Listen to Paul Checkley, Clinical Director of Harley Street Hearing, interviewed by Mark Forrest on BBC Radio about hearing protection for musicians. You can listen safely to loud music with Musicians earplugs which are custom-made to fit each individuals ear.
The Harley Street Hearing and Musicians Hearing Services group have been going global recently. Our practice was contacted by one of the biggest names in the music industry, Rihanna, to take ear impressions for in-ear monitors.
Rihanna the chart topping, eight time Grammy award winning artist who has millions of gold and platinum (riaa) song certifications is on the European leg of her ANTI world tour. She is set to travel to 18 different countries around Europe, with her shows in the UK going down a storm.
She was due to perform in Hamburg, Germany on Saturday the 9th of July. This is where our journey with Rihanna began.
The call came in late Thursday from Rihanna’s tour manager; she needed impressions taken for new in ear monitors and we had come highly recommended.
They were currently in Copenhagen, but were set to travel to Germany for Saturdays show. Could we help? “OF COURSE!” We reminded them of the minor detail that our practice and our audiologists were based in London or Manchester, this was not a problem, they arranged flights to and from Hamburg, with accommodation for an overnight stay.
“I was the chosen audiologist to go & packed my bags and the equipment I needed; and was on the Heathrow express from Paddington station to terminal 5.
Arriving in Hamburg I was met by Martin the driver who took me to the Park Hyatt Hotel in the centre of the city. Driving through the cities suburbs Martin pointed out the Rotherbaum tennis arena, and the University of Hamburg.
All checked in to the hotel, I received a call from Rhianna’s tour manager. He was going to send a driver to pick me up at 8 o’clock to bring me to the arena, so I could watch the show and then be on standby, as I was going to take impressions after her performance.
Jan (the runner for the tour) picked me up, he joked that he needed to find “roasted salted cashew nuts”, which by the sounds of it were not that readily available in Germany. We eventually found a supermarket which stocked these and the jubilation on Jan’s face was priceless; we could finally head to the arena.
On arrival a VIP badge was hoisted around my neck, I was shown to the golden circle where I could watch the show which had already started. Rhianna put in a great performance, her hit single “Work” being the highlight. How ironic, here I was in Hamburg, AT WORK, with Rihanna……
The show was over. Buzzing from her performance it was my time to shine! I was shown into her dressing room at around half past midnight, Rihanna stood up shook my hand and asked me where I was from. “London” I replied. We exchanged conversation, discussing rumours of playing perform at Glastonbury. Mimicking my English accent with playful jest I then took 2 sets of impressions.
We hugged, I wished her good luck for the rest of her tour, then I was driven back to the hotel by Jan as we joked about the “salted roasted cashew nuts”.
After breakfast Sebastian drove me to the airport the following morning. He noted that Hamburg was the city with the most bridges in Europe, more than Venice (an interesting fact).
On the flight back to London I reflected on my trip to Hamburg and how incredible Rhianna’s performance and her kind and approachable personality were.”
The ear impressions were then sent to a manufacturer in the United States who produce high performance in-ear-monitors.
In ear monitors are a small wireless device, worn by the performer, which would deliver the monitor mix directly to the ear at a volume that could be personally controlled. The in-ear-monitor gives around 30 dB sound isolation which in turn protects the performer’s ears.
It is fantastic that stars such as Rihanna are taking steps to protecting their hearing, as a big drive by the World Health Organisation recently aims to tackle preventable hearing loss caused by noise.
There are a number of solutions for individuals of any age to start protecting their hearing. Take a look at our website
Jack Stancel-Lewis – Audiologist – Harley Street Hearing & Musicians Hearing Services.
If you need ear impressions or any advice on hearing issues call 020 7486 1053 or complete below.
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