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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>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 size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>dave<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
10.0pt'>David M. Porritt</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
10.0pt'><a href="mailto:dporritt@smu.edu">dporritt@smu.edu</a></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font size=2
face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;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>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Robert,</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
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>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
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>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Sam Choy</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<blockquote style='border:none;border-left:solid black 1.5pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 4.0pt;
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>----- Original Message ----- <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal style='background:#E4E4E4'><b><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> <a
href="mailto:rfinley@rcn.com" title="rfinley@rcn.com">Robert Finley</a> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'>To:</span></font></b><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> <a
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org" title="pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></font></b><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> Friday, May 05,
2006 8:54 AM<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></font></b><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> Hearing Loss and
Piano Tuning<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
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>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
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>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
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>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Robert Finley</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
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