Deaf Sound Engineer

[TimmyP1955]

If they listen to music they hear something (whatever) if they then mix the band to sound to them like that something it also sounds the same as normal hearing people expect.

 

Yes. The secret is for them to listen often to well recorded music on a neutral system, so that they retrain their brain to expect what they can currently hear, instead of what they used to hear. Then when mixing, they should hopefully have no tendency to use EQ to make it sound like it used to - which usually gives the audience a terribly bright mix.

[greenalien]

I have every sympathy with anyone who suffers hearing loss - however, as I've said before on this forum, I'm fed up with going to gigs where the HF is turned up too high, often to the point it's painful. Sound engineers have a responsibility not to damage their audience's hearing and yet there are clearly too many about, and it has to be said that it's usually the older ones, who have no idea what their mix sounds like to their audience. I'm afraid that, just because you want to do something, even if it's your career or your passion, doesn't mean you should be allowed to do it if you risk injuring other people in the process. As Paulears says, once your hearing goes, perhaps it's time to swap over to lighting.

[mervaka]

I'm 24, I have tinnitus. it isnt bad, but I can hear it over the TV sometimes.

 

food for thought.

 

EDIT: just noticed an earlier reply!

[Solstace]

Oooh! Thread necromancy!

 

Well, it's been a couple of years. The chap in question in my original post is still on our team. I took him under my wing a little and had him think and describe what he now hears in the world around him, then kinda like Timmy's and JiveMaster's suggestions I played various (relevant) material on a reasonable reference system and had him describe what he heard.

 

I then sat with him at the desk for a couple of weeks to act as a second pair of ears and let him do his thing, suggesting when I thought the HF was getting too much, telling him when it was about right. He soon got the hang of things, and is currently one of my best guys. Actually he's producing better mixes now than he ever did. Amazing - he thinks he doesn't hear stuff, yet to hear him notice and fix stuff as things change in a mix tells a different story. Still more work to be done, but he's doing great.

 

Thanks for the feedback and info. Hope some of this proves useful to others.

[Gareth Owen]

Getting sound engineers to be honest about what they can and can't hear seems to be rather difficult to me. I've always thought there was an element of emperors new clothes going on. I would love to compare my own hearing to other sound engineers on a genuine verifiable scale. It might help me understand why I like some peoples mixes more than others...

[Jack-handy]

I'm 61 now & have had tinnitus for about 40 years: It has gradually got worse to the point where I had a hearing-aid fitted around newyear. My most significant loss is around 4-6k, but I don't get anything much above 11k either.

 

I've decided not to continue with the sound desk (a Very hard decision) while I still have a good reputation locally. I recently did a 10-night run of a play in a marquee & struggled to hear my cues: Everything went well, but I found it hard going right up to the end-of-show party, when a live band asked to use my kit....

 

The sound level went far too high for my lug'oles & I seemed to lose the high-mid pretty much totally. Being an amateur band, I had to use a fair bit of compression on the vocals, but it still sounded horrible. Everyone I asked said it was fine, but not to me.

 

So I've decided to quit while I'm ahead because, in the world of AmDram, no matter how many times I tell 'em, it'll always be "Oh, it doesn't matter if we can't get a sound technician - Pete'll do it"....

 

Pete

P.s. Only the vocals went through the P.A. so turning it down was not an option.

[paulears]

It's rather sad that sound isn't like lighting. Many of the well know lighting people of the 70s, including Reid and Pilbrow, are still around and involved. It seems that starting to wear specs isn't a disadvantage, and as you get older, the badge of office extends to fitting them with a gaudy strap to prevent them continuously falling off! Nobody really cares. However - sound wise, like Pete above - at some point you have to say enough. It hardly seems fair, does it - and now younger people are becoming aware their hearing is prematurely weaker, far earlier - it does need balancing somehow.

 

Despite people talking frequently on here about sound levels and protection, I was at a noisy 'youf' venue recently and asked for some ear plugs, figuring the bar staff would have a big box somewhere - but no. People doing 10 hour shifts in painfully loud bars, 7 days a week - and no management understanding of any need to protect them!

[Jivemaster]

Some people are aware that noise can cause hearing loss, others sadly are not. Sadly also it's the youth years when the damage starts. in this the earbud age there will be people trying to go deaf from the age of 12. People have some very odd ideas.

 

I was once told by someone holding an earbud "that's how loud 100dB is!) Of course at 500mm from an ear the effect is different from at the ear canal itself, but that person (and I suspect others) has a very odd idea of levels and protection and will probably be very deaf by the age of 30.

 

I saw the employment application form for a London Pub group, in there was a disclaimer to sign absolving the company from any health problems incurred including in those days passive smoking and noise.

 

There is a LONG way to go to get the population trained to enjoy music without deafening themselves in the process.

[boswell]

I quiet agree, I like to go and see west end musical shows, or at least the touring version. As a member of the audience, I frequently choose to wear earplugs due to the SPL and I want to preserve my hearing into old age.

I used to work for the generating board in power stations for 33 yrs and the SPL in a power stations is very high. But the CEGB rigidly enforced the wearing of ear defenders and as I result, when I left my hearing was tested and I had suffered NO additional hearing loss due to the job. My hearing was normal for my age. I now have better hearing than my son, who is 30 yrs younger than me but went/goes to gigs/raves/festivals etc and uses an MP3 player with earbuds.

 

Grumpy old man/