Hearing loss: short bell vs. long bell


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Posted by Marty Neilan on November 05, 2002 at 21:42:45:

MY QUESTION IS:
Are taller belled tubas less likely to cause hearing problems than short belled ones?

Well, at the ripe old age of 30 I am starting to experience hearing loss. A lot of it is due to a bad job I had a year and a half ago when I was 'down and out' financially (complained to everyone possible, but no changes), but I am sure some of it is musical related. Bass Trombone seems to be aggrevating it, too. I use earplugs whenever necessary now, and I have noticed in particular that bass trombone aggrevates my left ear, so I now wear an earplug in that ear at all times when playing.

I have predominantly played two tall bell mirafones (190 and 1290) and NEVER had any ear problems no matter how many hours I spent on them. When I used to spend a lot of time on my very short bell Yamaha 621 F, though, I seem to remember my ears ringing a bit or feeling stuffy, especially my left. (of course, it may have been due to playing much higer notes as well) I am now in the market for a "smaller 4/4 sized" horn and have narrowed it down to G50,5xj, and 2145. I am really leaning toward the 2145 now because of my increased hearing problems, but is it all in my head?



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