Let there be no misunderstanding. I have worked for
one of the loudest guitar players on the planet, and I
am sure we have hurt some people. After a show, a fan
came up to me and said. "I never had guitar feedback
punch me in the chest like that." Also that night,
one of Elvis Presley's original studio players was in
the house. He commented on being able to hear WELL
without his hearing aids. I was guilty of excessive
SPL's. I have changed my ways. It is time for those
of us in the Church to follow the example, and take a
look/listen at our own excessive SPL's.

There have been many bands, promoters and venue owners
sued over hearing loss. If YOU buy a ticket to
Metallica, and YOU know what the band is, what music
they play, and what they represent, then YOU (in my
book of common sense) are responsible to either not
go, or bring hearing protection. DUH! These lawsuits
may have been silly, but they are a wake-up call. We
should be as cautious about an incident like this, as
we would a "slip and fall." Both of these events can
have a BIG impact on your insurance rates, and
presence of OSHA, state and federal representatives in
your facility.

Without getting too technical, lets look at some
facts. Our hearing system can experience three types
of hearing loss: Conductive, Sensorineural, and Mixed.
Conductive hearing loss can occur if the structures
of the outer ear to middle ear do not work properly.
Conductive loss is more likely to respond to medical
and/or surgical treatment. Sensorineural loss is nerve
deafness. Sensorineural loss is more permanent.
Mixed includes both of these types. We are most
concerned with preventing nerve deafness, as it is
attributed to high SPL's and/or high SPL's for
extended exposure times. Leon has an article with an
SPL chart in it, so I won't replicate one here.
Suffice it to say, that if you are averaging 90dB or
above for the duration of the service, then you are
too loud!

A loss of up to 20dB Hearing Level (HL) is considered
"normal" hearing. A loss of 21-45dB HL is considered
"mild." People with a "mild" loss may experience
difficulty understanding a soft spoken person or
speech at a distance. Understanding speech over
background noise may be difficult. "Moderate" loss is
46-65dB HL. People with this loss have a hard time
with one on one speech in any environment. Trying to
hear over background noise is extremely difficult.
"Severe" loss, 66-85dB HL prohibits conversation,
unless the speaker is talking loudly at close range.
The last step is "profound" loss, from 86dB HL on up.
Communicating is generally used by other means, as
they cannot hear even the loudest sounds.

God made our hearing to be especially sensitive to the
human vocal range. Specific frequencies are very
important for speech to be intelligable. Our vowel
energy is below 1kHz. Above 1kHz is the information
needed for consonants. 44% of our comprehension is
between 1.5kHz and 3kHz. A person with moderate loss
might have a loss below 1kHz, and a substantial loss
in the upper frequencies, and still hear sounds like
l, b, m, a, but would not be able to hear sounds like
p, k, sh, th, etc..

I'll be honest. As a techinal director, I would dread
the Tuesday morning staff meetings. I would get
compliments and complaints about the same issue.
People with "normal" hearing heard how great the sound
was. People without hearing complained that it wasn't
intelligable. They felt the SPL through conductivity,
but it was muffled sensorineurally. What did I do?
Education and hearing testing. I am not going to say
that the problems went away, but it helped. People
with hearing loss are generally in denial, and very
proud. Ironically they where glasses that tells the
world that they can't see well, but they won't wear an
invisable hearing device that will help them get back
to experiencing life aurally.

My brother, Brian Handy, Ph.D., and I saw a need years
ago for education in the Church. Churches need to
know that they must stop endangering the hearing
systems. We wouldn't think of damaging the eyesight
with blinding light or lasers in the retina. So why
damage one of the other senses? We cannot make it to
every church that calls us. I have listed some
organizations that you may contact. They can connect
you with certified specialists in your area, that will
help meet the needs of the hearing impaired in your
membership. This may also be a great way to minister
to your local community as well.

To find speech-language pathologists and audiologists,
contact the American Speech and Hearing Association
(ASHA) at www.asha.com.
To find your state board certified specialists,
contact www.hearingbc.org.
The International Hearing Society can recommend
hearing professionals by contacting them at
www.ihinfo.org.
The National Institute on Deafness Other Communication
Disorders (NIDCD) and Hereditary Hearing Impairment
Resource Registry (HHIRR) can be contacted at
1-800-320-1171.

Special thanks to Brian Handy, Ph.D., for the
resources and contributions to this article.