Hearing ability in Danish symphony orchestra musicians.

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Occupational Health
• Music Performance Science

Background:

• Musicians are exposed to high sound levels during rehearsals and concerts.
• The potential impact of this exposure on hearing health is a significant concern.
• Previous studies have yielded varied results regarding musician hearing loss.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the audiometric hearing levels of symphony orchestra musicians.
• To compare measured hearing loss against age-related norms and predictive models.
• To determine if playing in a symphony orchestra leads to significant hearing impairment.

Main Methods:

• Audiograms were collected from 57 musicians in four Danish symphony orchestras.
• Sound levels and noise dose were measured during rehearsals and concerts.
• Individual audiograms were age-corrected using ISO 7029 standards.
• Measured audiograms were compared with predictions from ISO 1999.

Main Results:

• The average audiogram, without age correction, showed a high-frequency decrease similar to age-related hearing loss.
• Age-corrected audiograms revealed no significant signs of hearing loss.
• Measured audiograms were generally better than predictions from the ISO 1999 standard.
• No musician showed pronounced audiometric hearing loss attributable to orchestra playing.

Conclusions:

• Playing in a symphony orchestra is unlikely to cause pronounced audiometric hearing loss.
• Age is a more significant factor in hearing loss than occupational sound exposure for these musicians.
• Further research with larger, representative samples is warranted to confirm these findings.