Here’s a little experiment you can do. Beg, borrow, or steal (just kidding) a variable frequency sine wave generator (a.k.a. test tone oscillator). On your multitrack recorder make a recording of a 10 kHz tone. On the next track record an 11kHz tone. On the next track record an 11.5 kHz tone. Then record a 12 kHz and 12.5 kHz tone on the next two tracks. Finally record a13 k tone. If you can’t get a tone oscillator you can probably simulate this with a good synthesizer. Now bring them all up in your mixer at the same time. Bring them up until they reach a level where the cacophony of sound is very irritating. This horrendous sound is what your inSync editor hears all day and all night every day, and what he will hear for the rest of his life (it’s actually worse than this in terms of the number of tones). This is tinnitus. According to specialists it was probably caused in part from damage done years earlier playing in or mixing sound for rock bands. Even though I have been away from exposure to loud sound for over 10 years now the tinnitus didn’t become noticeable until about a year ago during a severe head cold, which I believe may have helped trigger it.
Today’s Tech Tip, and easily the most important one we can ever give you, is to take care of your ears. You only get one set. This is serious business. It is not something that happens to someone else. There are many, many people in our business who suffer from this malady. It can ruin your career. Part of hearing ringing in your ears is the result of the fact that your ability to hear naturally occurring sounds at those frequencies is greatly diminished. Makes it kind of hard to do a good mix when you haven’t a clue what is really going on above 10 or 12 kHz. But worse than that it is extremely irritating to live with this constant sound all the time. We learn to be so perceptive with our ears that when this sort of thing happens it’s really a nightmare. There is nothing that will make it go away…ever.
Don’t allow your ears to be exposed to loud sounds – especially prolonged ones. Wear earplugs in situations where you think you might be exposed. If you find yourself without earplugs in a loud situation wad up some tissue paper and stick it in your ears. It will give you about a 6 dB cut, which can make the difference. If you go to a concert or a gig and find your ears ringing afterwards you have probably damaged your ears. The ringing may not be permanent (this time), but it can come back to haunt you later.
If you want to learn more about hearing loss as it relates to our field of endeavor visit the HearNet.com website. They have lots of great information about prevention as well as links to specialists and vendors specializing in ear protection that doesn’t significantly alter the quality of sound.