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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>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. </FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>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?
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>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. </FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Robert Finley</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>