"pounding" and ear-plugs

[Brian Henselman]

Thanks all for the wonderful advice.

What kinda prices am I looking at?  The pianotech sound cheap enough to try
out anyway.  BTW has anyone else ever felt the pressure sensation that I was
describing?  It's like a delayed thump in my ear on really hard blows or
obnoxious Hamiltons.

Thanks again,

Brian

-----Original Message-----
From: BobDavis88@AOL.COM <BobDavis88@AOL.COM>
To: pianotech@ptg.org <pianotech@ptg.org>
Date: Monday, November 01, 1999 5:42 PM
Subject: Re: "pounding" and ear-plugs


>Unfortunately, hearing damage can come without warning or pain, and TUNING
>DEFINITELY PRODUCES SOUND PRESSURE LEVELS HIGH ENOUGH TO CAUSE IT.
>
>Hearing is the function of tiny hair-like sensors in the cochlea. There is
a
>superabundance of these at birth; some extra ones, so to speak. The ear can
>sustain considerable damage with no apparent loss. However, once the
"extras"
>have been blown out, damage can occur very rapidly and irreversibly. Just
>because your hearing doesn't appear to be getting worse doesn't mean you
>aren't sustaining damage. It does not make sense to give up any more of the
>cushion than necessary, or to engage in an activity known to cause damage
>without taking relatively inexpensive steps to protect our senses, our
>comfort and our livelihood.
>
>Undesirable scenario: "Well, the audiologist says that the reason I'm
having
>trouble understanding speech is that I've lost thirty decibels of response
>around 1000 Hz, but I'm SO glad I saved the hundred and fifty bucks on
those
>expensive earplugs." Sorry for the sarcasm, but I BELIEEEEEVE in these
things.
>
>Brian Henselman writes:
>> Occasionally, I get a loud clicking (kinda like an aftershock) going in
my
>>  right ear during test blows.....a thumping or clicking sensation that
>"echoes"....
>> ....my ears tend to "shut down" after being subjected to
>>  this much sound....harder to hear soft notes for the next hour or so.
>>
>>  I really should investigate professional ear-plugs.
>
>*Brian, I think you should re-read your own mail. It would impel me to
action.
>
>>  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.
>
>*I think this is backwards. I wouldn't wait another day. Try them out, and
if
>you DON'T like them as much as most of us do, you're out a relatively small
>amount. Even if you wear them only for the pitch raises and rough tunings,
>you will save considerable "mileage" on your ears. Most people find that
they
>do adapt and can even do much concert-level work with them in.
>
>The 35 dB fitted ones are useless for tuning; they're good only for routers
>and lawnmowers. The 12 dB ones from Pianotek are very useful, and like
Susan
>I use them for lots of noisy things like driving and flying. They have the
>secondary benefit of reducing fatigue. They do tend to roll off a little in
>the highs, however, so are a little mushy in the high treble. The
"expensive"
>fitted ones allow better hearing, and good grief, do a couple extra tunings
>one Saturday and they're paid for. They last for years.
>
>Bob Davis