Protecting your ears: why and how you should start right now

No matter what instrument you play, your ears are the most important tools you use in making music.  They are also the most neglected by many musicians. Singers pay careful attention aspects of their health and diet that affect their voice, guitarists and pianists are paranoid about their hands, and wind players craft exercise routines that hone their cardiovascular fitness.  Yet comparatively few musicians protect their hearing from early stages of their musical lives/careers, even though that’s when it makes the most difference. Once you start to notice early signs of hearing trouble, the damage is already irreversible.

It’s easy to understand why musicians may ignore safe listening practices.  First, loud music undeniably feels good, in a way that quiet music doesn’t. When we hear and feel the sound more, it adds to the energy, depth, and emotion of our experience.  No one wants to attend a rock concert (or any kind of concert, really) with the music at conversation level. Second, hearing damage offers very few and very subtle symptoms. If dangerously loud volume levels caused us immediate physical pain, we would surely pay more attention.  Unfortunately, the early signs of hearing damage are much more subtle and easy to ignore.

Some things you should know:

1. Volumes that can damage your hearing are lower than you might think.  For example, busy traffic noise and appliances such as hairdryers often exceed safe hearing levels.  For short periods of time and moderately high levels, our ears can adapt to protect themselves.  But for extended periods of a slightly too loud environment, or even after a few seconds of very high volumes, your ears can’t protect themselves naturally.

2. Acoustic and orchestral musicians: YOU TOO.  It’s not just about your instrument, it’s about your typical surroundings.  I doubt I could get enough volume out of my flamenco guitar to damage my hearing playing solo.  But I frequently rehearse with dancers who do intense footwork and percussive hand clapping, and both of those can be quite loud.  What’s more, I amplify in some performance settings, which easily exceeds safe hearing levels.

3. Hearing loss isn’t always symmetrical.  Violin and viola players often suffer hearing loss in the left ear, since that’s the ear that is always next to the instrument.  Likewise, wearing an earplug in one ear but not the other does nothing to protect your hearing.

4. Headphones and earbuds can damage your hearing too!  This might be obvious to some, but it’s not to all. Especially lower-quality headphones tend to make us want to increase the volume beyond safe levels to hear the different frequencies in a satisfying balance.

Some things you can do to protect your ears:

1. Protect your hearing in non-musical situations.  This is easy and won’t affect your musical experiences at all!  Wear ear plugs on planes, when you mow the lawn or use power tools, or any other occasion when sounds exceed healthy levels.

You can get a box cheap, disposable foam ear plugs online or at any hardware store, and they’ll do the job just fine.  

2. Assess your typical music environment.  Use a sound meter in your typical rehearsal and performances settings to know which levels are excessive and where you need to be extra careful.  You can purchase a sound meter that meets official standards like this one here.  There are also several apps that measure noise levels, though as of yet no smartphone-based app meets official hearing safety standards.  

3. Wear protective earbuds in loud rehearsals and concerts.  While the cheap foam earplugs will protect your hearing in these situations, they muffle the sound quite a bit and change your hearing experience.  You don’t want to feel isolated from your rehearsal or performance environment, or it will be too tempting to take out the ear plugs!

I recently invested in a pair of silicone earplugs that protect the ears from damaging levels, yet permit me to hear the important frequencies well enough so that the sound stays more true to real life.  They’re more expensive, but they’re washable and re-usable, and they keep me feeling connected and responsive to my ensemble. There are even ear plugs with filters that you can change depending on your environment - for example, filters for a moderately loud rehearsal versus a high-volume rock concert.  

4. Limit volume levels when you’re listening for leisure.  Most smartphones and computers can let you limit the maximum volume levels, which helps you avoid bad habits and nasty surprises (when the volume was left higher than you realized).  Use quality headphones and speakers, so that you can hear the music well without turning up the volume too high.  

For further reading, I thought this article summarized the science of hearing protection really well.  

What are your experiences with high volumes and playing music?  Do you protect your ears? In what situations? Do you suffer from tinnitus or other early form of hearing loss?  How does it affect your playing and listening, and how do you adapt to it?  Have I missed any important facts or tips, or can anyone offer further information?