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September 2001 Table of Contents
Your Voice For God
Listen Up... While You Can Still Hear
By Chris Beatty
 This is for all adults and teens who enjoy listening to music or creating it. And whether your application is worship or a pop concert there is something you may need to know more about. Your hearing. One of your senses, without which your life would be dramatically different. First, a few questions: Do you sometimes hear people talking but have difficulty understanding what they have said? Especially in a crowded room or restaurant? Do you ever notice a ringing in your ears after being around loud noise? Do you tend to turn music up louder than you used to? And, here's the really BIG question: Do you use hearing protection when around loud noise?
Why all this concern about hearing? Take your pick. Movie theaters with new audio technology. Home theater Surround Sound systems that rival some commercial theaters. Personal digital stereo systems with mind-blowing power. Car stereo systems with more power than many home systems. Live concerts boasting thousands of watts of amplification. Sports events with 60,000-100,000 yelling, sometimes screaming fans. NASCAR races with deafening, loud, roaring engines. Gas blowers, lawn mowers, power tools, shooting ranges and on and on. What does it all add up to? Unnecessary, permanent hearing loss in many people just like you and me.
In a day and age when we have the ability to produce wonderfully clear, clean, balanced sound we are often times settling for just loud. There are exceptions, of course. ‘Unwired,' acoustic concerts use minimal sound reinforcement to enhance and clarify the acoustical sound. Broadway actors and singers may wear hidden microphones to make their lines more easily heard in theaters where the natural acoustics are lacking. Reinforcement of sound, properly applied, allows us to share the beauty of today's greatest performers.
But then there's the other side. Let's begin with movies. Here the audio is becoming increasingly critical. In some instances the mind-numbing sound is essential to make up for dramatic deficits. At other times it is a calculated force in helping our senses get the message, and that's fine.
But, it often goes too far. Any time you leave the theater with ringing ears and dulled hearing you have done some damage to your ears. This damage is cumulative. In time you simply won't be able to hear certain frequencies. This premature hearing loss will steal from you the ability to fully enjoy and experience great music, nature, or a child's gentle coo.
What will happen with the soon-to-come fully digital theaters is anyone's guess. Physical film will be replaced by a satellite-fed or fiber optic signals. Will sound systems be even more powerful?
Then there are the live pop and rock concerts. This is where I am personally disappointed in the music industry, because the damage that's being done is unnecessary. The sales would still be there. I was brought up with rock and roll. I love a driving bass line and meaningful percussion. I like loud . . . to a degree. And that degree ends when I can no longer distinguish between the instruments, hear the interaction of singer and band, or hear the words. After all, if I pay to "hear" a singer, I should be able to actually "hear" the voice. To give you a sense of the absurdity of some modern day concerts, consider this: Any sound louder than 90 db can be dangerous. A jet engine can reach a painful 140 db. Some rock concerts approach 150 db! MUSIC AT THE EXPENSE OF HEARING?! I don't get it. What a trade off!
"But," you might ask, "if it's so loud, why aren't the musicians deaf?" That's a two-fold answer. First, many professional musicians and sound technicians do have severe hearing loss. The only way they can hear is to crank it even louder. The second part of the answer is this: In most instances the artists are not directly in front of the speaker stacks like you, the listener. They are behind them. There is also a good chance they are wearing in-the-ear monitors. These carefully fitted devices look like a hearing aid with small wires leading to a belt-pack receiver that is controlled from off stage. It serves two functions. First, it feeds the singer only the sound mix he/she needs/wants to hear. Second, it lowers the overall sound level entering their ears by up to 30 db. In other words, they can control what's getting to their ears. You can't, unless you wear hearing protection. The audience is at the mercy of the house sound engineer, who may have hearing loss or just like it loud. He may also be under the control of a concert promoter who believes "more is better." Remember, hearing loss doesn't usually happen in one concert. But it is accelerated over time by exposure to loud noises. And here's the bottom line. MANY OF THOSE LOUD, DAMAGING NOISES CAN BE CONTROLLED OR REDUCED BEFORE THEY GET TO YOUR EARS. As you can see, it's complicated, but one thing is for sure: ongoing exposure to loud noise could damage your hearing for life.
I was recently at a concert where all ages, from adult management to kids were walking out due to the sheer decibel level. I was wearing full attenuation ear plugs and it was still hurting and distorted. When I asked one of the management team why it was so loud as to cause people to leave, he said the house engineer was probably half deaf. The solution? Some venues (concert halls, auditoriums, churches etc.) put a cap on the loudness allowed. They have a db meter by the sound board. If it gets too loud they have the right to pull the plug. As long as this is discussed ahead of time, and in writing, I think it's the way to go. Who can argue with a meter?
But I digress. Let's get back to you. Much of the issue is that the hair cells that play a vital role in hearing are like our teeth, or the hair on the top of our head. They can fall out and don't grow back. (A look in the mirror at the top of my head brings this point home to me.) "Okay," you are saying. "I get the message. What do I do?"
First, say the words, "Prevent hearing loss." Then, start avoiding what loud noises you can. Next, if you choose to expose yourself to potentially loud situations, invest in some good musician's ear plugs, available from through a good audiologist. The custom-fitted molds can reduce sound levels by 15-25 db or more without degrading the sound. I have some with interchangeable inserts so I can choose 15, 25 or full blockage. Even with the full plugs in, I hear rock concerts just fine. At a doctors recommendation, I also use them when flying, shooting, or any in other situations that might compromise my hearing. If this is too extreme for you, go to a sports store and get simple in-the-ear plugs used by shooters or swimmers. But do something.
Earlier, I mentioned the problem of ringing in the ears. It's called tinnitus, and you may have experienced this after being exposed to extreme noise levels. With most of us it then goes away. But, guess what? If you continue to be exposed to loud noises, unprotected, the ringing may NOT stop. It can be so severe as to cause life-changing issues in many. Some have to wear a frequency generating hearing device to cancel the frequency of the ring. Others have success being treated with Tinnitus Retraining Therapy. Here, the patient wears a hearing-aid like device for a few hours at a time. It sends sound signals to the brain in an attempt to retrain the brain to ignore the bothersome tinnitus. A great source on this and other hearing issues is http://www.ata.org
Should you suffer hearing loss, there are some very effective hearing instruments available these days. They are small, powerful, and can help clarify the specific frequencies you need. And for the high-tech crowd, some devices come with handheld remotes that let you change the equalization, on the spot, to fit the sound situation you are in. Now that's progress!
Finally, if you're not sure about the condition of your hearing, get it checked. Most of us only undergo a hearing screening during childhood unless medical reasons exist. Many hearing health providers suggest that you obtain a re-evaluation every two years, especially if your livelihood depends on it. If a problem were to develop, having a baseline audiogram from which to compare is essential. Early identification can lead to possible correction.
Chris Beatty
Vocal Coach/Upright Foundation
P.O. Box 2144, Brentwood TN 37024
Office: 615-331-1080
Fax: 615-331-8847
E-Mail: chris@vocalcoach.com
Web: www.vocalcoach.com
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