scotchandcigar
All I wanted was some steak
Over the years, my ears have done a good job of dampening loud noises, as described here:
The acoustic reflex, one of the body’s most intriguing reflexes, is located inside the middle ear. Two tiny muscles, the stapedius and the tensor tympani, automatically tighten in response to loud noises. The amount of sound energy that reaches the inner ear is decreased by this tightening action. To put it another way, the ear has a built-in volume control that turns on in milliseconds.
So most of my (objectively) excellent hearing is intact. In contrast, many members of the community band I play in have hearing loss. The effects range from having a hard time hearing the director speaking, to playing overly loud all the time. One of our clarinet players, who is in his mid-70s, can't play softly, because he can hardly hear himself. When we play music marked pp (pianissimo), p (piano), or mp (mezzo piano), he's playing mp, mf (mezzo forte), and f (forte). Sitting next to him (or in front of him) is not fun.
The acoustic reflex, one of the body’s most intriguing reflexes, is located inside the middle ear. Two tiny muscles, the stapedius and the tensor tympani, automatically tighten in response to loud noises. The amount of sound energy that reaches the inner ear is decreased by this tightening action. To put it another way, the ear has a built-in volume control that turns on in milliseconds.
So most of my (objectively) excellent hearing is intact. In contrast, many members of the community band I play in have hearing loss. The effects range from having a hard time hearing the director speaking, to playing overly loud all the time. One of our clarinet players, who is in his mid-70s, can't play softly, because he can hardly hear himself. When we play music marked pp (pianissimo), p (piano), or mp (mezzo piano), he's playing mp, mf (mezzo forte), and f (forte). Sitting next to him (or in front of him) is not fun.
