A Clinical Trial of Active Hearing Protection for Orchestral Musicians

Abstract

Orchestral musicians—an at-risk group for noise-induced hearing loss—have consistently reported great difficulty using hearing protection while performing or rehearsing, even when using earplugs specifically designed for musicians. A recent innovation in this field has been electronic earplugs that claim to deliver very high quality sound and only attenuate when sound levels become excessive. This study investigated these claims, aiming to determine whether professional orchestral musicians were able to use these devices and whether they were preferred to existing earplugs. Initially clinical and laboratory testing was carried out on the devices, indicating some spectral alteration of processed sound occurred, however claims of attenuation properties were validated. Following this, 26 orchestral musicians used the devices during rehearsals and performances for at least four weeks, providing feedback throughout this period. While musicians preferred the devices to previous earplugs, they identified issues including difficulty with orchestral balance, perception of dynamics and quality of sound provided by the devices. Results indicate these earplugs are a very positive step towards a usable hearing conservation tool for orchestral musicians to use in conjunction with other risk mitigation measures.

[Supplementary materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene for the following free supplemental resource: indicative information on the impact of wearing these devices upon a musician's sound and volume production during performance.]

Keywords:

• earplugs
• hearing
• musicians
• noise-induced hearing loss
• orchestra

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work was part of an ongoing five-year occupational health study of Australian Orchestras funded by the Australia Research Council Linkage Grant Scheme (grant number: LP0989486); the Australia Council for the Arts; and in-kind support from The Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, and Orchestra Victoria. Many thanks to the National Acoustic Laboratories and musicians and management staff at the Queensland Symphony and the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestras.

The devices used in this trial were purchased directly from the manufacturer. There was no involvement or support—financial or otherwise—sought from or offered by the manufacturer. The researchers have no involvement, financial or otherwise, with the manufacturer or any distributors of the device being studied.

This study was conducted as a clinical trial and approved by Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration (CTN# 231-2012) with ethical approval to carry out this research granted by the University of Sydney's Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC#14952).