Marching band takes note of hearing damage

The low brass section of the Century High School marching band belts out some big time sound — but those beautiful notes can blow away the players’ hearing capacity, too.

All it takes is three minutes playing a flute to feel the affects, but ears protected with musicians’ ear plugs can withstand three hours of music without damage, said Hearing Zone Audiologist Dr. Kelley Olenick.

After three years of playing, senior drum major and tenor saxophonist Brett Syndergard said he already has hearing loss. He said his hearing test results keep getting worse.

“I feel like I’m getting really old and turning into Beethoven,” he said.

That feeling isn’t good, because Syndergard wants to keep playing after he graduates high school.

Luckily, Olenick and her team came to Century High School on Monday to pass out musicians’ ear plugs to the marching band. Each member got fitted for a pair of the ear plugs for free — they typically cost $11.50. It’s all a part of the Hearing Zone’s Adopt a Band program.

“Hearing loss comes from intensity of sound and the duration they’re exposed to it, and with marching bands, it’s high intensity and long durations,” Olenick said.

The musicians’ ear plugs are specifically made for players; they dampen each frequency equally so that the music sounds the same. Olenick said they’re passing them out to help reverse a local trend.

“We test hearing all day long and we see lots of musicians, and their livelihood is at risk because they can’t hear,” she said.

They also want to remind anyone who listens to music on an MP3 player to keep the music turned down. If someone nearby can hear music playing from your earbuds, then it’s too loud, Audiologist Caroline Kerr said.

And if you experience ringing in your ears, the damage can set you on the road to real hearing loss.

“The insult to that ear causes ringing in the ear and kind of a temporary shift in your hearing. And then it recovers, but over and over and over again, it causes permanent damage,” Kerr said.

Kerr said that if you have extended ringing, it’s a good idea to consult your family physician or an ear nose and throat doctor.

For Syndergard, who doesn’t plan on starting his deaf musician career anytime soon, the ear plugs and advice are a welcome change.

“I’ll probably just die (when my hearing gives out). I think the loss of the hearing will also stop my heart,” he said, jokingly.

The Adopt a Band program will also go to Highland and Pocatello High Schools, giving out free ear plugs to the marching bands there, as well.