PERFORMERS’ HEARING
Above: The Grand Theatre
at China’s Xiqu Centre,
another Sound Space Vision
project involving careful
design of an orchestra pit
20 AUDITORIA 2020 VOLUME ONE
and acoustical engineer for Norwegian acoustical
consultant Brekke & Strand. “In other industries,
noise is an unwanted by-product, but with music,
the sound is not unwanted,” explains Skålevik.
“I think it’s important to use the right language
and to not automatically import the regulations
– the level limits – that you have in other
industries, because this is different.”
In the EU, for example, there is a 140dB limit
to industrial noise, and some countries enforce
a 130dB limit in the workplace. It’s not
uncommon, Skålevik says, for an orchestra’s bass
drum to exceed these limits. “But it’s just for a
fraction of a second, and it’s not low-frequency
sounds that are usually suspected to be causing
hearing damage, usually it’s the high frequencies,”
he says. “So we need to arrive at limits relevant
to hearing damage. I’m not at all confident that
the limits, the measures, being used in other
industries are adequate for music – not at all.
If someone is persistent that we have to use the
same measures as with industrial noise, it would
be impossible to have timpani and bass drums,
and a lot of music would be prohibited.”
No single solution
Along with regulating recovery time for
musicians –which studies have shown can
prevent permanent hearing damage – options
include using screens to shield musicians from
loud instruments near them, as well as ear plugs.
More and more musicians are turning to these
options, notes Fiona Butterworth, an audiologist
with UK-based Musicians’ Hearing Services.
“We’re hearing from people that it’s becoming
less of a stigma,” she says.
But rather than depending purely on
screens and plugs, Butterworth believes in a
holistic approach. “I think we need to be doing
everything together to make sure that everyone’s
supported and educated about the importance
of hearing protection,” she says.
Ultimately, while the presiding judge in
Goldscheider versus Royal Opera House sided
with the musician, there was also consideration
in the ruling that music matters too. “The act
of music gives you pleasure, and you can
withstand a certain level of volume because of
that,” explains Anne Minors, a co-founder of
Sound Space Vision. “While on the one hand
there’s a duty and need to vigilantly protect the
hearing of musicians who are subjected to high
levels of sound, on the other hand, the judgement
was acknowledging that music must go on, and
it’s fundamental to human beings.” n
Butcher says that as a result, orchestras are
going to have to put musicians’ hearing exposure
higher up the list of considerations when
planning what they are going to play in a season.
Could the case impact how venues are
designed, perhaps meaning more room in
orchestra pits so musicians are spaced further
apart? “It’s tight down there in an orchestra pit,”
says Essert. “You could say, ‘Why not make the
pit bigger?’ But do you push the audience further
away? Or do you reduce the seat count? All
of those things are a part of the balancing act.”
Essert believes the issue is most acute in
historic opera houses and concert halls. “The
evolution of music and performance practice
and theatre design and technology are all
intertwined here,” he says. “They move at
different paces. We’ve designed some opera
houses in the late 20th and early 21st century. But
in Europe many of them are pre-1900, including
the Royal Opera House, despite renovations.”
Noise restrictions
Because Goldscheider versus the Royal Opera
House is a legal case, it calls into question EU
rules for workplace noise. But this measurement
can be misleading and ineffective in regulating
music, argues Magne Skålevik, a senior advisor
You could say, ‘Why not make
the pit bigger?’ But do you push
the audience further away?
Or do you reduce the seat count?
Bob Essert, co-founder, Sound Space Vision
WKCDA