Compulsory earplugs for orchestral musicians?

[Shez]

I'm told there's a debate currently amongst orchestra players about the use of earplugs due to the high SPLs experienced whilst playing. The person in charge of H&S at the college I work at has cottoned on to this and has suggested that we think about making it compulsory for the musicians as apparently some other colleges are already doing this.

 

It seems like a case of covering our own backs in case of an ex student trying to sue the college later in life for NIHL caused whilst at college. I can't see it ever standing up in court as most of them seem to spend every free minute with their ipods so loud you can hear them from the other end of a corridor, but that's just my observation.

 

Has anyone come up against this before? Any thoughts on the subject?

 

I don't play any orchestral instruments but I can't see it being a popular move in terms of what (cheap) earplugs do to the sound you hear...

[handyandi]

In My late teen years played trombone in a lot of bands & orchestras & at the time had hearing test every year done by my company. I did suffer a loss of high frequency hearing which was put down to this, although it did improve once I had left the bands etc in later life.

 

But yes you are right it is more of a risk with you ipod in my eyes.

 

Andi

[Bobbsy]

In the professional world, compulsory ear plugs are fairly unusual...but what IS normal is that it's required that suitable earplugs are made available for all musicians, the final choice being theirs.

 

I'd worry if it's cheap ear plugs that are being discussed here though. There are options that attenuate the sound but don't mess up the frequency response and these are what should be used in an orchestral setting.

 

Bob

[Simon Lewis]

I'm told there's a debate currently amongst orchestra players about the use of earplugs due to the high SPLs experienced whilst playing.

 

Shez,

 

The debate is somewhat more complex than this, since the health and safety "action hierarchy" places reduction of noise at source higher than wearing PPE. This is something of a problem for orchestras!

 

Ultimately, if the noise exposure does exceed the exposure limit value over one week, and the activity cannot be stopped, and the level cannot be reduced by suitable engineering means, then PPE will be the last resort.

 

On the other side of the coin, I understand that many professional classical musicians who have some degree of hearing loss are loath to discuss this in public, as there is a perceived or even real threat of losing their jobs.

 

The debate thrown up by the introduction of the Control of Noise at Work Regulations may actually help those musicians who are suffering from noise induced hearing loss, but who felt they could not make this fact known.

 

It is possible to have earpieces made that offer a relatively flat response with a known attenuation across the audio spectrum.

 

Simon

[J Pearce]

The acoustic panels on screens that RAT and others make have greater popularity than earplugs.

 

Even with flat response earplugs you get a feeling of being disconnected from the world, which isn't good for orchestral playing.

 

In choral singing, wearing earplugs affects the perceived balance of your voice against the massed voice, indeed a fairly standard trick amongst choral singers struggling to hear their voice is to block one ear canal with the thumb or forefinger.

By doing this the direct vibrations from your jawbone become louder than the airborne vibrations of the choir.

Wearing earplugs has the same effect.

 

In some sections of the orchestra (percussion, mainly) earplugs are the only practical way of reducing SPLs but for other members of the orchestra acoustic acrylic panels are easier to deploy and less likely to be pulled out of one's ear mid concert in disgust.

[Shez]

Ultimately, if the noise exposure does exceed the exposure limit value over one week, and the activity cannot be stopped, and the level cannot be reduced by suitable engineering means, then PPE will be the last resort.

In a college environment, rehearsals are liable to be weekly, for maybe 2 - 3 hours. I guess this would be somewhat less than in a pro orchestra.

I'd worry if it's cheap ear plugs that are being discussed here though. There are options that attenuate the sound but don't mess up the frequency response and these are what should be used in an orchestral setting.

Due to the annual turnover of students, I'm not sure how feasible it would be to offer anything but cheap earplugs.

 

It's odd in education as the relationship between college & students isn't quite the same as between employers & employees.

[Simon Lewis]

Jon,

 

as you rightly point out, occlusion is an issue, and will be more noticeable as the noise attenuation increases.

 

Given the lengths that acousticians go to in order to create world class stages that have the correct degree of envelopment, intimacy and musicality, I'd guess that there would be some resistance to acrylic screens, since this will alter the balance of instruments heard by musicians.

 

But, hey - the industry has got 2 years 22 months to sort this out ! ;-)

 

Simon

[GridGirl]

As an ex-orchestral musician, I used to use the sound shields a lot - being a clarinet player meant sitting in front of trumpet players! I didn't ever find too much of a balance issue, it just cut the brass noise down. Our percussionists always used to use the flat response earplugs and I think they got used to them. Piccolo players used to use one earplug as well.