Month: July 2022

Brighton Music Conference

Posted on July 5, 2022 by - Blog, Homepage

Brighton Music Conference

Written by Fiona Butterworth – Senior clinical audiologist.

‘I was invited to sit on the “All About Ears” panel. Given the conference was housed in the British Airways i360, it was easy to navigate to once I had made my way to the Brighton seafront promenade. 

This was the first educational event that I had attended in person since early March 2020 and it was great to be back amongst the musicians. I am passionate about teaching people the importance of using hearing protection and together with Andy Shiach from ACS, Liam Hennessy from HMUK, and DJ Annabellestopit, we were able to answer questions from all angles, tying in our own personal experiences to bolster our responses. 

The audience asked interesting questions that were linked to both their experience as musicians but also to their non-musical day-jobs and how they must manage their noise exposure across both careers carefully. It was clear that everyone in the audience understood the importance of protecting their hearing, and by the end of the panel discussion they had the information they needed.  

The music industry is still recovering from the hit it received from the pandemic, and it was refreshing and exciting to see the enthusiasm of the musicians as they moved around the conference.’ 

Musicians’ Hearing Health in Classical magazine

Posted on July 20, 2022 by - Homepage, Read About Us

Musicians’ Hearing Health in Classical magazine

Paul Checkley – Clinical Director at Harley Street Hearing and Musicians’ Hearing Services was interviewed on the Musicians’ Hearing Health Scheme and how it came about.

How well do musicians tend to get on with hearing protection? “The problem is that you are putting something in the ear.  A musician who has had a career of open ears can find that quite difficult, and it does take some practice to make these earplugs work for you.  With a trombone player, for example, they can hear the sound they are making with their mouth as well as the sound coming out of the end of their instrument.  Musicians’ earplugs can minimise this effect, but it will never be the same.  To some extent it has to sound a bit different in order to work.”

Paul adds: “There are people who aren’t quite aware that there are earplugs designed specifically for musicians.  Most hearing protection will reduce high frequencies rather than low, but specialist hearing protection will retain the fidelity so it doesn’t sound different, just quieter.  You don’t get the dullness you can get with foam earplugs.”

Click on the article below to see the full interview.

If you’d like to apply for the Musicians’ Hearing Health Scheme click here