Hearing Loss and Piano Tuning

[Robert Finley]

That's very interesting Diane. I wonder where this study can be found? I 
remember when I was a student at university going into the student's union 
building during a rock concert, and I couldn't stand the noise. It was so 
deafening that I couldn't speak to the lady I was with without shouting and 
making my voice go hoarse, and we had to leave because it was painful. I did 
have a ringing in my ears and didn't go to any concerts like that again. I 
guess that the players in the band gradually go deaf, and to compensate they 
turn the volume higher and higher.

As far as a symphony orchestra is concerned, in some pieces, the volume is 
loud during the fortissimo passes even at the back of the auditorium, so I 
wonder what it must be like for an orchestral player or the conductor in the 
middle of all of that. For a busy orchestra that plays almost every night, 
rehearses and goes on tour, I wonder what the effect is on the conductor and 
the players. I have never heard of a conductor going deaf (except Beethoven, 
but I think that was due to an illness) or members of an orchestra retiring 
due to hearing loss, but I wonder. As far as I know I haven't heard whether 
any of the famous pianists such as Vladimir Horowitz ever had tinnitus or 
other hearing problems. He played some thunderously loud pieces. I guess 
some people are more vulnerable to this than others.

Robert Finley

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "DIANE HOFSTETTER" <dianepianotuner at msn.com>
To: <pianotech at ptg.org>
Sent: Friday, May 05, 2006 1:53 PM
Subject: RE: Hearing Loss and Piano Tuning


>
>
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>>From: "Robert Finley" <rfinley at rcn.com>
>
>>I have been wondering whether musicians could also suffer hearing loss and 
>>what the difference is >between tuning a piano (where the notes are played 
>>loudly to set the strings) and playing  music t>hat has loud passages in 
>>it such as a Liszt's Transcendental Etude 'Mazeppa" or Rachmaninoff's 
>> >Prelude in G minor Opus 23  and practising pieces like that for several 
>>hours a day.
>
>
>
> According to one study:
>
> 90% of musicians exhibit the initial stages of a hearing loss.
> 52% of classical musicians have a permanent hearing loss
> 30% of rock/pop musicians also possess an irreversible hearing loss
>
>
> The official theory as to why classical musicians tend to suffer from 
> hearing loss more than rock musicians is amount of exposure; rock 
> musicians tend to listen on weekends and classical musicians practice, 
> teach and have rehersals throughout the week.  ( The IPods will probably 
> change all that.)
>
>
>
> Savy orchestras are starting to wear earplugs!
>
> Diane
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