Tom, The correct medical term for a decreased tolerance to loud sounds is "hyperacusis". Other interesting things about hyperacusis from my textbook _Introduction to Audiology_ by Martin and Clark:       "Contrary to the common belief that hyperacusis represents an exceptionally acute sense of hearing, this disorder is more accurately described as a collapse of loudness tolerance.  The threshold of loudness discomfort for the patient with hyperacusis is inversely related to frequency, with less loudness tolerance as frequency increases.  The threshold of discomfort for these patients may be as low as 20 to 25 dB SL for low-frequency sounds (e.g., 250Hz) declining to as little as 5 dB SL or less for sounds greater than 10,000 Hz......      "Those idividuals with hyperacusis may react in a frightened or startled fashion to common sounds such as the telephone ringing or the noise of a vacuum cleaner.  These persons may resort to the use of hearing protection to better endure their daily lives, although overprotection of the ears may actually cause a worsening of the condition.  In addition to shunning protection of the ears from every day sounds, audiological rehabilitation has been successful with some with hyperacusis through a series of densenistization exercises over a protracted time."      Now you know even more about what your clients are suffering from,  (maybe their pianos need to be voiced down?) Diane   Tom Servinsky <tompiano@gate.net> wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid">Joe, Very interesting about the hypo-acoustics. I have several clients who have that condition but I didn't know the medical term. Thanks Tom Servinsky,RPT ----- Original Message ----- From: <REIKIHARP@AOL.COM> To: <PIANOTECH@PTG.ORG> Sent: Saturday, May 04, 2002 8:35 PM Subject: Re: Rock concert, hearing damage wake up call > Tom > > There are far worse things than hearing loss. Hyper-acoustosis and > tenitus for example. Tenitus is of course ringing in the ears, that for some, > never stops. Hyper-acoustosis is a condition that has the effect of making > even the quietest, barely audible sounds, seem unbearably loud. > Unfortunately, I know this from experience. > Fortunately,however, my condition was not permanent. Believe it or not, for > about 3 months I tuned with earplugs and/or earmuffs in order to reduce the > volume to what at the time seemed to be a normal level. > > Joseph D. Gotta RPT </BLOCKQUOTE> <hr size=1>Do You Yahoo!? <a href="http://rd.yahoo.com/welcome/*http://health.yahoo.com">Yahoo! Health</a> - your guide to health and wellness