Earplugs to Hearing Loss

[Kenneth W. Burton]

On Tue, 27 Feb 1996 ATodd@UH.EDU wrote:

> Ken,
>
> RE:       As the years go by, I know that my hearing is not what it once
> was, especially in the higher frequencies. Does this mean that I am going
> to be producing bad tunings and not be able to tell the difference?
>     My feeling is that I know what I need to hear and I pound until I
> hear it but I don't know about the accuracy of things I cannot hear.
>
>    My understanding is that most of us begin to lose a little hearing in the
> extreme ranges. Some more than others. When I lived in Biloxi, MS I used to
> occasionally follow an older tuner there who invariably stretched the top
> 1/2 octave or so, so much that it was a wonder strings didn't break. My
> assumption was that it was an attempt to hear the notes.
>    I also tuned once for a lady, probably in her 80's plus, whose piano
> hadn't been tuned in years and years. It was about a step low + and VERY
> dissonant, especially in the upper treble. After pitch raising, tuning and
> re-tuning the treble I was finally finished. I got a call back the next day
> with her accusing me of doing something to her piano. She couldn't hear the
> treble any more. I imagine the extreme dissonance enable her to hear
> "something" and when it was no longer there, she couldn't. Talk about an
> impossible situation!!
>    I hope that if I ever begin to lose my hearing in the top (or anywhere
> else), someone will be brave enough to tell me. I've often thought about
> having a comprehensive hearing test so that I can have something to compare
> it to in future years. It's one of those "I just never seem able to "get a
> round to it" things.
>    If I'm not mistaken, I believe George Defebaugh used an Accu-Tuner in the
> last octave or so his last few years.
>    Just a few thoughts.
>
> Avery Todd, RPT
> University of Houston
> atodd@uh.edu
>
      Avery, thanks for your reply to my concerns about hearing and
tuning. When I was tuning 20 years ago, I noticed that I was following
older tuners and that the last half octave was always sharper than I felt
it should be. So I lowered it so that it sounded good to me.
      Now, I notice that I am raising the last half octave and it
sounds real good to me. In fact, I think my pianos are sounding better
than ever. I think I'd better take another tuning exam.
      I would like to hear from other tuners who have gone through this
process and can tell me what to expect.

      Ken Burton, RPT
        Calgary, Alberta