Just wondered... has anyone else been told that earplugs are necessary when practicing the piccolo? My teacher told me (after I got the little squeaker...) that quite a few piccolo players go a bit deaf, because of it being so close to their ear, so high and so loud. So she told me to invest in a couple of foam earplugs to wear when I practice, at least in the right ear anyway.

Has anyone else heard of this?

yes, this is very common advice, and it's quite possible to damage your hearing by playing a high-pitched instrument like the piccolo without them. you can get special musicians' earplugs which dampen the sound without hurting the tone too much.

you might want to invest in some earplugs for your neighbours, too. ;-)

I wear earplugs while playing my piccolo and even sometimes when I'm playing my flute loudly (but then in my right ear only generally). I'd highly recommend them. I wear some proper music ones, and they have three different filters to chose from. They were only about £15. Not sure if I can post what they are here, so PM me if you're interested.

I've sold my piccolo now (my family hated it) but when I had it I always used earplugs, even during an exam!

My daughter played piccolo in her Count Orchestra. After the first rehearsal the horn player sitting closest turned up with his Dad's ear defenders which he made a great show of putting on before her solo.

Daughter has found piccolo has its uses and high register piccolo practice early in the morning is a great revenge on the student upstairs who was playing his drums at midnight.

I'd definitely get earplugs, yes: for a recorder week earlier this year, I hadn't any, so took a pair of Tatty Teddy earmuffs when the piece requiring far too many sopraninos came out. It raised a roar of laughter...since then, I have got plugs which filter out either high or low sounds, so one set for sharing a room with someone who snores, and the other for sopranino recordering, if necessary.

You can buy a pair of earplugs which filter out high frequencies from Jonathan Myall or similar - they do distort the sound a bit (you need custom ones to avoid that!) but they definitely help avoid damage and the ringing ears associated with playing really high (even on flute).