Thanks for that Reiner. The risk to musicians' hearing has long been recognised. Especially for the line of string players who might be sitting in front of the brass!
Just a technical note, yeah I know I can be boring
Debra Crane quote an outdated figure when she says
every ballet and opera carries a meter reading so that management can assess how much noise musicians are exposed to every week. Sleeping Beauty, it transpires, is rated at 87 decibels. The allowable daily limit is 85, averaged out over the course of a week.
85dB during an 8-hour day at work is NOT permissible.
The 2005 EEC/UK regulation update now states 87dB should NEVER be exceeded 'at work', and a control measure must be introduced or ear protection must be worn if sound is at or exceeds 85dB averaged.
And if the noise level exceeds just 80dB averaged, the employer must provide protection if the employee requests.
One may be inclined to think there is not much diference between 80, 85 and 87, but in terms of loudness of the noise there is a big difference. A difference in 5dB means about 5 TIMES LOUDER (though the human ear perception might judge it only as 2 times louder).
Anyway musicians and conductors on the board will be very aware of the risk to their hearing. I wonder if they regularly wear ear plugs? Surely that isn't feasible during rehearsals or performance as you need to hear how loud the instruments are playing?
John W
