<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40" xmlns:v = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word"><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2873" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE>  </STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY lang=EN-US vLink=blue link=blue bgColor=white> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Diane Hofstetter sells excellent ear plugs for piano technicians. I have this email address for her: <A href="mailto:dianepianotuner@msn.com">dianepianotuner@msn.com</A> , but it is three years old and perhaps not current. Look her up in the PTG directory.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Terry Farrell</FONT></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title=dporritt@mail.smu.edu href="mailto:dporritt@mail.smu.edu">Porritt, David</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">Pianotech List</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, May 05, 2006 12:18 PM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> RE: Hearing Loss and Piano Tuning</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV class=Section1> <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Haven’t you ever noticed that in a class situation that you hear what the teacher is demonstrating on the piano 30 feet away better than when you are right at the piano?  This is the effect you get wearing the musicians ear plugs.  Beats and intervals are easier to hear because it’s not as loud.  Yes, you can do serious damage to your hearing after 30 years of tuning without hearing protection.  I NEVER tune without my 15 db plugs in my ears.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P> <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P> <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">dave<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P> <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">David M. Porritt</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P> <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><A href="mailto:dporritt@smu.edu">dporritt@smu.edu</A></SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P></DIV> <DIV> <DIV class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> <HR tabIndex=-1 align=center width="100%" SIZE=2> </SPAN></FONT></DIV> <P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face=Tahoma size=2><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">From:</SPAN></FONT></B><FONT face=Tahoma size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma"> pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] <B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">On Behalf Of </SPAN></B>Samuel Choy<BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Sent:</SPAN></B> Friday, May 05, 2006 10:40 AM<BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">To:</SPAN></B> Pianotech List<BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Subject:</SPAN></B> Re: Hearing Loss and Piano Tuning</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P></DIV> <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Robert,</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P></DIV> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">That's been a worry of mine also. In fact, I already have slight ringing in my ears back from the days when I played keyboards/piano in bands (church bands, but they were loud enough, anyway). After tuning a piano, I notice that the rining is worse for a while, so hearing protection is something I should look into also.</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P></DIV> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">The last time I went to a PTG meeting, they talked a bit about that. One of the guys said that if you have a good set of ear plugs, one made specifically for protecting musicians ears, that it makes hearing the beats easier because a lot of background noise is eliminated. I do not have enough personal experience to back that up, though.</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P></DIV> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Sam Choy</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P></DIV> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 4pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; MARGIN: 5pt 0in 5pt 3.75pt; BORDER-LEFT: black 1.5pt solid; PADDING-TOP: 0in; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none"> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">----- Original Message ----- <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV> <DIV style="font-color: black"> <P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4"><B><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">From:</SPAN></FONT></B><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> <A title=rfinley@rcn.com href="mailto:rfinley@rcn.com">Robert Finley</A> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">To:</SPAN></FONT></B><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> <A title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Sent:</SPAN></FONT></B><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> Friday, May 05, 2006 8:54 AM<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Subject:</SPAN></FONT></B><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> Hearing Loss and Piano Tuning<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">I have been reading the interesting article about tinnitus and hearing loss in the Piano Technician's Journal. This is something that concerns me since I am just starting out as a piano technician, and I am also a classical musician (concert pianist) who gives frequent recitals and plays in competitions. </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P></DIV> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">I have been wondering whether musicians could also suffer hearing loss and what the difference is between tuning a piano (where the notes are played loudly to set the strings) and playing  music that has loud passages in it such as a Liszt's Transcendental Etude 'Mazeppa" or Rachmaninoff's Prelude in G minor Opus 23  and practising pieces like that for several hours a day. In a large symphony orchestra for example, the sound level must be quite intense at times (such as the finale of Tchaikovsky's 4th Symphony), although there are large dynamic variations from pianissimo to fortissimo depending on the piece being played, and the sound level would not be not constantly very loud. Would the conductor and orchestral players ever have problems with tinnitus and hearing loss? </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P></DIV> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Do the ear plugs that piano technicians use make it more difficult to hear the beats, or do they make it easier? I guess they attenuate the sound level of the notes and the beats as well, but maybe the attenuation of the lower frequencies is less so the beats can still be heard. Where can one get suitable ear plugs for piano tuning use? Thank you for your comments. </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P></DIV> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Robert Finley</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>