The efficient coupling of the amplifier and eardrum reduces the need to overamplify the mix for each musician. It is preferable to have the custom ear mold fitted by an audiologist, an expert in the clinical care of the ear. By placing a small microphone in the ear canal, an audiologist can measure how loud the performer's IEM is. The audiologist should then be able to recommend a preferred range of loudness for performances, thereby minimizing the risk of hearing loss. 9 High frequency audiometry will be the most difficult service to find because audiologists typically only test up to 8 kHz.
Musical sounds have a much broader bandwidth than speech.
Typically sensorineural hearing loss from exposure to loud sounds is slow and progressive, and affects the high frequencies. If you feel you may be struggling to understand conversation in a noisy environment, but your pure tone audiogram reflects hearing within normal limits up to 8 kHz, serial testing of the higher frequencies may validate your complaint if thresholds consistently drop over time. Since exposure to sound is part of the job for the music or audio professional, it is important to take preventative steps rather than attempt to eradicate loud sound in an effort to conserve our hearing. There are several simple ways to conserve one's hearing. Overexposure to loud sounds is defined by both the level of intensity and duration of exposure time.