Musician sues ROH over hearing loss.

[RickF]

Musician sues ROH (Royal Opera House) over hearing loss - and wins!

See BBC article:
http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-43571144

I have musician ear plugs that knock down sound by 12 db, but don’t like wearing them. I may have to reconsider since we sit in front of the bass T-bone.

-- edit to correct attenuation to 12 db from 8 db. For those interested, every 3 db is half volume so 12 db should be 4 times softer than no hearing attenuation. --

[Davidus1]

That sure puts the ROH in an awkward position............wow!

[jkircoff]

Musician sues ROH (Royal Opera House) over hearing loss - and wins!

See BBC article:
http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-43571144

I have musician ear plugs that knock down sound by 8db, but don’t like wearing them. I may have to reconsider since we sit in front of the bass T-bone.

I sit in front of a very strong bass trombonist in my brass band, and it not comfortable on the ears. I should pick up a pair of musician ear plugs myself.

[Snorlax]

I use a Kevlar blanket to cover my back. One particular trombonist in front of whom I frequently have to sit has a tone that drilled a hole through my back and neck.

[djwpe]

I play with a trumpet player who could cut diamonds with his sound.

[dsurkin]

I play with a trumpet player who could cut diamonds with his sound.

I played keyboards with rock bands and 16-piece jazz bands. Particularly with the rock bands crammed onto a small stage with a drummer's cymbal by my head, I bought my first pair of musician's earplugs back in 1979. While in recent years I have noticed a decline in my hearing certain frequencies, I'm happy to say that's more age-related (and typical for my family). I highly recommend musician's earplugs to everyone playing in large ensembles.

I recently saw a performance by the NY Philharmonic of Copland's Third Symphony, and some of the string players were adjusting their earplugs just before "Fanfare for the Common Man" started.

Incidentally, I wear heavy-duty, over the ear protectors (they look like headphones) when I mow the lawn or use my leaf blower. I highly recommend that, too.

[RickF]

I've been checking out some different type of ear plugs. There are several reviews out there and ones that got my attention are called 'Earasers HiFi Earplugs'. These rank #1 out of 10 in one on-line review I watched. These don't attenuate all frequencies evenly but "filter out loud noise while still allowing you to hear at a safe, comfortable level." They're a bit more expensive but offer a satisfaction guarantee.

Musician's HiFi Earplugs-

Erasers Frequency Response-

I ordered some (Amazon) and will see how they work out and post back. Their website state that some in the Boston Symphony use these as well do some members of drum corps.

[RickF]

My review of the Erasers:

Got these a few days ago. They're not as attenuating as other types of earplugs, but I still had trouble hearing the director in rehearsal when he was giving verbal instructions. Monday night we were rehearsing "Valdres March" (Johannes Hanssen) where I play euph in answer to the solo trumpet. This was the first piece we rehearsed and the Dir had to stop and tell me I was rushing. Out came the plugs. When playing with them I couldn't hear the whole band to balance so in the drawer they go for now.

[ghmerrill]

I'm a big fan of Howard Leight electronic earmuffs for substantial noise reduction while being able to hear normal conversation, but I'm not sure how they'd go over in rehearsal or performance. However, there are less obtrusive versions of this sort of technology that could be considered (although somewhat more expensive). I do have a pair of quite good earplugs that also are good at passing through a conversational level of sound and suppressing loud sounds, and I've used them at times (sitting next to a snare drum), but generally I don't.

I am now the guy behind the bass trombone, and can make some remarks from that perspective. There are just some pieces that call for the very "intense" sound that this instrument can produce. In our recent concert, "The Ride" and (especially) "Pirates of the Caribbean" were the primary ones. Sorry, but this is actually part of the music. I am constantly conscious of the effect that overdoing things with this instrument can have on those seated in front of me, and have told people to tell me if I'm going too far. Since I sit in the back row (behind the French horns whose bells, ironically, are pointed at me), there is no one behind me to be of much concern to me -- at least since I moved away from the snare drum and next to the timpani.

Another thought is that while it's fairly common for the bass trombone to be seated in the rearmost row, there's really no need for this and I wonder why this layout continues to be so prevalent. A better arrangement (which I've seen in at least a couple of professional US military bands) is to seat the trombone section not centrally across the back, but on one end of that row, with the bass trombone seated closest to the audience (or very close to that). This reduces the sonic damage caused by the instrument (or at least isolates it to the audience who, after all, are paying for it).

[MikeS]

I have never been comfortable using earplugs during rehearsal or performance. I do, however, wear them during the warm up period before rehearsals. Folk play louder and more aggressively before getting down to business. Once the conductor takes the stand the trumpets who sit behind me tend to play with a bit more restraint. Every little bit helps, right?

[miketeachesclass]

A company called sensaphonics has an in-ear monitoring solution called "3D Active Ambient" They're essentially ear-sealing in ear monitors that have microphones on the outside of the earplug. I've used them extensively when seeing live music to retain fidelity and effectively "turn down" the volume. I use them in particular at drum corps shows; I can still hear the whole harmonic series and overtones, and don't get 110dB at my ears.

They are not at all inexpensive, but they are very effective. I haven't been using them when playing, but I'm going to give that a shot this week.

https://www.sensaphonics.com/3d

[IaMichael]

I would be interested in hearing (no pun intended) what you thought of them in rehearsal. Thanks!