ear plugs

[John W. McKone]

>I'm all for protecting our hearing. But if the piano is that loud, shouldn't we
>protect EVERYBODY'S hearing by making it softer? Incidentally, I once talked to
>a professional audiologist and she told me that she didn't see any reason why a
>piano should damage anyone's hearing.
>
>Mark Stivers
>
>
>
>mark.stivers@24stex.com
>(916) 447-5494

Most players don't create the kind of db levels that we do witha solid test
blow.  In addition, most players don't expose them to high db levels for as
long as many of us do each and every day. Both volume and length of time
exposed contribute to hearing damage.

Unfortunately, serious players do expose themselves for many hours a day,
often in small practice rooms or faculty studios.  These are the same
people that have the technique to get the most volume out of the
instrument, and also insist that the pianos they use respond to their
demands for more sound.  In my opinion, many performers *are* putting
themselves at risk for hearing loss.  I think the subject is worth a gentle
mention to a client when appropriate.

My audioligist said the same thing to me.  But then she started asking
about time exposure, stating that if I were tuning more than four hours a
day, I should limit constant volume levels to 80db or less.  Well, just to
test, I got myself a db meter and found that on a average test blow console
pianos typically would peak out at 100db, small grands at 110-120 db, and a
Yamaha C7 in a concrete practice room at the University of Minnesota peaked
at 135 db !!!

I got scared, and I got plugs.

John McKone