Occupational hazards

An interesting article on the hidden perils of our job.

Hearing is the the bedrock of musicianship - without the ability to discern the slightest varieties of intonation, to hear the smallest nuances of tone, any other skill is practically useless. As a conductor, all I really have are my ears; my job is to pick out the tiniest details in the orchestra that need to be adjusted and perfected, and if I have any auditory issues my career is shot. Musicians tend to be very careful about their aural faculty - we're the ones covering out ears when fire trucks go by, and the ones wearing ear plugs when we go clubbing (OK, I actually don't know anyone else who does this, but when I'm out dancing somewhere there's a booming bass, I have my earplugs in!). It's a bit ironic, then, that one of the most dangerous places for our ears is our workplace.

To wit: a normal conversation is between 60-70 dB. OSHA monitoring requirements begin at 90 dB. Pain can begin around 125 dB. A symphony orchestra, at it's peak (and depending on the size and constitution of the ensemble) can reach 137 dB. Now, that's assuming a certain amount of distance from the group in question - but can you imagine being in the middle of it?

And it's not only when we're onstage - practicing has its own hazards. Check out the bottom of this handy list to get an idea of the decibel level of several instruments played in their higher dynamic range. My husband, a horn player, regularly works with a sound level meter and has discovered that he can pump up his own volume to 108 dB. As with any horn player, his bell (where the sound comes out) is under his right ear, and he acknowledges that his hearing is different in that ear than in his left. Given that 90-95 dB is the level of sustained exposure that may cause permanent damage, this is a pretty frightening prospect.

Standing on the podium today during a Holiday Pops show, I was inundated by the sound from a big band plus orchestra and from a trumpet solo in a very high range only a few feet away, and I have to say, sometimes it hurts, and that worries me. I'm very careful with my aural health - any time I use headphones I keep it on a setting below 5/10, the car radio is low enough that people ask me if it's actually on - but this is an area where it is difficult to control what's going into my ears. During louder pops shows you'll see half the orchestra put in bright pink ear plugs from the big boxes backstage. But the thing is, they can do it subtly. How strange would it look if I put in my plugs in the middle of a big band chart??

I'm on ear rest tonight - no iPod, no going anywhere there might be loud traffic (not too much of a problem during the winter in Minneapolis!), and no phonecalls ...well, maybe just a few, but speak softly if you call...