Rescuing the Rhythm
N.O. Musicians Clinic faces shortfalls, cutbacks as private, federal support dries up
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2820 Napoleon Avenue
Suite 890
New Orleans, LA 70115
(504) 412-1366
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Many NOMC musicians don't think twice about getting their eyes examined, lots even regularly get colonoscopies, yet neglect to have their hearing monitored. They will wear glasses, but would never consider hearing protection or aids. While hearing loss might not be as noticeable as sight degeneration in the earliest stages, the long-term damage can be destroy a musician's career. What's more, many people don't realize that their increasing communication problems are caused by their own inability to clearly understand others, leading to misdirected irritability, anger and frustration.
According to the United States Safety and Health Standards, workers should not be exposed to more than 90 dB over a period of eight hours. Most audiologists suggest that the standard be modified to 85 dB.
You can protect your hearing and that of your fellow musicians and audience by paying attention to noise levels. Become an advocate for enforcement of OSHA regulations for safe workplace noise levels.
When you must work in a noisy environment, check out the decibel level you are being exposed to and take the proper precautions. Give your ears a rest for 24 hours after exposure to dangerous levels of noise.
Before the gig, set the volume of your Ipod, tv show or car radio to a level where you can barely hear the words. An hour after the gig turn on the device. Can you hear the words? If not, your ears are suffering!
Can you still hear and understand the words? If not, you're experiencing a form of short term hearing loss called temporary threshold shift. When this happens too many times, the damage can become permanent.
Other signs of possible problems can be acute or chronic dizziness, pain, discomfort, and drainage from you ears.
Fore more information, please visit http://www.hearnet.com/at_risk/risk_advice.shtml
Have your hearing evaluated at least once a year by a hearing health professional and get yourself custom hearing protection. The NOMC can assist you in setting up an appointment with a specialist. 412-1366
| Environmental Noise | |
| normal conversation at 3-5 ft | 60-70 dB |
| dial tone of telephone | 80 dB |
| city traffic inside car | 85 dB |
| 1983 OSHA monitoring requirements begin | 90 dB |
| train whistle at 500 ft. | 90 dB |
| regular sustained exposure may cause permanent damage | 90-95 dB |
| power mower | 107 dB |
| power saw | 110 dB |
| Saints game inside the Superdome | 105-119 dB |
| shotgun blast or thunderclap | 119 dB |
| EAR Pain begins | 125 dB |
| jet engine at 100 ft. | 140 dB |
| Musical Noise | |
| normal piano/keyboard practice | 60-70 dB |
| chamber music in small auditorium | 75-85 dB |
| regular sustained exposure may cause permanent damage | 90-95 dB |
| violin/fiddle | 84-103 dB |
| clarinet | 92-103 dB |
| trombone | 85-114 dB |
| timpani & bass drum rolls | 106 dB |
| average Ipod | 94 dB |
| The Krazy Korner ( from outside on Bourbon Street) | 110 dB |
| amplified rock music at 4-6 ft. | 120 dB |
| rock music peak | 150 dB |
NOTES:
- Aging causes gradual hearing loss, mostly in the high frequencies.
- Speech reception is not seriously impaired until there is about 30 dB loss; by that time severe damage may have occurred.
- Hypertension and various psychological difficulties can be related to noise exposure.
- The incidence of hearing loss in classical musicians has been estimated at 4-43%, in rock musicians 13-30%.
Statistics for the Decibel (Loudness) Comparison Chart were taken from a study by Marshall Chosen, M.Sc., Aud(C), FAAA, Center for Human Performance & Health, Ontario, Canada. When there were several readings, the higher one was chosen.
