| Now hear this: Loud
rock hard on ears
Students, musicians
unaware of possible damage done by overexposure
to intense sounds
By Lisa Balde
Managing Editor
 |
|
Steve Colletti |
|
It's not cool to wear earplugs, especially while
playing music.
At least that's what Steve Colletti, a junior
recording major, thought six years ago before
he started losing his hearing.
It was during his second and third year drumming
for the math rock band Monday's Hero that he noticed
something wasn't right-he sometimes couldn't distinguish
certain sounds from others, a disadvantage that
could have hurt his musical performance and his
band.
"I noticed I was losing my hearing mostly in
the frequency range in my snare drum and cymbals,"
he said.
"It's [still] hard to hear my girlfriend's voice."
Colletti's story is common among musicians, but
it's one that often gets ignored. As the Chicago
music scene continues to swell with new acts and
new fans, there is a growing number of people
are at risk of doing damage to one of the five
senses that they're the least likely to notice
right away: hearing.
"We are a visual society. When people go to a
concert, they say, 'I want to see Dave Matthews,'"
said Michael Santucci, MS-FAAA, an audiologist
and the president of Chicago-based Sensaphonics
Hearing Conservatory. "Your ears work when you're
sleeping; like breathing, you can't turn it off,"
he said. "People don't even think about it until
it's gone."
Santucci, a guest lecturer for Columbia's Studies
in Hearing and Advanced Audio Tools audio and
acoustics classes, thinks people take their hearing
sense for granted. He said people should be especially
concerned about their ears while listening to
music, one of the No. 1 causes for hearing loss.
There are two types of hearing loss, he said.
The first and most common among college students
who frequently listen to loud music is "temporary"
hearing loss. People notice the repercussions
of this type of hearing loss after leaving a rock
show. The second is permanent hearing loss.
As a result of "excessive sound exposure," one's
hearing could seem dulled for a period of time
after listening to loud music, Santucci said.
Listeners may also experience, on a temporary
level, a condition called tinnitus, a consistent
ringing or buzzing sound in the ears.
Because temporary hearing loss is so common,
sufferers often ignore it until it's too late.
In fact, people with hearing loss usually wait
seven years before they do anything about the
problem. Sixty percent of those with some sort
of hearing impairment are between the ages of
21 and 65, according to the Washington State Association
Self Help for Hard of Hearing People.
Temporary hearing loss can quickly turn into
permanence and Santucci encourages his patients
and the Columbia students he teaches to test their
hearing as often as possible.
"I've tested hearing for Dave Matthews and Aerosmith,"
he said, "and I'm finding that the people who
were rockers in the '60s are having the problems
[now]."
Colletti, who is scheduled to go on tour with
Monday's Hero during semester break, got the hint
as soon as his hearing started fading in high
school. Now, he doesn't even think about playing
without earplugs.He even keeps a jar of plugs
on his band's merchandise table at shows so fans
can use them too.
"Your ears are going to naturally wear out,"
he said. "If you're listening to loud stuff, they'll
wear out sooner and you're not going to make as
much money [in the music business]."
Amateur and professional bands alike are following
suit and obtaining protection for their ears.
Bands like AC/DC, Matchbox 20 and Sum 41 turn
to Santucci and Sensaphonics for customized hearing
aids that sell at around $100 per pair. Other
Sensaphonics clients include Britney Spears, Liz
Phair and Rob Zombie.
Eric Hauser, a senior broadcast journalism major,
is a similar proponent of specialized earplugs.
His band, Dear You, practices at least three times
a week, and they play shows as often as possible.
Hauser said that, due to the large amount of time
he spends making fairly loud music, he has to
wear some sort of protective device for his ears.
For $25, he purchased a pair of Hi-Fi earplugs
from Guitar Center that filter out high frequency
sounds without drowning out the music he plays.
"My hearing's good for now," he said, "but I'm
pretty sure I'll be deaf someday."
According to Santucci, Hauser has a better chance
of maintaining his hearing with the earplugs.
But rock musicians might be the only smart ones.
Audience members at a rock concert experience
a level of noise at between 110 and 120 decibels,
a range considered dangerous if exposed to consistently
and for long amounts of time.
According to the League for the Hard of Hearing
in Florida, any sound that measures above 85 decibels,
or the noise of normal street traffic, can damage
hearing.
When sound enters the ear, it stimulates hair
cells in a part of the inner ear called the Organ
of Corti. But those hair cells can handle only
so much sound and when the ear takes in a lot
of loud music, they die. Hair cells can't be grown
back and the fewer a person has, the less they
can hear. |
