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Hearing Damage/Protection


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I'm in the middle of something at school related to this, and thought I'd bring the chat here.

Does anyone know what the acceptable levels of sustained sound are before damage occurs over a series of time? I know it can be different depending on frequency, but obviously in this case I'm talking about instruments (which in themselves have a pretty big range).

I know the DC's spend a lot of time with sectionals indoors. When does it become unsafe? Obviously we can make a lot of Dr. Beat jokes, but what does real research say? When should the DL stop and get plugs for example?

Don't use G bugles. :ninja:

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Hearing protection has a better applicability to drummers than do the brass players. As a (former) drummer - is there such a thing as a former drummer? - earplugs actually help to reduce the overtone and provide crisper hearing that helps to weed out the mess. However, for brass, I don't think it's as beneficial or needed - blocking out any sound for a brass player makes it much more challenging from a tuning perspective. Lastly, I think the sound dynamics are much different between drums and brass.

Brass players just need the right type of ear plugs. ETY Plugs are made for use by musicians and do a good job of reducing the volume without affecting the sound.

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On the field everybody - including the guard - spends at least some time right in front of somebody loud. Think of all the times the guard is right in front of the snare line, and they have no need to hear their own instrument correctly. So I would think they should all wear plugs too.

But kids are macho. They won't wear them unless they are told to. I wonder if any corps have policies on this. Anybody know?

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And then there's the audience ...

"That was a great show."

"It's going to snow?"

"Who's going too slow?"

"Ha?"

"I thought they went fast."

"Who went past?"

"Oh, Santa Clara, I think."

"They didn't stink, they were awesome!"

"Wha?"

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I've been field testing these for an upcoming review on another site. I think I can safely say every musician exposed to loud music should own a pair. I've never experienced anything like these. The sound is totally normal until there's a spike from a sudden loud noise, and then the product instantly jumps to protect the ears.
http://www.etymotic.com/hp/mp915.html

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$300/pr.

Sure, for the active protection ones. They also have more simplistic ear plugs ($12 range) that just reduce the volume without much affect to what you can hear. These would be very reasonable for the average corps.

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Interesting concept. I'm guessing they block sound, but recreate the same volume with earbuds. Then when the volume is too high, they just maintain a fixed maximum volume and even decrease it to compensate for the external sound that gets past the plugs. Finally, when the volume goes way too high (too high to block) they may use noise canceling technology to reverse the waveform, which is freaking brilliant.

It must be said that your eardrum gets sound through all of your body, and it can be loud enough to damage your ears in some cases. This means that even with hearing protection damage can be done. I would hope drum corps doesn't get that loud, but who knows.

Edited by Pete Freedman
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