Musician wins landmark ruling over ruined hearing

[Bowerybum]

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-43571144" target="_blank" target="_blank

"On 1 September 2012, Mr Goldscheider was seated directly in front of the brass section of the orchestra for a rehearsal of Wagner's thunderous opera Die Walkure in the famous orchestra pit at the Royal Opera House."

"During that rehearsal, the noise levels exceeded 130 decibels, roughly equivalent to that of a jet engine. His hearing was irreversibly damaged."

[Ken Crawford]

My wife is a bassoon player, usually sitting in front of trumpets or trombones. Hearing damage is no joke.

[gwwilk]

Having already suffered from sono-traumatic (heavy machinery, firearms, percussion, etc.) hearing loss coupled with a genetic predisposition for same, I refuse to sit in front of any other brass, especially trumpets, because I'm wearing hearing aids that AMPLIFY their overtones, which are in my spectrum of greatest hearing loss and thereby cause further damage. Sure, I could turn the hearing aids down, but I already have problems with soft conductors' voices.

That said, successful expansion of this sort of lawsuit could spell major changes in musicians' rehearsal techniques and require everyone to wear headphones even during performances.

[Radar]

After 6 years in the Navy in the gunnery field, and 15 years in an Army reserve band I went to the VA to try to get help with hearing aids. So after 15 years of sitting in close proximity to drummers, trumpet players, etc. the VA concluded that it couldn't be determined that my hearing loss was service related, and refused to help me out getting hearing aids. So according to the VA playing music doesn't adversely effect your hearing.

[MaryAnn]

I have worn those fancy-dan custom Westone earplugs ever since I got them about 20 years ago, which I did because of the sound level in an amateur band. It was never necessary in an orchestra, but I didn't do pit work since college. I will not sit in front of trombones or trumpets, period, and once, with another horn player forced re-seating at a concert because we were placed in front of trombones. For me, the ear plugs work ok for percussion. Not for the whamming on the chops but for the ears. My hearing is a lot better than many others my age, but I can tell it is still declining. BTW, I rarely go to movies but found I have to wear them there, too, if I don't want to suffer actual pain.

I pity the guy because hyperacousis has probably ruined his life.

[Ace]

the VA concluded that it couldn't be determined that my hearing loss was service related, and refused to help me out getting hearing aids. So according to the VA playing music doesn't adversely effect your hearing.

I succeeded in getting a VA service connected disability rating and free lifetime hearing aids/batteries. Basis: My hearing charts at point of entry in service, and hearing charts at point of discharge from service, very dramatically showing the hearing loss. VA agreed with me that the most likely cause was being a military trumpeter playing daily in front of two bass drums, two cymbals players, and six outdoor field snare drums. (This was the combined 21st Army Band and the Fourth Infantry Division Band.)

Ace

[Ace]

If our backs hurt real bad, does a law require us to show up and do our roofing jobs - or polish sousaphones, etc. - tomorrow?

It just seems to me that it's pretty obvious (via "bio-feedback"...or even via "common sense"...ex: "working near chemicals or radiation", etc.) when things we choose to do for remuneration are lowering (sooner or later) our quality of life...

bloke "...but I suppose, this is too controversial to suggest...I apologize ..."

Of course, in my case, I didn't choose----I was drafted. It was involuntary servitude.

Ace

[smitwill1]

Yeah, we chose our gig. But, how many employers have the right to dock your future pay or even send you to jail if you choose to not show up to work? Military musicians only get to choose their gigs every four years; after that, participation is rather compulsory.

We had a health-and-safety inspection in our old band room at Langley. Turned out we were regularly exceeding 100 dB throughout the room and in the back row where I sat we saw peaks at 120 dB or so--on par with working on the flight line. I have to complement our commander: we were issued custom-fit attenuators http://www.hearingreview.com/2014/07/hi ... -earplugs/ until the practice hall could be retro-fitted to accommodate the larger band. The first day we had our new earplugs our commander lasted less than 20 minutes wearing them--and the rest of the band followed suit. The consensus was that they got in the way: they clipped the highs, effectively amplified internal noises like buzzing and breathing, and didn't let us hear the musicians around us, similar to recent reports https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access ... ?aid=40713 and https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4900482/. I think that it's really hard to use hearing protection routinely when our job depends on making our personal best sound--every day. Long term effects are academic when we're only as good as our last exposed entrance. For the short term, the band purchased temporary sound walls/shields and lined the walls with sound-absorbent panels, which made rehearsals bearable.

Sorry to ramble...I guess my points are that (1) it's a shame that the VA isn't taking care of veterans for their hearing loss--it's clear that our instruments produce sufficient sound pressure levels to do lasting damage, (2) musicians often focus on today's performance, despite what they may know about long-term hearing loss thus are often driven (internally or externally) to put themselves at risk, and (3) employers (music directors, conductors, etc...) have many tools at their disposal to detect and mitigate injuriously high sound pressure levels; if they choose not to use them, they may rightly be found liable.

[Art Hovey]

The brass always get the blame, but it's the piccolo that often exceeds the threshold of pain!
I recently heard a wonderful performance of the Shostakovitch 1st cello concerto. Tchaik 4 was also on the program.
The ffff brass passages were wonderful, but the piccolo shrieks were like an icepick in the ear. Am I the only one who hears them?

[Three Valves]

For the short term, the band purchased temporary sound walls/shields and lined the walls with sound-absorbent panels, which made rehearsals bearable.

Shouldn't that have been the FIRST thing they did??

[davidgilbreath]

The brass always get the blame, but it's the piccolo that often exceeds the threshold of pain!
I recently heard a wonderful performance of the Shostakovitch 1st cello concerto. Tchaik 4 was also on the program.
The ffff brass passages were wonderful, but the piccolo shrieks were like an icepick in the ear. Am I the only one who hears them?

"Icepick in the ear" perfectly describes how painful piccolo passages have become for me. They bloody hurt my right ear. Always carry blue Hearos with me to every rehearsal and performance.

[smitwill1]

For the short term, the band purchased temporary sound walls/shields and lined the walls with sound-absorbent panels, which made rehearsals bearable.

Shouldn't that have been the FIRST thing they did??

Yeah, but I think the logic was something like “spend the least amount of money on the temporary solution; have more money for the permanent one”. Ultimately, many of the players requested that we bring the shields on the road.

[Three Valves]

This one time, at band camp, the drum line and low brass section went into the tiled locker room to see how loud we could get...



What??

[swillafew]

https://www.guitarcenter.com/Hearos/

What I have kept in the change pocket of my wallet since I resumed playing in 2000.

I used to get hearing tested at work, it was for an air traffic controller's medical certificate. I asked what my score was, and I was told "zero loss of hearing".

At the same time I was the bass guitarist in a rock band as hobby, and the only guy in the band who would think to wear them. Other guys would be curious, put some in for one song, and pull them right back out because "they couldn't hear anything". According to the technician at work, I could hear everything. You get to make a choice.

[TheGoyWonder]

Another Cohencidence.

[Leland]

After 6 years in the Navy in the gunnery field, and 15 years in an Army reserve band I went to the VA to try to get help with hearing aids. So after 15 years of sitting in close proximity to drummers, trumpet players, etc. the VA concluded that it couldn't be determined that my hearing loss was service related, and refused to help me out getting hearing aids. So according to the VA playing music doesn't adversely effect your hearing.

That sucks. The Marine D&B regularly has OSHA people come and test our rehearsal space to see how loud we get, and they've always remarked along the lines of (and I'm paraphrasing), "Holy crap!"

I haven't checked if the VA would rate any of my hearing loss as service-related (I have only minimal loss anyway, partly because I used earplugs for most indoor rehearsals and performances), but at least we've got OSHA paperwork to back up any claims.

[edit to shill earplug brands]
I've used:
- basic foam earplugs (super quiet, good enough for rifle qualification, but very muffling)
- Westone custom earplugs (at least I think that was the brand)
- Etymotic basic musicians' earplugs
- Earasers brand, in regular and extra strength

My favorite so far are the Earasers. They're comfortable, sound natural, and are still pretty quiet.

[WC8KCY]

I went to University and performed in various ensembles with a close-friend clarinetist who always, always dons ear plugs. I thought he was being silly and eccentric, until...

...an ensemble I played trumpet with became seriously short on clarinetists. I made the director that I could pinch-hit on clarinet, and have been there ever since. What a shocking revelation. I got redeployed on the Clarinet II book, and my seating position was one row ahead of the lead trumpet section.

It had never occurred to me as a trumpeter how needlessly loud the trumpet section could become going after that "commercial" sound. What I thought was musical and artistic as a trumpeter came off as downright nasty and utterly obnoxious when seated one row ahead of my former section mates.

I use the Howard Leight AirSoft earplugs. It's amazing what musical detail you CAN hear once the roar and din are attenuated.

[Leland]

It's amazing what musical detail you CAN hear once the roar and din are attenuated.

This applies when conducting a loud ensemble, too.

It takes some knowledge of how the room's accountings change the balance, plus awareness of how one's earplugs color the sound (even the best aren't immune to having a slightly unnatural frequency curve), but it really helps.

I think there's a threshold -- let's arbitrarily say 90 dB -- above which you start losing detail and it all becomes just a louder blend of noise. It gets hard to hear details in the inner voices, and individuals who are being a little too "enthusiastic" somehow don't sound any louder than anyone else.

You can hear it in rehearsal recordings, too. Record a session, then play it back with the volume turned moderately low; you'll hear some sections, or maybe individual players, stick out in ways that you hadn't noticed while you were in the same room.

Keeping the noise down to less painful levels is great for your attitude, too. It's much easier to stay calm and relaxed, which -- IMO -- is the kind of conductor most players respond to best.

[WC8KCY]

Keeping the noise down to less painful levels is great for your attitude, too. It's much easier to stay calm and relaxed, which -- IMO -- is the kind of conductor most players respond to best.

Hear, hear!

As a clarinetist contending with any ensemble playing excessively loud, there's always that temptation--or compulsion--to play sharp in an effort to cut through the roar and din of all those standing waves. Many clarinet players don't even realise they're doing it, and it's a tough habit to break. Before long, the trumpets notice that they're flat relative to the upper reeds and tune upward...and it's a sharpness arms race from then on out to stay afloat on top of the prevailing pitch, unless and until the conductor intervenes.

And speaking of detail..the sonic opulence of a balanced tuba section with both bass and contrabass instruments also gets lost in the noise of an ensemble playing way too loud.