It is now accepted that the level of sound musicians and music teachers are regularly exposed to can be enough to cause permanent hearing damage. With specialist earplugs costing £200 or more, the danger is that many musicians have little choice but to carry on without protection and hope for the best. This is a situation that Help Musicians UK (HMUK), the Musicians’ Union (MU) and the Musicians’ Hearing Service have been jointly tackling through their Musicians’ Hearing Health Scheme.
The scheme is open to anyone who makes a living primarily from music, including teachers. Subsidised and administered by HMUK, the cost is just £40 (£30 for MU members) for a full diagnostic hearing test and specialist moulded earplugs. To gain access to the scheme, musicians are required to provide evidence of their professional involvement in music. They are then offered an appointment with Musicians’ Hearing Services in a UK clinic.
PREVENTING DAMAGE
I took part in the scheme myself. Knowing that it would mean finding out the extent of my hearing damage after years of playing the clarinet in orchestra pits, I felt some trepidation. The test involved sitting in a booth and pressing a button every time I heard a beep – of which there were many, covering a range of pitches and volumes.
I was then shown a screen displaying my responses in a graph. To my amazement, my hearing qualified as normal. The next step was to set about preventing damage, starting with putting putty in my ears to mould a pair of bespoke, sound-filtering earplugs.
Returning two weeks later to collect the earplugs, I speak to Paul Checkley, clinical director of Musicians’ Hearing Services. ‘The scheme has been hugely successful,’ he tells me. ‘It grew out of an initiative we developed six or seven years ago with the MU, called the Musicians’ Hearing Passport, to protect freelance musicians. Employers have a legal responsibility to protect the hearing of their employees, but musicians who are freelance didn't have that cover.’
HMUK expressed an interest in getting involved, which resulted in the current scheme. It adds subsidised hearing protection to the testing and information previously provided by the Musicians’ Hearing Passport – and this time is available to all musicians, although MU members get a discount.
‘One of the problems with noise control in the music industry is that musicians don't make noise – they make nice sounds,’ Checkley says. ‘But if these sounds are loud enough they are still as damaging as standing next to a jet engine.’
How do musicians get on with protection? ‘The problem is that you are putting something into the ear. A musician who has had a career of open ears can find that difficult, and it does take practice to make earplugs work for you. With a trombone player, for example, they can hear the sound they are making with their mouth as well as that coming out of their instrument. Musicians’ earplugs can minimise this effect, but it will never be the same. It has to sound a bit different to work.
‘There are people who aren't aware that there are earplugs designed specifically for musicians. Most protection will reduce high frequencies rather than low, but specialist protection will retain the fidelity so it doesn't sound different, just quieter. There isn't the dullness you get with foam earplugs.’
Diane Widdison, national organiser for education and training at the MU, has been involved with the scheme from the outset. ‘The MU has always taken its responsibility in educating musicians about the importance of protecting their hearing very seriously,’ she says. ‘The Musicians’ Hearing Health scheme builds on our initial work in this area, and now enables musicians to access high-quality ear protection provided by sympathetic audiologists who understand the world of music-making.’
The MU advises that music teachers take care to protect their hearing, as loud sounds can be found in the classroom and music studio just as much as in performing situations. For advice and practical tips, including on how to teach students about hearing protection, see www.dangerousdecibels.org, www.asha.org/buds and a YouTube video called ‘Hear for a Lifetime: Protecting Musicians’ Most Important Asset’. For more general information on preventing hearing damage, visit www.soundadvicehearing.co.uk and the MU and Musicians’ Hearing Service websites.
www.musicianshearingservices.co.uk
MUSICIANS’ HEARING HEALTH SCHEME: FACTS AND FIGURES
- Launched in August 2016
- Cost: £40 (or £30 for MU members), which includes:
- Free audiological assessment and ear check-up from a specialist in musicians’ hearing (worth up to £145)
- One set of custom-made, specialist musicians’ ear plugs (worth £170)
- A subsidised hearing test (at a cost of £20, usually £90) every two years
- Expert advice on referral routes and next steps to manage any problems, including contact with your GP
- Clinics available in locations around the UK
