An interesting read re tinnitus:

http://www.newswithviews.com/Howenstine/james178.htm

Interesting.

I wonder how much clinical study has been done?

I've had tinnitus as long as I can remember.
Can't sleep in a quiet room.

So, is tinnitus related to piano tuners?

We must use ear caps?

Hello Frank B.

I just happened across this. (I'm stuck without wheels today & tomorrow while my truck is receiving massive repairs and massive infusions of cash.)

I've heard from sufferers that it can be quite maddening at times. I hope you are able to find relief.

Best wishes,
-Joe

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Hello Gadzar,

I would think that anything related to the health of the ear, and to correction of conditions such as tinnitus, could be great interest to at least some tuners. Further, many of us (me included) know and are friends with musicians that suffer from tinnitus.

I'm very sorry if you were offended by my post. But, I still think it is a legitimate topic here. If you will note, I included "O.T." in the title.

-Joe

I too developed it early on in my life from lobbing 105 howitzer shells and lots of shooting range time. It doesn't seem to effect tuning in the sense that I can still hear what I need too. I had worried that the higher pitched siren sounds would interact with similar pitched tones the way that partials do with each other but they don't seem to react with each other. I think its because it is an external sound source mixing with an internal sound like sensory nerve impulse.
Beethoven had maddening tinnitus prior to his hearing loss and Van Gogh apparently cut his ear off in a vain attempt to quell his bouts with it. Many famous people and musicians have tinnitus as can be found on this site:

http://members.fortunecity.com/nrbq1/tinnitus.html

As long as there are other noises I can tune it out.

Complete silence drives me up a wall.

I once tuned for friend who had built a sound-proof studio in his home.
He did it right, doing a lot of research first, hiring acoustical engineers, spending the necessary money.

He did a little too well. Once I was in the room and he had closed the heavy doors, it sounded like an ear test being run through a Marshall stack.

I had all I could do to ignore it so I could tune his piano.

Hello Joe,

I must insist again: my english is not good enough and sometimes people understand what I am not saying.

I was not offended by your post at all. I am really interested in knowing if we as tuners must take special care and use ear protections or if only tuners that have ear problems are concerned.

I apologise if I unintentionally appeared ironical or sarcastic. Of course it is a legitime topic to post here!


BTW, what O.T. means?

No offense taken...

I was afraid that I somehow may have given offense. Different people have different expectations of this forum. I should have realized that this was a simple language issue. I apologize for misreading you. I'm glad everything's OK here.

O.T. means "Off Topic".

I've heard of many tuners using hearing protection, and I think it is a must, specially for those who tune a lot of pianos per day or week. It's not just about how loud one test blow can be, but about for how long you are subjecting your ears to that. Test blows aren't soft, they might not be brutal either, but your poor ears have to take A LOT of them.

The same applies for many orchestral musicians (I can't understand how people survive in front of a brass section without ear plugs), and many other professions where people think "it's not that bad".

I have tried to tune with ear protection but I don't feel comfortable and I finish by removing it. But I fear to develope tinnitus or other hearing problem. Though, I tune only three to four pianos in a week.

I played in rock bands in the 60s and 70s, then worked in construction running backhoes. Also worked on fishing draggers, offshore lobster boats, and tug boats.

Nothing like standing next to a 4 cylinder engine that is 10' tall and about 20' long, banging away while your 90' tug pulls a huge oil barge. It was so noisy in the engine room, you could barely make out what was being said when someone shouted directly into your ear.

Nobody suggested noise protection in those days, you were supposed to be "tough" (which now translates into ... stupid).

It's amazing I can still even hear the highs and lows.

Frank, are you treating your tinnitus now?

No, didn't think there was anything that could be done.

I also have the issues mentioned in the article, with fluid draining (some people say it's my brains seeping out), and inflammation.

Rafael:

What kind of ear protection are you using?

Orejeras de Black & Decker (I don't know how to say it in english. May be you can help).

That's what I use to practice playing piano. I have not tried ear plugs but I have read that they can be a sofisticated thing, costing more than US $100.00

I think orejeras = earmuffs

I guess earmuffs aren't that comfortable. Might be good for exterior work, or industrial environments. But I guess those aren't that good for music related situations.

You should try these: http://www.amazon.com/Etymotic-Research-High-Fidelity-Earplugs-White/dp/B0015WNZ9K

I got these earplugs, and work great (feel pretty comfortable, too). You can listen to music (and play) without any problem. You can listen beats pretty well, and I think they reduce the unnecessary "noise".

I think several people in these forum have used and recommended these earplugs.

There are certainly custom made ear plugs, and I suppose those would be great. I have no experience with those.

I use those ear plugs too Erus. I agree, they do work very well indeed.

I 'll give it a try. I should not be tunig naked ears.