How do people in the music industry not lose all their hearing after a few years? Not just band, but folks who are working everything. Do they wear hearing protection, or do their ears somehow withstand what mine can't?
This could be a book.
Everyone’s ear start taking hearing damage the second you’re born.
It depends on many variables, depending on your job.
What kind of bands does one typically work with.
Your proximity to the sound source. How long you’re exposed to it. How many days in a row you’re exposed to it. Your ears need recovery time. 3 days in a row you have issues. Some repair to a point, but always some level of damage.
Individual ears, ears are like finger prints, everyone ears are different, depending on the type of noise they have been exposed to in their life. Some simply don’t hear exactly the same.
A spotlight operator, lighting director, cameraman, and video people are on headset comms. This protects their ears. They take the least damage. Some have a job that they are taking no orders can wear ear plugs, most don’t. Some jobs backstage get very little damage.
A stagehand, who does the physical labor in setup and loud-out. They only are in the building during setup, up to sound check, at which point they are cut, and typically leave the building and return for break down - load-out.
Sound engineers take the worst hit. Besides knowledge, how our ears hear is our career. We cannot wear anything on our ears.
There are two of us.
FOH - the person who mixes the system the audience hears. In a theater concert he’s usually 80 ft from the source. In an arena show its about 150-200 ft. At his position, the average concert is between 110 -114 db (decibels). I’ve been on some concerts, like Jackyl where its 122db. I was literally worried about the building structure, the kick drum actually made my heat skip beats. This guys ear were so fried that he has no clue how loud he really is without a db meter. He’s on his way out. Once you’re ears are that far gone, you’re career is over.
Then There’s the Monitor Engineer (my job). We take the hardest hit. Again depending on the band and the stage volume they want. i’m hidden on stage with the band, part of the show. I’m the only one who deals directly with the artist. I mix what the band hears on stage. Every member has their own mix in the wedges you see on stage in front of them. Depends where they are on stage, what they can’t hear there, and what instrument they take cues from. IE, a bass player always need to hear kick drum, snare and hi-hat to keep him in time.
So I have the closest proximity to high volume. I’m in the middle of it. Now days if the band uses In-Ear Monitors things got a lot quieter as we’re not using as many monitors (speakers). I personally don’t like them because I want the stage to thump, sound pressure level (SPL) . Its what I’m well known for. When the stage thumps the artist adrenaline kicks in, the show gets more active, I’ve done my job. Basically I get the band rocking and hand that product to FOH to mix for the audience. So, I’m the only one who dictates how the show will go. Everyone depends on me. Band, promoter, agents, record company, talent buyer. If I blow one single show, my career is over. There are 100 guys hoping I fail so they get the job. Its THE hardest job of a concert. I musta done ok, I lasted 45 yrs. I’m very well kniw and desired.
That said, I take the most damage. My average volume is 115-120db, snd I’m in the center of volume. My ears seem to take it. But, I do have damage for sure. I’ve had tinnitus for decades now. My ears ring almost every day, for decades. But at my volume. I’m going to hear it no matter what. Its off show I have problems. But I am/was in high demand, industry wide.
I usually do country, pop and rock. So volume fluctuates.
Aretha Franklin had not played out for 13 yrs. Part if her deal with going back to doing concerts is she had to have me. Not my kinda music, wasn’t interested. She and her agent called me personally and asked what it take them to get me on tour with her. I doubled my pay, 5 star hotels, NO BUSES, I fly in only, limo from home to airport, from airport to venue. Basically, I was selling a car I didn’t want to sell. She called back and said OK. I said, lets take you on the road, lets go. So I did her “comeback” tour. She was extremely high profile. Her audiences and backstage was filled with celebrities, music artist. ..etc. we did WH events. I did the Grammys with her. I was part of the band segments if the 2 movies about her were made about.
Believe it or not, her vocal on stage was louder than Megadeath and Rammstein, at 122db. Checking her mic with a scream damn near made my eyes cross. Blistering loud. FOH had to mix around my volume.
One of 100s of stories working with her…
She would come to the venue and collect her pay in cash only. 50% up front to book the show, 50% when she showed up. Long story, she trusted no one with her money. At showtime, before I launched her on stage, on the “ tarmac” she would hand me her purse. In that purse was $250k in cash. Before launching her I would walk out on stage and place the purse under her piano. Walk back, get FOH the cue to announce her, and I’d launch her. End of show she walk off and stood by my Mixing console, I’d go on stage retrieve the purse and hand it back to her. Thats just bat-sht-crazy that $250k cash sat on stage during the show.
End result, my ears are toast, not enough to hurt my job, but people outside the biz notice. My favorite word is “what?”. So yep, some of us just get pummeled with hearing damage, for sure.
