Hear The Music

  Welcome to the final part of a three-part series. It was originally published as part of an article I wrote for the May 2013 Hearing Review. Part 1 of this blog series dealt with standing waves, which are as important for behind-the-ear hearing aids as they are for our vocal tract and musical instruments. Part 2 dealt with damping and impedance, and while not these

Last week in part 1 of this blog series, we reviewed standing waves found in hearing aids, but drew a parallel between behind-the-ear hearing aids, our vocal tract, and musical instruments (not to mention our ear canals… well, I just mentioned it, so I guess that I should not have said, “not to mention”…). This three-part series is based on

On May 6, 2013, an article of mine was published in the Hearing Review about the acoustics of hearing aids. This was divided into three categories- 1. standing waves, 2. damping and impedance, and 3. flared or belled tubes. While this article was about hearing aids, the acoustic principles underlie speech acoustics and also the acoustics of musical instruments- something that

A city is a noisy place. The Canadian Hearing Society in … Canada… (bet you couldn’t guess that one?!) has some hearing loss prevention promotional material that says that “noise levels are doubling every decade”. While this is a story that sounds alarmist and is sure to grab attention, there are some data to support it. Noise levels do change very gradually

In the study of the human hearing mechanism there has been an historic tendency, rightly or wrongly, to divide the auditory system into peripheral (or “just the cochlea”) and central processing. Central processing refers to all of the manipulation of a speech or music signal by the nerves and other central “way-stations”.  The central processing comes complete with neural feedback

Welcome to part 3 of Larry Blumenfeld’s article from Blu Note magazine.  In parts 1 and 2 he discussed the rocky balance between music and politics, at least at a municipal bylaw ordinance level.  Here is what Larry had to say. During a press conference at this year’s [New Orleans ]Jazz & Heritage Festival, shortly after the city council passed

In part 1 of this three-part blog, Larry Blumenfeld discusses in Blu Note magazine the politics and the culture surrounding the finding of a common ground for musicians, music lovers, and residents in New Orleans.  In Part 2 Larry discusses some key areas of interest. Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance (CZO): In the 1970s, the city passed a zoning ordinance that actually prohibits live entertainment in

New Orleans is a hotbed of music, especially jazz and blues.  Since the early 1970s there has been an uneasy truce between the musicians (especially in the French Quarter) and the residents regarding acceptable levels of noise or music. Recently, as has been reported, this truce broke down when one group began arguing for reducing the maximum permitted noise level

Once upon a time (actually a month ago), I had a client who wanted to get custom silicon earplugs for his in-ear monitors.  Of the many “connectors” for in-ear monitors, the most common is a stem that is on the order of 2.5 mm in diameter and extends  about 8-10 mm in length.  There is no magic in these numbers,

For this week’s entry, we turn to the New Orleans Musicians’ Clinic, a wonderful organization in New Orleans.  From time to time, the New Orleans Musicians’ Clinic has speakers on a range of topics that are of concern to musicians.  This blog is about managing diabetes.  You ask, “isn’t this a blog about hearing?”  and the answer is yes.  Diabetes