Preventing hearing loss

[Paul McCloud]

Hi, Mark:
	A few years ago, I ordered a pair of headphones from a hunting supply
company that I hoped would do exactly what you describe.  Just as a digital
piano doesn't reproduce a piano sound as accurately as the real thing, I
found that it did not work for me.  Aside from this, it looks a little
funny to customers.
	I use ER-20 ear protectors, recommended to me by a professional drummer. 
They are listed in the Pianotek catalog.  MUCH cheaper than the fitted
ones, and (to me) much more comfortable too.  (I have the fitted ones too).
I do have to remove them for the last half dozen notes, however.
	FWIW.
	Paul McCloud
	San Diego


> [Original Message]
> From: Mark Purney <engineering at raktron.com>
> To: Pianotech List <pianotech at ptg.org>
> Date: 01/22/2007 6:46:27 AM
> Subject: Preventing hearing loss
>
> I'm curious what people do, if anything, to protect hearing while tuning 
> pianos. I'm sure your ears probably get used to the sound over time, but 
> the sound levels from my first tuning practice made me uncomfortable, 
> gave me a slight headache, and I noticed that certain notes were almost 
> painful to my ears.
>
> I immediately thought about using closed-back headphones with some sort 
> of microphone setup. This would block most direct sound, while providing 
> an accurate signal with adjustable volume. Depending on the mic pattern, 
> it might even help to reduce surrounding noises. With some EQ, it might 
> even be possible to enhance the partials while attenuating the 
> fundamental when listening for beats. The problem is that it's no fun to 
> wear large headphones all day.
>
> I did some searching and found out about these special "Musician's" ear 
> plugs that attenuate all frequencies evenly.  This seems to be an ideal 
> solution, although expensive. They aren't cheap, and require custom 
> fitting by an audiologist:
> http://www.hearnet.com/images_site/erme_brochure.pdf
>