Klarinet Archive - Posting 000236.txt from 2007/09

From: Jason Tiller <jason@-----.org>
Subj: Re: [kl] Hearing Protection?
Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2007 19:11:25 -0400

Hi, Fred, :)

Thanks for your quick and thoughtful response!

On Wed, 26 Sep 2007, Fred Jacobowitz wrote:

> I suspect that if you use a less invasive and dense kind of ear
> protection, you might just solve your problem. Is it possible that
> the fancy ear plugs you've got fit so perfectly that they don't let
> enough air out of the ear?

Indeed, the "shells" that hold the Etymotic reducers are custom-molded
to my ear canal. That's one reason that they're so great!! Well,
that and the frequency response of the filters.

I believe that the filter (reducer) permits airflow; if there were no
airflow at all, wouldn't my ear canal become very resonant? I had
understood that this is one of the reason that > 33dB earplugs have no
benefit.

> (when you pay high notes, it puts alot of pressure on the ear - and
> the entire nasal cavity - and literally forces some air out) Try
> using those foam ear plugs you can get anany drug store. They really
> don't do much - just take the edge off the sound. However, they are
> very porous so they don't impede air in or out of the ear. And they
> are dirt cheap too, so you've got nothing to lose!

I'll give 'em a whirl. When I was first encountering tinnitus, I went
through *many* different kinds of earplugs. I imagine that I'll want
a very mild reduction. Another advantage of the Etymotic filters is
that they apply a uniform reduction across the frequency range so as
to not de-emphasize some frequencies over others. It'll be
interesting to see if this is an issue for me while I play clarinet.

I'll try it out tonight and report back tomorrow.

Thanks again!

---Jason
Sonos Handbell Ensemble
http://www.sonos.org/

------------------------------------------------------------------