What Musicians Need To Know About Their Ears
Imagine you lost your hearing… what would happen to your career and your ability to do what you love?
As a musician, your hearing is pretty important, if not essential, to your enjoyment and livelihood. Without it, you could lose what you love. Nothing beats the roar of the crowd, the throb of the bass, or guitars “turned up to 11”.
As amazing as those moments are, however, they can definitely damage your hearing if you’re not taking steps to protect it. Your ears can suffer damage at as little as 85 dB. The average rock concert is somewhere between 90-120 dB, and even symphony orchestras run at an average of 110 dB. At that volume, hearing damage can happen in as little as two minutes if your ears are unprotected. No matter the genre, all musicians run the risk of losing their ability to hear their art.
Did You Know Hearing Loss Due to Loud Music is Irreversible?
Hearing loss caused by exposure to loud music is called Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL). Once the damage to your ears happens, it can’t be reversed. When testing for NIHL, we look for hearing loss concentrated in certain areas, called a “noise notch”. The tough thing about hearing loss like this is that it often happens very gradually, and you might not even notice it until it’s way too late. The good news is that there are steps you can take to protect your hearing from further damage.
How Comprehensive Audiology Helps Musicians Protect Their Hearing
We love music as much as you do, so here’s how we help our musical friends in the Lynbrook, NY area protect their hearing:
What You Need To Know About Hearing Testing
First, we test your hearing to see if any damage has already occurred, and find out what kind of music you play. This will help us understand which type of hearing protection you might need.
Custom Earplugs for Musicians
At Comprehensive Audiology, we offer custom hearing protection based on the instrument you play and what kinds of ensembles you play in. Using Otoscan, we take a 3D image of your inner ear, which allows us to create custom-molded musician earplugs with a perfect fit. Traditional foam earplugs will protect your hearing, but they also muffle sound in a way that blocks more high-end frequencies. Our goal with earplugs is to block out as much of the sound that can damage your hearing as possible, while still allowing you to hear sound accurately with high fidelity. Our custom-molded musician earplugs use a filter specifically designed to reduce noise exposure while still maintaining the sound quality across the sound frequency spectrum. This custom filter protects your hearing by allowing you to select your level and attenuation to match your unique listening preferences.
In-Ear Monitors
Another way to protect your hearing as a musician and improve your craft is to use custom in-ear monitors. Not only do in-ear monitors block out damaging decibel levels, they also provide audio monitoring in a mix that is customized to you. In-ear monitors allow you to choose exactly how you want your musical instrument to sound in relation to the other instruments in the ensemble. They’re custom-molded to your ears, making a tight seal that blocks more of the sound around you and allows you to listen at lower levels. This can also help protect your hearing on stage. They’re also wireless, so your clear, quiet, monitoring mix follows you wherever your jam takes you.
Hearing Aids for Musicians
There are many deaf and hard of hearing musicians who are masters of their craft. If you are a musician who has suffered hearing loss, there are options for helping you better hear the music you love. Most hearing aids are focused on hearing speech, but with the right programming, some types of hearing aids can amplify music effectively. We have expert knowledge of how music is created, performed, and perceived to help you rediscover sounds you may have lost.
Musicians, call us today!
No matter if you’ve just begun playing or if you’re decades into your musical career, we can help you protect your ears and continue to hear the music you love. Give us a call to schedule an appointment.
Musicians, call us today!
No matter if you’ve just begun playing or if you’re decades into your musical career, we can help you protect your ears and continue to hear the music you love. Give us a call to schedule an appointment.