Horn Matters | A French Horn and Brass Site and Resource | John Ericson and Bruce Hembd

Sound-induced hearing loss is something to take seriously – from Part I.

I have a vivid memory of a sitzprobe rehearsal where a Wagnerian duo was standing about 10 feet behind the horn section. Foolish me, at first I felt badly that I was blowing in their faces… that is until they reached an astounding fortissimo at the climactic moment.

It was so loud that my unprotected ears literally shut down. Everything became instantly muffled and blurry. It was as if someone had put cotton in my ears. This condition continued for several days – fortunately my hearing returned to its normal state.

Earplugs

Since that eventful moment, I have used earplugs in almost every orchestral setting. As noted in yesterday’s post, hearing loss is permanent and once those tiny hairs (cilia) break there is no regrowth.

Beyond this there is also a certain level of emotional stress involved when working in a loud environment. Sitting in front of a loud instrument has psychological effects beyond physical hearing loss. It can generate stress, hostile feelings and resentments.

The problem is worse in pit gigs; the enclosed space traps the sound. Not only that but many times I am seated in close proximity to other brass instruments, or worse, percussion instruments. For me, cymbals and bells (especially with brass mallets) are the most challenging to deal with.

I started out using the standard foam plugs that can be bought over-the-counter at most drug stores. They are cheap and disposable, and most symphony orchestras supply these in accordance with their contract agreements.

For many years I used these, but foam earplugs present several problems:

• They tend to attenuate the spectrum of sound very unevenly. While mid-tones are OK, the highs and lows are extraordinarily muted.
• Because I am a brass player, I can hear the sound of my own lips buzzing in my head, sometimes louder than the sound that emits from the bell of the instrument. It also does not seem to match the intonation of what is really coming out of the bell – it is sharper, so matching others can be difficult.
• The loud colors of most plugs can be seen from the audience.

I actually had a personnel manager ask me to use flesh-colored earplugs or remove my brightly-colored plugs. While I understood his point – it does look at little odd from an audience perspective – I did not have any flesh-colored plugs handy and told him to go jump in a lake and leave me alone. Musicians have very clear rights (both federal OSHA standards and local contract provisos) when it comes to hearing protection and unless I was offered alternative plugs to wear, he had no right to ask me to remove mine.

Custom Hearing Protection

Once I could afford them, I invested in custom hearing protection. These are purchased through a hearing specialist. Mine cost around $200 and have been worth every penny.

The benefits over the cheap foam plugs are many:

• The attenuation is even, meaning that all spectrums of the sound are decreased evenly, without any muffled sound.
• I cannot hear my lips buzzing in my head.
• They are adaptable. I own both 9dB and 15dB filters. On an open stage, I use the 9’s and in the pit I sometimes use the 15’s.
• They are a custom fit to my ear canal, assuring the best fit and the best protection.
• While a bit expensive, the investment is a Schedule C tax write-off.

If you treasure your hearing and mental well-being, I would highly recommend these custom devices. The price you pay upfront is more than worth the repercussions of not having them.

All it takes is one “Mahler Sixth hammer blow” to cause serious damage. With my custom earplugs however, the mighty hammer of Thor itself could strike with no effect.

More Resources:

• National Institute for Deafness: Noise-Induced Hearing Loss
  General information
• The Herald Journal: Musicians Take Precautions
  A newspaper story with quotes from an auditory professional
• Hearing Loss in Musicians
  A scholarly essay with statistics and cited resources.

Images used under “fair use.”

Sound-induced hearing loss is painless and permanent.

Years ago I bought “Noise & Your Health,” a small booklet, out of curiosity. At the time I was performing pit jobs almost exclusively and was interested to find out more information on the topic of hearing loss.

After reading it, my eyes were opened and I started – as annoying as they are – using earplugs on a regular basis.

As vibrations travel through the inner ear canal, they hit on tiny, very delicate hairs called cilia. Each cilia is tuned to a specific frequency of vibration, and when a specific frequency hits on its corresponding cilia, the hair bends at the root.

With loud “impulse” sounds – like a gun, a Mahler hammer blow, or crash cymbals – the hair can stay bent after the noise passes. After a few hours or days the hair usually returns to its upright position.

However, with repeated abuse the hair snaps at the root and it never grows back.

Decibels

The volume intensity of a sound is measured in decibels (db). In many ways, the decibel scale resembles a seismic scale – for every three decibels, the sound pressure doubles. In other words, 33dB is twice as loud as 30dB.

Some common measurements:

20 dB = soft whisper
70 dB = vacuum cleaner
90 dB = screaming child
100 dB = jackhammer, chainsaw
120 dB = car horn at 3 feet
140dB = gunshot

Hearing loss may occur under two different circumstances: a single, loud “impulse” sound, or long or repeated sounds at 85 dB or louder.

Some typical decibel levels for musicians to consider:

• The piccolo generates sound equivalent to a jackhammer 30 feet away.
• Orchestral music averages in the 83 to 92 dB range.
• At its peak, a symphonic fortissimo can range from 120 to 137dB.
• One trombone alone can average from 85 to 114dB.

Musical instruments then have the same potential to induce hearing damage as jackhammers and chainsaws. Musicians who fail to use hearing protection may be subjecting themselves to acoustic trauma on a regular basis.

Prolonged exposure to high volume sounds, whether music or noise, can and does result in hearing damage. Just ask any orchestral viola or cello player that sits in front of a brass section.

Part II- earplugs and resources for more information.