Measurement and prediction of sound exposure levels by university wind bands

The purpose of this study was to determine sound exposure levels generated in two college wind bands. Dosimeter data from a large sample of ensemble-based instructional activities (n = 43) was collected over time and processed to assess associations with predictor variables that may be relevant to this context, including indicators of time spend at various intensity levels, maximum and peak sound levels, degree of variability of sound levels over time, and the percentage of time playing music. The mean dose per event for the entire sample was 109.5% and ranged from 53.8% to 166.9%. Results of linear regression analysis revealed that regressors accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in dose (F = 128.42, p < 0.000) and a statistically significant and very large (96% variance accounted for) contribution to the prediction of dose. Findings implicate the critical role of the instructor and teaching pedagogy.