kivanck

Hi everyone,

I have just attended the trumpetmaster forums and find really helpful information.
My problem is when i study with Yamaha Silent brass, i feel like my neck is swelling and i feel pain, sometimes even in my head.. waiting for your suggestions about my problem

rowuk

Kivanck,
many times the expectation is that NOTHING should change when using a practice mute. This is simply not true. When our sound is damped, our ears do not have any clues about how much effort is being pumped in to the mouthpiece end (the sound that we normally hear does not only come out of the front of the bell-the bell itself vibrates and a great deal of energy is radiated from the outside - any mute dampens this radiation!). The result is playing with extreme force, and that leads to exactly the symptoms that you describe.

The solution is to have a practice mute routine that is different from the open horn one. Make an effort to not try and blow the mute up like a balloon! Mezzoforte effort is the absolute max if you want the benefits of any practice mute!

stchasking

Maybe you are new on Trumpet Master Forum. But, I have constantly warned practice mute users to not blow out their eustacian tubes.

You have, past tense, blown too hard through your silent brass system.
Repeated practice eventually moves the throat pressure into your eustacian tubes. They are now inflamed and probably infected. This problem will eventually effect your inner ear and possibly put blowing pressure behind your ear drum. You can damage your eardrum.

My Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat doctor tells me I have fluid behind my left ear drum. That fluid is there because I blew to hard using an old style practice mute and experienced everything you are and paid the price. I know of what I speak.

Now the bad news. You will need to see an ENT doctor and he may give you antibiotics. Now the even worse news. You will have to quit for a year. I had to quit for two years.

Stop using the practice mute immediately.

Eeviac

I've got this cold that's going around and my ear/nose/throat system has been taking a bit of abuse just with practicing at all. I think it's the back pressure, I tried one of those Silent Brasses in a shop and they're really stuffy.

Can you go to a college practice room or a park and practice there?

I'm prolonging my ear/nose/throat woes myself but keeping up the practice daily, myself. I'm lucky that I can practice here w/o a mute. No one can complain I'm just another source of noise along with the dogs, horses, roosters, donkey, and ravens.

Decentplayer

I had plenty of ear problems as a kid. I had tubes in my ears 4 times. I played trumpet back then also. I used a mute to practice then and now. I don't think it's a good idea to go diagnosing something only a doctor could. Sure, he might be blowing too hard but to tell him he has an infection without him actually seeing a doctor isn't right. A good suggestion would be to ask him to see a doctor, not tell him he has this condition.

stchasking

I DID TELL HIM TO SEE A DOCTOR. IT IS NOT A SUGGESTION.
HE DOES HAVE AN INFECTION. WHAT DO YOU THINK FORUMS ARE FOR?
I DIAGNOSED A WOMEN IN ANTARCTICA JUST TONIGHT USING THE INTERNET FOR COMMUNICATION.

Dr. Greggory House, MD.

ozboy

Dr House? Now that name sounds familiar. I think he has a walking stick though and is now in the 9 o'clock time slot.
I have a similar problem that I have been experiencing for a while. Mine was inner ear and eustation tube related.(haven't got a clue how to spell it).I finally got an answer. My doctor gave me this recipe.I have copied it word for word.
Saline-Bicarbonate Nasal Spray to moisten thick nasal mucus-safe to use long term.
In a nasal spray bottle (which can be recycled)
(1/2 to 1 heaped teaspoon of salt+ 1/2 teaspoon of bicarbonate soda in 500mls of boiled, cooled tap water.
2 squirts into both nostrils 6 times a day.
If it stings, decrease salt.
It is important you use a nasal spray bottle. The chemist said humourously, that the only way it could do damage yourself was if you drowned.
It is mostly my right ear, so I spray about 6 sprays up my right nostril and lay with my right ear down. When I turned my head over, there was a really strange noise the first couple of times I used it.
Just as an aside, Doc said that he would like to see nose blowing and tissues banned. He said that in countries where people suck and swallow their boogers, there is little prevalence of problems of these kinds. This is a pressure issue that pertains to the practice mute question.
In defence of the previous answer by Dr House, I wouldn't use a practice mute given my ear problems.
Food for thought: My Dr said that some of these problems can also be the result of a Phalangeal Pouch ( spelling????) This is quite a common occurrence amongst trumpet players and older males. A weak pocket develops in your throat that can make your throat work 'unnaturally' which can lead to tension.
Symptoms: If you feel food being caught in your throat when you try to eat whilst laying down.
Diagnosis-Can only be diagnosed using a Barium X Ray.