Marshall Chasin

Marshall Chasin, AuD, is an audiologist and the Director of Auditory Research at the Musicians’ Clinics of Canada, Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto (in Linguistics), Associate Professor in the School of Communication Disorders and Sciences at the Western University. He is the author of over 200 articles and 7 books including Musicians and the Prevention of Hearing Loss. Dr. Chasin has been the recipient of many awards over the years including the 2012 Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Award for service to Canada and the Canada 150 Medal in 2017. He has developed a new TTS app called Temporary Hearing Loss Test app.

Woodwinds and Large Stringed Instruments – information sheet part #2

Marshall Chasin

This is the second in a list of 6 fact sheets that can be copied onto your office letterhead and provided to musicians. There will be one that relates to each musician instrument, and this one is obviously (as can be seen in the title) about woodwinds and large stringed instruments such as the bass and cello. These are used

Guitars and Rock/Blues Vocalists- information Sheet part #I

Marshall Chasin

This is the first is a list of 6 fact sheets that can be copied onto your office letterhead and provided to musicians. There will be one that relates to each musician instrument, and this one is obviously (as can be seen in the title) about guitar players and rock/blues vocalists. These are used in the Musicians’ Clinics of Canada

An interesting article on MP3 players- are we at risk?

Marshall Chasin

The latest issue of the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (colloquially and affectionately referred to by its acronym, as JASA) had an article called “MP3 Player Listening Sound Pressure Levels Among 10 to 17 Year Old Students” (November, 2011). This was written by Dr. Stephen Keith and his colleagues in Canada’s national capital… for those who don’t know

The musician’s worst nightmare and Hallowell Davis

Marshall Chasin

Some would think that hearing loss is the musician’s worst nightmare, and some would think that it is tinnitus, but the musician’s greatest fear is losing their ability to perceive pitch. This is related to hearing but isn’t the first thing that audiologists typically think about when they assess a musician. To understand a musicians’ fear of losing their ability

How to test your favorite hearing aid for music

Marshall Chasin

About five years ago I wrote an article on how to test whether your favorite hearing aid can handle the more intense inputs that are typically found with music. {{1}}[[1]](Chasin, M., Can your hearing aid handle loud music? A quick test will tell you, The Hearing Journal, December, 2006. 22-24.[[1]] You may be recommending and fitting an absolutely wonderful hearing

The use of the ER-9 earplugs in a symphony orchestra

Marshall Chasin

I would like to introduce this week’s guest blogger… Ian O’Brien. I think that you will enjoy what he has to say. Dr. Marshall Chasin, Audiologist Ian is a full-time orchestral musician, a researcher and an audiologist. He has been working as a musician for over twenty years and advising musicians and orchestras on hearing conservation and audiological issues for

Is a wider bandwidth necessarily better for listening to music?

Marshall Chasin

Audiophiles are amazing people who claim to hear things the rest of us mere mortals can only hope to hear. In some cases this is definitely the case- I still cannot hear a Napoleon second regardless of how often my son forces me to listen carefully. In other cases the audiophile isn’t really hearing what they claim to be able

Eddie Villchur- the father of the modern loudspeaker

Marshall Chasin

Eddie Villchur passed away peacefully at his home on Sunday eve (Oct. 16, 2011). Many may know that Eddie is the father of multi-band compression- something found in almost all modern hearing aids. What you may not know is that Eddie was also the inventor of the modern day loudspeaker. I have had the opportunity of spending some time with

Maybe people should just remove their hearing aids for music?

Marshall Chasin

I am always amazed by how little amplification is required for listening to music. My typical suggestion is that most people with a mild to moderate hearing loss should simply remove their hearing aids as they provide little or no gain for the more intense components of music. And as a general rule, when listening to, or playing live music,

Minimal Requirements for a Musicians’ Clinic

Marshall Chasin

From time to time I am asked to travel somewhere that wants to set up a musicians’ clinic for hearing loss prevention. Talks and hands-on workshops are typically given and then in the middle of the night, I slip away to parts unknown…. well, maybe its not so romantic, and usually I end up at an airport waiting to take