Talking Ears

How many ways can we say that Music Audiology is a small, niche, subspeciality comprised of a handful of dedicated and passionate independent providers? We are a small but tight bunch, and we would like to take a moment to introduce you to one of our ranks: Jason Baker. Dr. Baker hails from none other than Music City itself, Nashville! Naturally, his practice is called Music City Audiology - a name so apropos it makes Talking Ears co-host Frank quite audibly jealous.

Lets say you were a musician traveling around the US in need of hearing services, or an audiologist looking to consult with or refer to a music specialist, or an artist management firm aiming to care for your performer's greatest irreplaceable asset (their hearing, naturally)... how would you find a provider? Glad you asked! Simply consult D'MAP - the Directory of Music Audiology Providers at www.musicaud.org

We are continuing our deep dive into a deeply technical topic. This episode has a companion article available through this link.

Stage monitoring is complicated and difficult even in the best circumstances, but when the performer has hearing loss the barriers can compound and confound the situation. We pick up where we left off with Part 1 to practical guidance for performers with hearing loss, as well as supporting knowledgeable audio engineers who are mixing monitors for an artist with hearing loss. In this second installment, we discuss:

How spatial processing can be used to add separation and clarity

Steps to audiogram-informed processing

Purpose-built systems designed to streamline this process and support the performer

Please continue to send in your questions, comments, and suggestions for guests and topics. You're the reason we make this show, so thanks for listening!

To kick off Season 5 of Talking Ears, we are taking a deep dive into a technical topic. This episode has a companion article available through this link.

Stage monitoring is complicated and difficult even in the best circumstances, but when the performer has hearing loss the barriers can compound and confound the situation. Herein, Juan and Frank will provide practical guidance for performers with hearing loss, as well as supporting knowledgeable audio engineers who are mixing monitors for an artist with hearing loss. In this first installment, we discuss:

Sensorineural hearing loss

How the audiogram can be interpreted and used to inform monitor mixing

Using traditional mix management techniques to focus and simplify the mix for the musician with hearing loss

Please continue to send in your questions, comments, and suggestions for guests and topics. You're the reason we make this show, so thanks for listening!

Talking Ears Season 5 is just around the corner, and we are excited! Please continue to send in your questions and suggestions for topics, and as always, thanks for listening!

Darin Atwater is a composer, conductor, and pianist best known as the founder and leader of Baltimore's groundbreaking ensemble Soulful Symphony. As an educator, he now serves as Distinguished Visiting Faculty at The Peabody Conservatory.

In this conversation, we'll discuss how a severe hand injury he experienced last year which forced him to reassess the relationship with his music, audiences, and students. We explore how personal and artistic identify are affected by one's ability to perform and engage with their instrument and creativity, and how recovery has informed his work moving forward. He gave a moving talk at the Performing Arts Medical Association (PAMA) conference in 2025, putting a human face on the topic of work-limiting injuries and medical care for performing artists. Needless to say, his invitation to Talking Ears was sent within minutes after this address, and we are confident you'll hear why in this episode.

For your listening pleasure, we’ll be hearing selections from the Soulful Symphony’s 2009 release, Song in a Strange Land. We cannot stress this enough: stop everything and go listen to Soulful Symphony's incredible body of work.