Rock concert,.. medical term is hyperacusis

[Tvak@AOL.COM]

In a message dated 5/5/02 4:25:01 PM, dpno2nr@yahoo.com writes:

<< hyperacusis  is more accurately described as a collapse of loudness 
tolerance.  >>

I experienced this in spades some years ago.  In my pre-tech days, I 
conducted musical theater.  In the mid 90s, I was fortunate enough to be 
Assistant Conductor for the show, "JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR 
DREAMCOAT" with Donny Osmond.  I conducted and played keyboards with the show 
for 3 and a half years, and near the end my ears just couldn't take the 
volume.  Mounted on the lip of the stage were vocal fills; speakers that 
filled in the front and center of the house with the vocals (the towers on 
the side of the stage took care of the rest of the house).   These were right 
at eye level and there was no escaping them.  I eventually had to take a 
leave of absence (10 days) to allow my ears to recover.  

I remember going to an audiologist and sitting in the waiting room.  Every 
time the door to the lobby or to the inner office opened or closed, I felt p
ain from the loudness of the sound.  The sound of two coffee cups clicking 
together in my own kitchen was enough to make me cry.  This lasted for about 
a week, but some sensitivity to loud sounds remained.  The El passing 
overhead.  A motorcycle passing by.  A baby crying.  I had to cover my ears 
for any of these situations.

The reason I bother to share this with all of you is to let you know that the 
body does heal itself.  In my case, which seemed pretty severe to me, I 
suffered no long term hearing loss.  I suffered from tinnitus for several 
years, but last year it disappeared!  I believe this is because I gave up 
performing entirely.  Even playing solo piano on weekends (4 hour shifts) was 
enough to keep the tinnitus going, I believe.  Relieved from the 8 hours of 
music each week, my ears are now perfect.  (For a 50 year old geezer, 
anyway!)  I took the hearing test offered at the Reno convention and came out 
normal for my age group.

I do still have a lower tolerance to extremely loud noises, and my ears 
fatigue quicker than they used to.  But the El, motorcycles, babies, or 
Kimball spinets don't bother me anymore.  

Of course, I never attend concerts.  Even ear plugs do not take away the 
discomfort I feel when I'm in the presence of LOUD music.  I'm not sure, 
though, whether the discomfort is real physical discomfort, or just fear.  I 
know what loud music did to me once before and frankly, I'm scared of it.  I 
avoid it like the plague.

Tom Sivak