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by
Phillip Kim
Listening is a critical part of our business,
livelihood and art. There are a few who I know
that have continued on in the business with
hearing loss or damage, but they are the
exception. I remember one time being in the
studio with OJO Taylor who had lost hearing on
one side and had to listen to all music in mono.
Not long ago, I was able to sit in at a Michael
Jackson video edit and the King of Pop himself
came to preview the video. In the small editing
bay, he asked for the music to be turned up so
loud that it was painful to me. It seems to be
that he must have hearing loss.
Protecting how you hear music is so important.
Unlike other parts of the body, hearing loss is
not regenerative and will only fade with time.
There is no way to recover hearing loss.
David E. Baker in his article Grounds
Maintenance defined it well for us. Here is a
reprint of his important 1998 article. I also
share some practice tips at the end.
Even though we cannot see sound, it has a force
with real dimensions and three definite
properties: intensity, frequency and duration.
* Intensity. This property is the loudness of a
sound, or the pressure it exerts through the
ear. It is measured in units called decibels (dBs).
The ear is a remarkable organ, responding to
sounds ranging from dripping water to amplified
music (see table below). The normal range of
hearing begins at about 0 decibels, a level at
which a person with excellent hearing is able to
detect a sound. Typically a person begins to
identify sounds when a level of 10 to 15 dBs is
reached. This is the threshold of hearing. The
other end of the scale is known as the threshold
of pain (140 dB), or the point at which the
average person experiences pain.
In assessing noise, a special measure called dBA
indicates damage to hearing. The dBA rating is
provided for many pieces of agricultural and
outdoor power equipment. The higher the dBA
number, the greater the risk of damage to
hearing.
* Frequency. This property is the number of
sound waves (high and low pressure areas)
produced by a noise source passing a given point
per second. We measure frequency in cycles per
second (cps), also called Hertz (Hz). The higher
the number, the higher the frequency.
The human voice has a range of about 200 to
4,000 Hz. A noise-induced hearing loss first
causes the loss of the ability to hear sounds at
4,000 Hz. Then hearing loss proceeds until the
ear cannot hear frequencies between 500 and
3,000 Hz, a range crucial to understanding
conversation. One of the first signs of hearing
loss is the inability to understand people
(especially in a crowd) or other sources of
voice communication, such as the television or
radio. You become "hard of hearing," and sounds
seem muffled.
The most dangerous sounds are those of high
intensity (dB level) and high frequency. This is
because a large number of sound waves are
transmitted to the ears with a force greater
than your ears can tolerate. You can't reverse
noise-induced hearing loss, and a hearing aid
does little good. Therefore, prevention is by
far the best treatment.
* Duration. This is the
amount of time you are exposed to a sound level.
In the table above, the right-hand column lists
various high sound levels, and the left-hand
column indicates the length of exposure that is
safe for the corresponding noise level during a
day. These figures have been determined after
years of research on noise-induced hearing loss
and are accepted as the standard for allowable
noise-level exposures.
The average person can be exposed to a sound
source producing 90 dBA for a maximum of 8
hours. If the sound level is 100 dBA, then the
maximum exposure is 2 hours. An unprotected ear
can be exposed to 115 dBA for a maximum of only
15 minutes a day. Your ears should not be
directly exposed for any length of time to
sounds greater than 115 dBA. For every 5 dB
increase above 90 dBA, the permissible exposure
time is reduced by half. For example, if you
operated a tractor with a 95 dBA rating, you
would be risking a hearing loss after 4 hours of
exposure. If the tractor had a 90 dBA rating,
you could use the tractor for 8 hours before
reaching the same risk level.”
Practical Changes.
I suggest always wearing ear protection at live
concerts irregardless of the musical style.
Classical music can be just as loud as a rock
concert. I have been using Hearos High Fidelity
Ear plugs. They give you about a 20dB cut across
the board without sacrificing too much tone. You
can buy them at most Tower Records stores for
around $14. . Warning: You should never use
cotton to try to reduce noise exposure. Cotton
cannot block out high-frequency sound and will
provide no protection from high sound levels.
The most damaging effect happens after long term
exposure. Make sure when you are live somewhere
to give your ears a break. When mixing in the
studio at high volumes, take an ear break every
20-30 minutes. You will find your mixes sound
better too. The same goes to DJs and Walkman
users. Prolonged exposure at high volumes will
damage your hearing.
If you are continually exposed to high sound
levels, you should have a hearing test
periodically. This test, called an audiogram,
will reveal signs of hearing loss as a result of
high sound-level exposure. If a hearing loss is
noted, take the necessary steps to reduce
exposure and eliminate further damage to your
hearing.
Safe Listening,
Phillip Kim
If you want more info on electronic artists,
events and find out what is happening in the
scene, subscribe to the NSOUL beats digest by
visiting http://nsoul.com/mail
Phillip Kim is a musician, producer and writer
in the Los Angeles area. A music industry
professional for over 10 years, he currently
serves as president of NSOUL Records and
currently performs as music director for Latin
artist Irene Marin. You can contact him via his
website http://nsoul.com
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