Sunday, September 05, 2010

No Music No Life

How many of you feel the same as me - that life wouldn't be enjoyable without music?

What if one day you find out you won't be able to listen to music anymore?

I really don't wish to find out.

I'm writing this after playing a gig in the afternoon (and listening to other bands). Possibly due to the venue itself, the volume of the whole event was nearly unbearable. Despite that I noticed that many of the audience and band members (many of them close friends of mine) tolerating the high volume without any protection, while I stuffed both my ears with earplugs.

I think some of you might already know this, but I'll relate my story again, just to emphasize the importance of this. The story behind my earplugging-obsession.

I'm suffering from tinnitus in the left ear, that is, the ringing sound in the ear you often get after a gig or a rock concert. For most people, the sound goes away after a few hours, or perhaps in a few days. For me, it doesn't. It stays low most of the time, but reappears after a gig (even with earplugs), once I start to think about it, or when its really quiet. I would say its ever-present, just that my brain has learnt to shut it out under normal situations. As I write this post, my left ear is constantly ringing to remind me of its existence.

How did I end up like this? It all started from a stupid mistake I made back when I was in army. I had my earplugs in alright, during range live firing. Then came an order to relax due to some situation, and I removed my earplugs. In my whole life thus far, thats the one thing I regretted doing. When the order came back to resume firing, I forgot to put the plugs back on.

You can probably guess what happened next. My right ear was spared thankfully because it was pressed against the rifle butt.

I've already gotten used to the ringing sound, but what I'm more concerned with is the prospect of losing my hearing. Ever since that incident the hearing in my left ear probably isn't what it used to be, and the difference between both ears becomes more obvious whenever I listen to my mp3 player.

All I can do now is to protect my hearing, because I want to listen to music until the day I up-lorry. Now you know why my ears are always plugged during gigs and practices, except during MUSE's concert in Singapore and SCANDAL's Hong Kong live - I had a horrible time trying to get to sleep after that. All for the sake of "enjoying music to the fullest".

So what's the whole point of all this?

Wear earplugs. Period.

I know some music lovers have this misconception that earplugs would lessen their "enjoyment" of music during gigs and concerts, or, for the musicians, that earplugs would prevent them from listening to their bandmates or their own instruments and thus affect their playing.

Not true. Yes, it won't sound as powerful, and the sound might even be slightly muffled, but otherwise the music is as clear as it would have been without earplugs, and at a more comfortable volume too. There are even special musician earplugs that cut the volume without sacrificing quality (but these cost more of course)

My fellow musicians, I know you guys love to listen to and play music, and would love to continue doing so for as long as you can. Don't throw your hearing away for the "love of music" - if you love music, you'd do well to protect your ears. Same goes to band supporters and regular concertgoers. If you've experienced that ringing sound before (and I know a lot of you do), some damage has already been done, however minor it may be. It might be reversible over time, but not with constant prolonged exposure to loud music.

So please, wear earplugs. Noise-isolating earphones do the job as well, if earplugs aren't available.
Musicians and sound crew can also do their part to lessen the impact on fellow bandmates and audiences as well by controlling their amp volumes, but ultimately, your hearing belongs to you and you only, so you shouldn't place it in the hands of the people on stage or the person behind the mixer. Wear earplugs.

On the same note, mp3 players are a major culprit of hearing loss as well, so control that volume (loud enough to be heard above surrounding noise). Mine is set to less than 50% of maximum volume and I find it good enough, especially with a good pair of earphones.


For more information and reading:
http://www.ehow.com/about_4597232_do-ears-ring-after-concert.html

http://ezinearticles.com/?Music,-Musicians-and-Hearing-Loss&id=780153

http://ezinearticles.com/?Listening-to-Loud-Music-For-a-Prolonged-Period-of-Time-Can-Actually-Cause-Irreversible-Damage&id=3407105


This site in particular has many practical advice for fellow rock musicians, so do take a look:
http://www.healthyhearing.com/articles/28798-so-you-want-to


If you need a pair of earplugs, any DIY store should sell those foam types cheaply. Music stores too. For the guys, you can get them at E-mart :D

I'm not sure where to buy good quality musician earplugs locally, but I'd definitely want a pair:
http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/er20.aspx

Do spread this to your friends and others who you know attend gigs and concerts regularly.