ORIGINAL PAPER
Exposure to excessive sounds during orchestra rehearsals and temporary hearing changes in hearing among musicians
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Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine / Instytut Medycyny Pracy im. prof. J. Nofera, Łódź, Poland
(Department of Physical Hazards / Zakład Zagrożeń Fizycznych)
Corresponding author
Adam Dudarewicz
Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Department of Physical Hazards, św. Teresy 8, 91-348 Łódź, Poland
Med Pr Work Health Saf. 2015;66(4):479-86
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ABSTRACT
Background: It has been shown that musicians are at risk of noise-induced hearing loss. The aim of the study has been to evaluate
the temporary changes of hearing in the case of orchestral musicians after group rehearsals. Material and Methods: The study
group comprised 18 orchestral musicians, aged 30–58 years old (mean: 40 years old) having 12–40 years (mean: 22 years) of
professional experience. The temporary changes in hearing after group rehearsals were determined using transient-evoked
otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs). Noise exposures during group rehearsals were also evaluated. Results: Musicians’ hearing
threshold levels were higher (worse) than expected for the equivalent non-noise-exposed population. Moreover, the high frequency
notched audiograms were observed in some of them. After rehearsals, during which musicians were exposed to orchestral
noise at A-weighted equivalent-continuous sound pressure level (normalized to 8-h working day) varied from 75.6–83.1 dB
(mean: 79.4 dB). The significant post-exposure reductions of TEOAE amplitudes (approx. 0.7 dB) both for the total response
and frequency bands of 2000 and 3000 Hz were noted. However, there were no significant differences between pre- and postexposure
reproducibility of TEOAE. Conclusions: Obtained results have confirmed that orchestral musicians are at risk of hearing
loss due to their professional activities, even at exposures to orchestral noise less than the limit values for occupational noise. Med Pr 2015;66(4):479–486