How to protect your audition if you're a musician?
Your ears are your work tool and have no spare. How to rehearse at a lower volume, what protectors to use and what signs to take seriously.
To protect your listening as a musician, check out two things: how strong and how long you are exposed. In practice, it means to rehearse the lowest volume that works, to wear tapas for musicians when the sound's strong, to take quiet breaks and to avoid uploading them to the hearing aids to cover up the noise of the street.
Noise damage usually accumulates without pain and once installed can be permanent. That's why warning signs, such as buzzing or drenched ear sensation after an essay, require care. If they persist, call an audiologist or an otorrinolaringologist.
To sum up
- The risk depends on the volume and time of exposure: a strong and long test weighs more than a strong and short one.
- The music stoppings put the volume down as a couple and let you listen to the music with clarity.
- If you have to shout to talk to someone at an arm's length, the atmosphere's too strong.
- A buzzer after playing is a warning; if you do not leave, or lose an audition suddenly, consult without waiting.
- It's not just the drums: the metal, amplifiers, violin, flute and hearing aids also count.
Why a musician should care about his ears
Filling, balancing your sound with the group, recognizing a chord or listening to a nuance: everything goes through his ear. And his inner ear doesn't notice with pain as it gets high. First, passing signs, such as buzzing or feeling of cotton in his ears, and with repeated exposure damage can stay.
A student with his or her band in a small room, a trumpist with a high school band or a person with hearing aids, and his or her best news about his or her best and best practice time with his or her hearing aids, and most of his or her risks are reduced with simple habits as well as care for his or her [posture to avoid injuries]](/blog/postura-y-ergonomia-para-musicos-evitar-lesiones).
Tools and situations with more risks
| Status | Why? | What to tiup |
|---|---|---|
| Acoustic battery in a small room | Plates and pounding sound very strong and very close. | Protection from the first blow and buckles, rods or padre to practice. |
| Electrical and low Guitar | The amplifier on the floor points to your legs and you put them up to hear you. | Lift and incline the amplifier to your ears, so you have to have it less strongly. |
| Thrompette, trombone and other metal | The bell projects the sound to whoever's at the front. | Check the location of the band and use practice satico at home. |
| Violin and Violin | The instrument sounds next to his left ear for hours. | Stages in long study and protection at strong orchestra essays. |
| Flute and flautín | The sharp sound is born very close to the right ear. | Long study and protection with strong assemblies. |
| Unsonist band testing | Each person increases his or her volume to listen and his or her level grows by itself. | Accordage volumes and conduct sound testing before starting. |
| Hearing aids, electronic batteries and digital piano | The volume goes up without noticing because it doesn't care about anyone else. | To fix a moderate volume before starting and do not up. |
| Reg or drum generators | Many hours a day close to strong instruments. | Hearing protection during class and intergroup breaks. |
How to rehearse at lower volume without losing sound
- A simple rule: If you have to shout to talk to someone at an arm's distance, the essay's far too strong.
- It starts low. It starts at moderate volume and goes up only what's necessary. It's easier to get down as soon as they're all used to it.
- Drilling at room service. In small spaces, the drummer can more control the dynamic or use rods, and the rest of the band will have to compete.
- He puts them all right. No one should have a trumpet bell or a plate with his ear straight.
- Do the space. Raw curtain, pits, sofas and libraries reduce the bounce of sound in a room of smooth walls.
- It's a reference. There are sonometer applications for your cell phone. They do not replace a professional measurement but they serve to compare one with another.
Hearing protectors for musicians: What to choose
| Tipo | How it works | Ventajas | Limitaciones |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retirement and purpurpurifiers | They compress and expand into the ear. | That's economic and easy to get. | They turn more awnings: the music sounds opaque and challenges tuning. |
| Fitted with a filter | A filter reduces the volume more evenly into serious and acute. | You listen to clear music, only lower and reusable. | They demand a few days of regular adaptation and cleanliness. |
| Custom cover | They are made with a mold of your ear and have interchangeable filters. | Comfortable by hour and with precise tuning. | They require printing with an audiologist. |
| Gumbling and purifying machines and their purpurpurities | They cover their ears. | Very easy to put; ideal for children and for battery practice. | Warm and undiscreet at the tidal stage. |
| Inear monitors | stage autophones that seal your ear and get your mix. | They let them listen to you at a lower level than a floor monitor. | If you get up the mix too high, they stop protecting. |
Tips for using them
- Put them up before we start, and not while you feel your ears loaded.
- In strong environments, protect both ears.
- If you sing, at first your voice will be heard more strongly and locked inside your head. It's normal and with practice you adapt.
- Clean them after using them and put them in their case and they are personal.
Hearing aids: the risk that cannot be heard outside
To practice with hearing aids is a blessing to the neighbours but it can be a risk to you, because nobody warns you when it's too strong.
- Adjust the volume before you start, at a comfortable level, and don't put them up half the practice.
- He better have closed or noise cancellation hearing aids: while isolates noise from outside, you don't have to get them up so high.
- At TransMiente, the bus or the street, background noise pushes you up to volume. If you notice, put down music or wait to get there.
- Check your phone's sound configuration: Many phones allow a volume limit to be set for hearing aids.
- with electronic drums or digital piano and with an acoustic instrument.
Hearing breaks and warning signals
The ears also have to recover. After a trial or a strong concert, give them a few hours of peace: no rumba or hearing aids at full volume that same night. In long trials, go out to a quiet place between blocks.
| Signal | What to do |
|---|---|
| Smoked or beeping that goes missing in a few hours | It's a warning: exposure was excessive. Adjust volume and protection for next. |
| Closed ears or sounds turned off after playing | Hearing rest. If repeated often, call for an appraisal. |
| That doesn't leave or that's been shown up. | Consultation with an audiologist or an otorrinolaringologist. |
| Difficulty understanding with background noise conversations | He's applying for an auditory valuation. |
| To hear a different note in each ear, or to have a strong nuisance with regular sounds | Consultation with a specialist. |
| Sudden hearing loss in one or both ears or pain | He's looking for care soon and doesn't have to wait till his passing. |
The audiologist evaluates your hearing with tests such as audiometry and can guide you about custom protectors. Othornolaringologists are the doctor who diagnoses and treats them. Many musicians have an audiometry of monitoring to have a reference to how they hear and how they can compare with time.
Children, schools and gangs
Children have less tools to notice or say that a sound bothers them. If your child plays drums, she's in a wind band or she's trying a small classroom at school:
- Get him some glass protectors or cover for his size musicians.
- Ask him after his essays if his ears are buzzing or if he hears anything "off."
- Talk to the director if the essays are in a very small space or without pause.
[child drums]](/blog/bateria-para-ninos-guia-para-padres) and in the guide to [wind bands in Colombia]](/blog/bandas-de-viento-en-colombia-como-empezar) and if you're starting with [percussion]](/clases/percusion) or electrical guitar, ask your teacher to teach you from the start how to practice with controlled volume and protection.
Frequently asked questions
Do musician drapes change how music sounds?
A little but far less than those of foam. They lower their volume as a couple, so the music's clear, just lower. The first few days feel rare and after that, many musicians don't want to play without them.
Do I have to get his ears buzzed after a concert?
It's common, but it's nonharmless: it means your ears have been more sound than they tolerate well. If it goes away in a few hours, take it as a notice and if it lasts or repeats, call an audiologist or an otorrinolaringologist.
Do hearing aids damage his ears?
It depends on volume and time. At a moderate level and with pauses, it's a good way to practice without disturbing anyone. The risk appears as you get up the volume to cover up the background noise or to feel more energy and you keep it for hours.
Where do I get custom plugs?
They are made from a mold of your ear that takes an audiologist. Ask about the filter options according to your instrument: it's not the same to protect a drummer as a violinist.
Is playing piano or acoustic guitar a risk as well?
Less than the amplified drums or instruments but an acoustic piano in a small room or a big assembly can sound strong. It applying the same logic: volume, time and pauses.