One of my clients, a physician, explained to me that hearing is the last sense to fade away, and that pitch-acuity almost invariably remains as sharp as ever unless one becomes absolutely stone deaf. It's tragic, in my view, when elderly people believe their hearing is fouled up when they hear their pianos sounding badly. These dear folks need to be assured that we can hear the same bad sounds that they hear, that it is the pianos, not their ears, which need help. My physician-client also told me that nurses and other caregivers very often talk or read to patients who are dying, and keep on reading until well after the patients seem to be deceased, even for a few minutes after breathing stops. The thought among medical professionals currently seems to be that patients can hear just as well following the instant of death as they could a few minutes prior to it. I've had many doctors soberly express this thought to me. Interesting! J R W jrwhiteltd at msn.com (253) 922-2372 -----Original Message----- From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of carlteplitski Sent: Monday, May 22, 2006 8:43 PM To: Pianotech List Subject: Re: Loss and Piano Tuning ( was: hearing etc.) Good point ! Knew a fellow tech. who passed away at 91, and could still tune, but physically too taxing. It was also quite hard to carry a conversation with him, as you were often repeating yourself, because he didn't hear well , but he could hear intervals and beats. How does one splain that ??? Carl / Winnipeg A440A at aol.com wrote: >Robert writes: ><< Thanks a lot for your comments Andrew. I will defintely look into getting >ear plugs. Not only do I want to prevent any damage to my ears as a result of >tuning pianos, but I don't want my hearing to be degraded as a musician either >since I play piano recitals and attend lots of concerts. >> > >Greetings, > It is interesting that we, as tuner/techs, worry so much about our >hearing. I don't think I have ever met someone that had to leave the business >because of hearing problems. > >HOWEVER !, I have spoken to numerous techs and former techs that had to >leave the tuning and rebuilding business because of joint problems, repetitive >stress problems, tendonitis, carpal tunnel problems, etc. and I have heard very, >very, little about protecting against these things. > Worry about our hearing is misplaced if we ignore the mechanical dangers >of our work. I would suggest that a better expense than custom ear plugs >would be a yoga course, or a physical trainer or therapist that could diagnose >our posture, ergonomic habits, and flexibility capacity. That is where the more >likely danger will be addressed. >Regards, > >Ed Foote RPT >http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html >www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html > > > >
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC