. Although a
hearing loss at 3, 000, 4,000 or 6,000Hz with preservation of lower
frequencies may not pose a problem for a boiler maker, it may be a serious
problem for a musician. Under certain circumstances, such a hearing loss may
even be disabling.

Non-Musicians

If you're not a musician, does it matter if you hear these frequencies?
Although the loss may not be noticeable as difficulty understanding speech or
music in quiet surroundings, it can be important in noisy situations, where
many consonants will be missed. High frequencies are also used in part to
help interpret where a sound is coming from. In addition, high frequencies
can help people in the dark. High frequencies bouncing off the wall actually
assist us in detecting and interpreting a looming obstruction in our path.
Blind people use this ability on a daily basis.

Ring Ring Ring

Peter Erskine began his early years drumming in big bands with large brass
sections. "I'd get back to my hotel room after a gig," he says, "and my ears
would be ringing. I'd be kind of amused, thinking 'Wow, we were really loud
tonight.' But after playing with these groups for a number of years, the
ringing didn't go away. The end result of my years of aural abuse is that if
I go into a crowded room, I can hear the people talking, but I can't always
understand what they are saying. You also lose the high end in music; it will
just sound different because you lose the ear's natural fidelity. It's very
frustrating...I thought hearing loss was a price I had to pay for being a
musician. I didn't realize that I was risking serious and preventable damage.
I now use hearing protection anytime I perform. My advice to young people is
that no matter what type of music you play, guard and protect your ears,
because they are the most vital part of your chops. It doesn't matter how
good your hands are. You need to hear what you're doing."

How Loud is too Loud?

110 db - Regular exposure of more than 1 minute risks PERMANENT hearing loss.
100 db - No more than 15 minutes unprotected exposure is recommended.
85 db - Any prolonged exposure may cause gradual hearing loss.

Expected Aging Due To Exposure To 106db For 2 Hours

1 Event 2 Events 5 Events 50 Events 500 Events
1.8yrs 2.4yrs 4.0yrs 12.yrs 29.8yrs

Sound Levels of Various Instruments
Violin 84-103db
Cello 84-92db
Bass 75-83db
Piccolo 95-112db
Flute 85-111db
Clarinet 92-103db
Saxophone 94-110db
French Horn 90-106db
Oboe 80-94db
Trombone 85-114db

The Solution?
Besides sticking your fingers in your ears and just leaving the source of
potential damage, investing in specially designed "musician's earplugs" is
the best alternative. The ER-15 and ER-25 are flat-response attenuators that
have a frequency response that follows the natural frequency response of the
open ear, but at a reduced level. The fidelity achieved with these earplugs
is clearer, more natural, allows the timbre of instruments to be heard, and
doesn't make the world sound muffled. These plugs are the solution for
musicians and listeners who desire the fidelity of the original sound to be
preserved, while protecting their ears from any further damage. Call your
local audiologist for a fitting.

Over 28 million Americans suffer from hearing loss. Don't be another
statistic in what has become the number one hidden disability in the United
States -- protect your ears!

Dave