Decibel Levels

[Jon Page]

At 08:10 AM 12/29/2000 -0500, you wrote:
>I'm stopping by for a few days with this question.
>
>Just how loud can a piano become? I have a book which says an airplane 
>taking off will reach 140 decibels, a rock concert 120 and a snowmobile 110.
>
>Last week I was tuning this magnificent old Heintzman upright fitted with 
>new hammers and with a very brilliant tone. It sat in a bit of an alcove 
>in a corner of the living room so the booming sound had little room to 
>escape except past my ears. Suddenly, in around the sixth octave, I felt 
>this wierd sensation in my right ear. It's hard to describe because it 
>wasn't really pain. Moving or tilting my head allowed me to diminish the 
>discomfort and complete the day's work. When I think about it, I can only 
>best describe the sensation by saying that my right ear feels somewhat 
>heavy, even today, nine days later.
>
>After 37 years of tuning, I'm now going for ear plugs and I've read the 
>archives as well. But nowhere can I find reference as to how many decibels 
>it took for me to experience this discomfort.
>
>John Lillico, RPT
>Oakville, Ontario

John,
I have no input on the decibel question but can support your pursuit of 
earplugs.
I pickup a pair last year and it has helped immeasurably with similar 
problems I
developed in my right ear.

I set the temperament and the last octave and a half without them; actually 
just one
in my right ear since my left ear is away from the piano.

Regards,


Jon Page,   piano technician
Harwich Port, Cape Cod, Mass.
mailto:jonpage@mediaone.net
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