Klarinet Archive - Posting 000824.txt from 2000/02

From: "Benjamin Maas" <benmaas@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] Earplugs (was RE: [kl] Got your clarinet ready?)
Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2000 14:26:59 -0500

> [Buckman, Nancy] In my jazz group, I had to sit between the drum
> set and the piano one time. The drums weren't elevated; they were on the
> same level as the piano and I. The drummer hit his set so hard that he
> knocked the piano out of tune. My chair was sliding on the floor so badly
> that I had to keep my feet flat on the floor in front of the chair legs.
> This is where I also learned about ear plugs.

Sounds like some pretty extreme volume.

I don't know if I have gotten on this soapbox yet (so forgive me if I have),
but good earplugs are a *must* for anybody that works where you need good
hearing and there are loud sounds. Playing with a rhythm section, in an
orchestra, going to a club, etc... (I think a good many of us on this list
fit into these categories) It is all murder on your hearing. The OSHA
guidelines for maximum exposure are:

85 dB SPL- 8 hours
95 dB - 4 hours
100 dB - 2 hours
105 dB - 1 hour
110 dB - 1/2 hour
115 dB - 15 minutes

What does all this mean? It is easy to hit 100 dB in an orchestra. It is
easy to hit 110 out in front of a big band. 115-120 is easy to hit at a
rock concert/dance club. These times are the maximum exposure before
permanent hearing damage occurs.

With this in mind, earplugs are cheap. You can get foam ones for $0.50/each
at your drugstore. However, as many of you know, when playing the clarinet
(or other wind instrument) with these in, your "sound" changes. You don't
hear the instrument, but you do hear the vibration inside your head. They
also don't attenuate evenly across all frequencies. Things tend to sound
muffled and unclear. We then pull them out to hear (then they do no good at
all).

There are other earplugs out there, however. I just purchased a pair of
custom made earplugs that have flat frequency response across a broad
spectrum of sound. I had molds made of my ear canal (to the second bend in
it) and a company made these special plugs from that. An Audiologist does
the molds and the plugs were made by a company called Etymotic Research.
They way they work it a hollow "tube" is made that fits your ear canal
exactly. A removable filter is then attached to the outside of this "tube."
It reduces the volume, but doesn't change the sound. Because the
attenuation is outside the ear, your sound that you hear when playing
doesn't change much. I have two sets of filters for these plugs. One
reduces the sound by 15 dB and the other reduces the sound by 25 dB. Look
at the chart to see what that does to allowable exposure time. You could go
to a 4 hour heavy metal concert without too much worry.

These plugs were a bit pricey, however. They cost $165 for the mold and the
first set of filters. An extra $30 bought the other filters. I see it as
cheap, though. $200 to ensure my hearing stays where it should be. There
are far to many musicians (and more sound engineers) out there that I know
personally that have bad hearing as a result of excessive noise. This can
be prevented.

For more info, on hearing in general, go to the House Ear Institute Website.
They are located here in LA and do a lot of research into hearing. The
address is http://www.hei.org. Also, check out their Hearing is Priceless
(HIP) site. It is specifically for musicians and sound engineers. That
address is: http://www.hei.org/htm/hipstart.htm

Have safe listening. Contact me if you have questions about what I have
said here.

--Ben

Benjamin Maas
Freelance Clarinetist and Recording Engineer
Los Angeles, CA
benmaas@-----.com
http://www.fifthcircle.com

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