Musicians are cool! Their performances bring us so much happiness. The drawback is that music is almost always loud, in fact, many people prefer it that way. Since musicians subject themselves to loud music on a daily basis, their hearing is at an increased risk of being damaged.
As you get older, you’ll still want to be able to enjoy your favorite songs whether you’re a musician or not. The key to having a lengthy successful career, for musicians, is protecting their hearing. For the rest of us, hearing protection is the key to a lifetime of musical enjoyment and enrichment.
Music is surprisingly loud
If you ask the majority of individuals if a jet engine is loud, they’ll likely say yes.
Is music really that loud? If you ask someone whether an acoustic guitar or a lone violin is noisy, they may not reply so quickly. Imagine their surprise when they discover the reality: that music is certainly loud! Even classical music can reach fairly high volumes that can easily damage your hearing.
Sounds higher than 90 dB can be produced by a violin, for instance. That’s around as noisy as a leaf blower. In Europe, for example, they have regulations that require hearing protection for anyone who works in a setting where there is noise above 85 dB.
And your hearing can be seriously damaged over time if you’re working with music every day, particularly if you don’t use ear protection.
How can you safeguard your hearing?
Okay, musicians who want to preserve their hearing for years to come need to safeguard their hearing. So how can musicians continue to enjoy their music while also protecting their hearing?
Well, here are a couple of easy things musicians can do:
- Track your volume: Knowledge is power, right? So knowing volume levels of sounds around you will help you protect your hearing. Sometimes, this is as easy as monitoring your volume settings on amps and receivers. But you can also track day-to-day volume levels of environmental noises using a volume meter app that you can download on your cellphone. If the meter reads above 85dB consistently, you’ll have to do something about this.
- Take breaks: Your ears are the same as any other part of your body: they can be overworked and will frequently benefit from a break. So take frequent breaks from the noise. This will help stop your ears from getting overwhelmed with noise (and damage). Regarding hearing, how long you’re exposed is almost as important as how loud it is. The difference between the ideal amount of stimulation and too much can come down to taking frequent breaks.
Ear protection is important
Using ear protection is the single most effective way to protect your hearing. Many musicians are hesitant to wear ear protection because they’re worried it will effect the quality of sound they hear, as well as dampening the volume. But depending on what kind of hearing protection you use, that may not always be true.
- Ear plugs made primarily for musicians: Most people are probably acquainted with disposable ear plugs. They’re pretty good at blocking a lot of sound though they sometimes don’t fit very well. They’re inexpensive, easy to get, and easy to dispose of. For musicians, they aren’t an ideal solution. But earplugs just for musicians are also available at a slightly higher cost. A specialized material and modern engineering are used to help these earplugs fit snuggly in the ear and reduce external noise by around 20% while maintaining the audio clarity. This solution is perfect for musicians who require a light to moderate amount of protection (and who don’t have a lot of money to invest in earplugs, or are likely to misplace them).
- Electronic earplugs: Electronic earplugs work in basically the same way as high-quality, non-electronic earplugs. Most of the sound will be blocked by the earplug itself. But the earplug itself will send in the sound you hear. For people who work in really noisy settings and need better control of the volume, these earplugs are perfect.
- In-ear monitors: Most music is electronic nowadays, or at least amplified by electronics. An in-ear monitor takes those electronic signals and conveys them directly to a device placed in your ear (called an in-ear monitor). It’s like a special little speaker for your ear, and the majority of monitors can block out sound from the outside world (thanks to a fairly tight fit and specialized design). This means you can hear exactly how you sound, at a volume you control. For musicians who electronically amplify their instruments these in-ear-monitors are the ideal answer.
Safeguard your career by protecting your hearing
It’s never too late to take steps to protect your hearing, but it’s definitely a good plan to start sooner rather than later. Everybody can safeguard their hearing and future with hearing protection options at all price points. Don’t forget that you’re investing in your career by utilizing hearing protection for musicians. It’s one way to be certain you’ll be making incredible music for years (maybe even decades) to come!
Contact us so we can help you get started.