Description

It is estimated that 1 in 5 young adults aged 20-29 years are at risk for developing noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). Furthermore, university musicians are more at risk for NIHL, partly due to longer exposures to louder environments. University musicians spend a lot of time in ensemble practices, music halls, and various performances; they have noisier lives compared to their non-musician students. Researchers have reported that over 75% of student musicians exceeded noise exposure levels of 85 dBA on a weekly basis compared to 15% of non-musician students. Student musicians might be involved in other types of recreational noise exposure. One example is personal music (PM) system use with earphones. The two research aims of this study were: 1) what are the PM system use characteristics in student musicians compared to non-musicians; and 2) do student musicians report more hearing problems compared to non-musicians. Currently enrolled SDSU students were recruited for this study and categorized as either a musician or a non-musician. Recreational noise exposure questions included the duration and level of PM system use with earphones along with hearing-related questions such as, do you feel you have a hearing loss and do you experience tinnitus. There were 21 non-musicians (16 women, 5 men) and 43 musicians (28 women, 15 men) who participated. Almost all musicians (95.3%) and non-musicians (95.2%) reported PM system use with earphones. Musicians have a slightly longer reported single use (mean=2.2 hours) compared to non-musicians (mean=1.5 hours). Musicians were significantly more likely to report listening to a PM system at a higher level compared to non-musicians. A slightly higher percentage of non-musicians reported tinnitus after using a PM system (26.3%) compared to musicians (22.5%) but more musicians reported that they feel like they have a hearing loss (18.6%) compared to non-musicians (9.5%). These data suggest that student musicians have similar recreational noise exposure as non-musicians. These data further imply that despite having similar recreational noise exposure, musicians may have slightly better noise perception. These are only survey data, more diagnostic measures in these groups are needed to evaluate differences in hearing and to further this conclusion.