Ear Plugs

[Vilsnyder@AOL.COM]

To Clyde;
Many years ago, the late John Travis sold ear plugs which were kind of 
special 
& I bought two pairs from him & not only use them for tuning, but also for 
bowling, about which I am a nut. These are called Sonic ll Hearing Protectors,
byNorth Cunsumer Products, A division of Siebe North, Inc. 2664-B Saturn St,
Brea, CA 92621  Phone-714-524-7944. They will give you the Mean Attenuation
at frequency levels from125 to8K.  I have serviced (tuned) maybe 40 thousand
pianos in my time in this trade, & have not suffered from tuning sound.  Is it
because we really don't "hear" the sound, when we are listening to "beats" or
what. I have asked questions about this of audiologists, & never received any
explanation. I use a Radio Shack  sound level meter sometimes to try & 
determine just how high the sound level will go in the hard tuning process, &
also the harder the Hammer Felt, the more higher partials will be generated, 
which can be be damaging.  I believe that we are in more danger of damage to
our ears from yard equipment & industrial noise.  We did a complete noise
survey on all the tools in our shop & have that on paper for reference. It is 
important to know the "floor noise" level of your shop & your house. I came 
to 
know about these things by way of studying construction of "Home Theatre",
which is my hobby. Hope this opens up other questions. Willis P. Snyder, RPT