Aging: Stuff Happens. Part 1, Hearing

A round table exchange and sharing of information about surprises that affect our playing and careers as we age. Panelists: Brenda Schuman-Post with Ruth Diamond, Michael DiPietro, Terry Ewell, Leonard Hindell, Edwin Lacy, Paul Nordby, Oscar Petty, and Amy Collins. International Double Reed Society Conference at Butler University, Indianapolis, USA. June 14, 2025. BDP #364.

[Music, “Tico-Tico no Fubá” Zequinha de Abreu, Performed Terry B. Ewell]

Move on to hearing, OK. Tell them, if you dare. Because I know it's very intimidating to admit that there is even a beginning of hearing loss. Find an audiologist who knows what you are talking about if they don't know what a musical instrument is. If they don't understand that you're putting something in your mouth that's right near to your.

Years and they are unwilling to keep adjusting. Don't go to that person. You do have you get. A certain number. Of days like 45 days or 60 days. Make sure that you're playing because there is feedback and if they cannot find exactly what you want, you can return the hearing aids and find somebody else. So that is extremely important to keep going back and make sure you're practicing. You will never be sure that you sound the way you had sounded in the past, but you want to get as close as you can and you can change brands if necessary and hearing aids are planned obsolescence.

So, make sure you're using a brand that's going to last for as long as possible, and you're hearing will possibly deteriorate over time, so that is just something to be aware of.

So, there's one point we've all learned that what we hear ourselves playing is not what the audience hears out there, and even more if you have a hearing aid?

How would I know?

There's different kinds of hearing aids, and the latest ones I think you can control them with a smartphone, different acoustic situations. So, you can change it depending on.

What your playing or where you are playing or how.

With the situation, you need one more thing. If you play in a band, use earplugs —good ones.

You can keep cheap ones in any case, any person, any pocket. Custom-made ones are well worth it. Even the one. There are some you can buy semi-custom, specifically designed for musicians, which you can buy off the shelf for about $15.

They come with different filters.

The company called Loops. They sell really good ones.

Etymotic. That is the word that I couldn’t remember.

That's true if you're not wearing because you're wearing hearing aids and you put ear plugs in there or even ear buds.

If you have hearing aids, the hearing aids are already in your ears. So, you have to take your hearing aids out in order to put the earbuds in. So headphones, as you're listening to music and I don't. I mean, we're talking about preventive here versus actually have acknowledged the hearing loss and wearing hearing aids.

Get a check-up once a year from an audiologist.

The other thing I wanted just came to me a few days ago. I'm a band director of a high school.  What I recommend for the younger musicians is they're sitting behind the drums or percussion.

In 4th grade or whatever, they need to have ear plugs.

The parents even know that because by the time they get to next grade, they can't start that problem early. So, one of things I'm suggesting is to look for the younger elementary school student, and also in high school, ear plugs

So, the Etymotic earplugs, I find very helpful. You can even adjust the amount of reduction by how much you push them into the ear. So, you could do that. They've extended my career by, I think, a decade because I've got hyperacusis now from sitting with the trombones and trumpets, you know, all my life. So, I wear those earplugs, at least during the loud sections. But even throughout the concert. And you have to get used to how different you sound with earplugs. So, a big part of it is feeling. Does the bassoon feel the same when I play it, and all of that, and then having the microphone out there and listening to yourself. Make sure that you get used to that different sound while playing.

ETYMOTIC.

Yes.

ETYMOTIC.

Really, you have question? Oh, I'm sorry.

Go ahead. Do you have tinnitus?

I do.

Alright.

I had C# for a long time.  I thought that I was getting alien messages, but then it went away.

[Music, “Tico-Tico no Fubá” Zequinha de Abreu, Performed Terry B. Ewell]