Sound Exposure of Choristers

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Occupational Health
• Acoustics

Background:

• Choir singing is a popular activity, with 4.5% of Europeans participating.
• Noise dosimetry was conducted for St. Paul's Cathedral's Music Department in January 2019.
• Assessment aimed to ensure compliance with the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005.

Purpose of the Study:

• To measure and assess the sound exposure levels of choristers, adult choir, choir master, and organist.
• To determine compliance with daily and weekly noise exposure limits.
• To provide recommendations for managing noise exposure in a choir setting.

Main Methods:

• Noise dosimetry using acoustic instrumentation during rehearsals and performances.
• Matching sound exposure data with musicians' work schedules.
• Estimating daily (L_EP,d) and weekly (L_EP,w) sound exposure.

Main Results:

• Adult choir, organist, and choir master were under the daily limit of 85 dBA (L_EP,d).
• The most exposed chorister exceeded the daily limit.
• All participants were compliant with the weekly noise exposure limit of 87 dBA (L_EP,w) when adjusted for their working year.

Conclusions:

• While daily exposure for one chorister was high, overall weekly exposure was compliant.
• Recommendations include management techniques to reduce weekly sound exposure.
• Suggested introducing a second choir to decrease the number of performances for boys.