COLLEGE AGE MUSICIANS

ARE YOUR EARS AT RISK?

Yes! 
College musicians are at a higher risk of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) than their non-musician peers. Research has shown that 45% of surveyed student musicians have a noise-induced hearing loss and students who reported practicing more than two hours per day had a more significant noise-notch, meaning the volume of sound must be louder for the student to detect it (Phillips et al., 2010). 
Additionally, musicians reported other complaints, such as a high prevalence of tinnitus and sensitivity to loud sounds, also known as, hyperacusis (Jansen et al., 2009).

WHO IS THE LOUDEST?

It depends!

When you are sitting in band practice, look at the instruments that are around you and then look at this table. This table shows the average volume of the instruments that you or your friends could be playing. 

Who is the loudest and closest to you?

If you are playing the saxophone loudly, your ears can only handle the volume for 56 seconds before your ears are at risk for damage to occur. 

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By wearing hearing protection, your ears can handle that volume much easier and for longer periods of time. 

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This is why it is so important for you to wear hearing protection to help protect your ears. 

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Adapted from:

Chasin, M. (2006). Sound levels for musical instruments. Hear Review, 13 (3), p.34-41. 

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OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit

HOW LOUD IS TOO LOUD?

This table shows the volumes of sound (dBA) and the period of time that you can listen to that volume of sound before damage occurs to your ears. 

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For our purposes, look at the table on the right.

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Here is an example:

If you are playing in band and the music you are reading says fortissimo, you are likely playing at a very high volume. If that volume were to reach 135dBA, your ears can only be exposed to that volume for 56 seconds before damage is likely to occur. 

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Hearing protection helps your ears handle loud volumes for longer periods of time.