In-ears: Incorrect use can cause serious hearing damage

Sound waves can permanently sour the magic of music.

TL;DR: Too loud noise destroys the delicate apparatus in the ear canals. And while the danger to everyone before the stage is common knowledge, the dangers to everyone on the stage are anything but pee-pee: tinnitus lurks everywhere.

A user inquires on a forum about the possible dangers of earplugs versus headphones when listening to music. Someone replies that 100 decibels remained 100 decibels - whether they came from earplugs or headphones. The risk of hearing damage is thus seen as dependent on the volume. Another user interjects, crucial for hearing damage is the pressure, which goes out from the sound source, and therefore also with low volume lasting impairments at the hearing ability could remain. And other users refer to the duration of the load as a cause for possible permanent problems with hearing.

For performances, musicians must also deal with how they themselves (their) sound to hear. When it comes to so-called monitoring, they can either opt for speakers or benefit from in-ears, which are becoming increasingly affordable. The good old monitor speakers lined up at the front of the stage are of course the way to go if you like to store one foot a little higher than the other or are generally rather short of height and therefore like pedestals. On the other hand, the small plugs in the ears offer a number of advantages that make the sound engineer's heart beat faster: Not only has so each person on stage a fixed mix, they are also all far more mobile, and you can turn up the volume in principle infinitely, without ever feedback with the microphones.

And actually In-Ears should also prevent the hearing damage that otherwise arise from high levels on stage. Because the earplugs close the auditory canal quite well and thus keep other noises outside. Thanks to this isolation, the mix in the ear would not have to be as loud to sound clear with all the other noise on stage. Should. Because the downside of highly effective sound isolation is that the mix in the ear would have to be very good not to isolate the musicians from each other as well. Will mean: Often musicians with the button in their ear feel cut off from what's happening on stage. The sound is too direct, too flat, the mix unnatural - and of course the roaring applause and the cheers in the audience also fall victim to the fading out of sounds. Last but not least, a phenomenon also happens that is called occlusion and affects the singers among us: the sound that is transported over the bones of the skull creates a pressure that can no longer escape through the auditory canal and thus constantly wafting around between the in-ear and the eardrum.

The most natural reaction is then to take out at least one button, so as to have at least this one ear still on the action. From there, however, the whole prevention thing goes wrong. We remember: In-ears are a plug in the ear canal and allow you to turn down the volume control for the monitors and still hear everything accurately. But that only works if there is a plug in each ear, because our ears are tuned to each other so that sounds sound louder if they do not come through just one ear. This phenomenon is called binaural summation.

Anyone can easily check how big the effect is: Take a pair of headphones and put just one button in your ear. Let music play and then take the second button. Leave your fingers off the volume and be amazed at how much louder the music is in your head as soon as you are played over both ears!

Binaural summation accounts for about 6 decibels, and as soon as it stops, the plop is also abruptly missing. Then the monitor mixer gets the famous finger up, and already the still plugged ear gets the full load of decibels again. The other ear stands meanwhile unprotected in the whole stage noise, and at the end shrills after the gig the whistling concert again perfectly stereo.

The moral of the story is not difficult to read out: Who works with in-ears, should never forget the fragile hearing. As with everything, unfortunately, moderation is the watchword - but in this case, a good mix can work wonders. The manufacturer 1964 Ears has formulated to this very problem three take-home messages that sound extremely reasonable:

1. Absolutely work with a stereo mix. The mono mix is unnatural and will only increase your sense of isolation.
2. Use the possibilities to breakdown the individual instruments in the mix. And as they are arranged on stage.
3. Build quiet effects into the mix with. Especially reverbs and signals from room microphones help to give the mix a natural ambience.

For more tips on using in-ears, you have plenty of teachers at your disposal. It's not just their skill on the instrument that makes their music lessons, but also their live experience.

Also still worth reading: http://www.berklee.edu/bt/121/intheear.html

Image: Fede Racchi via http://www.imcreator.com/