Hear The Music

Since 1988 hearing protection has been available for musicians and those in the performing arts (Killion, et al., 1988). Prior to that, only polymeric foam, or foam-like “industrial strength” hearing protectors were available.  There were two innovations in 1988 that made them appropriate for those in the performing arts: (1) they had flat attenuations where the bass notes and the

With music, it is well known that two notes that are adjacent to each other, such as C and C#, can sound dissonant when played together. This is especially significant in the lower frequency region (below or near middle C) where the fundamental frequency difference between C and C# can be on the order of only 15 Hz. Musical note

From time-to-time I clinically see a performing artist who plays in a rock, jazz, or pop music group who is having difficulty staying on key.  And, from time-to-time, I also see audio engineers who have a hard time with the equalization of their music, either in a live venue or while mixing music in a studio. Here are two clinical

For those of us who are old enough to remember the 1960s, newspaper articles were abound with headlines such as “Stress is the big killer”.  At that time, scientists were referring to the deleterious effects of stress on the heart, liver, and kidneys, but over time we have come to learn about the more “subtle” effects of stress on our

There are now a number of “hearing tests” that can be performed in the quiet of one’s own home.  These are predominantly threshold-based tests and are typically limited by the environmental condition of the test room or by the asymmetry of unmatched earphones or loudspeakers that are commonly used by the public. One Minute Quick Test The following is a

This blog entry is written for the hearing aid consumer (but also the audiologist…) who wants to try a few things on their hearing aid app that connects with their smartphone. Virtually every hearing aid manufacturer in the world supplies an app for a Smartphone that the hard of hearing person can use to “fine tune” some elements of the

by Marshall Chasin, AuD, for the Canadian Academy of Audiology  Reprinted with permission of CAA – click here for PDF download This paper is an overview of the findings in the literature for the subject area of the non-auditory effects due to lower-level environmental noise. Regular reviews have appeared in the literature since the early 1990s (Abel, 1990; Fay, 1991),

From time to time I am asked about the best musical instrument for someone’s hard of hearing child. It turns out that this is not an easy question. If this was the 1960s, I may have said drums, but that 60-year old answer would be quite simplistic given the advancement of knowledge (and politics) surrounding hearing loss and hearing aid/cochlear

Dear Readers: During this holiday season, the editors at Hearing Health & Technology Matters (HHTM) are taking some time off. However, we are not leaving you without anything to read on our blog this week. Instead, we are publishing a special holiday edition filled with what we call our Readers’ Choices. Our Readers’ Choices featured this week are the posts

It is rare to have a column about a review of an article, especially an article from almost 40 years ago but Skinner and Miller (1983) is a must-read (or re-read) article.   This describes the work primarily done during Margaret (Margo) Skinner’s PhD thesis. Margo Skinner used a master hearing aid where she was able to increase the high frequency