"pounding" and ear-plugs

[John Ross]

Hi Susan,
I went to that Audioligist special they had in Providence. It seemed to me that
the moulded musicians ear plugs were 15db or 35db. Also they were quite
expensive.
I think that is too much of a drop in volume.
I ended up buying the 12db ones from Pianotek for $12 US, I think it was. I have
been very pleased with them.
I too tune in practise rooms, and it was too loud. I have a mild case of
tinitus, so I want to protect what I have left.
Regards,
John M. Ross
Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Susan Kline wrote:

> >  This temporary condition makes it harder to hear soft
> >notes for the next hour or so.
> >
> >I really should investigate professional ear-plugs.  But, just like my
> >current desire to avoid ETDs until they are much less cumbersome, I'm
> >holding out until someone can assure me that the plugs won't interfere with
> >my ability to hear ALL of the partials, but without the impact on the ears.
> >
> >Cheers,
> >Brian Henselman
>
> Hi, Brian
>
> I don't think you should hold out. If you're getting rattles and reduced
> hearing, and have to tune bright pianos in dinky little practice rooms,
> damage is getting done. I would say that continuing to tune under these
> conditions _will_ interfere with your ability to hear ALL of the partials,
> _permanently_.
>
> So, why don't you go to an audiologist, have them test to see how your
> hearing is doing, they'll probably inspect for other conditions, and then
> have them take the molds for the musician's plugs.
>
> If you get them, I think you'll find that you can tune the Hamiltons just
> fine with them in ... then if you're worried about the upper partials, take
> them out, play the newly-tuned piano softly to test it, and to reassure
> yourself that your tuning with the plugs works okay. They take an even 15
> db off the sounds, from the bottom to the tippy tippy top. It's quite
> remarkable, really, how well they work.
>
> Susan