Kris Chesky

Attitudes of college music students towards noise in youth culture.

The effectiveness of a hearing loss prevention program within a college may be dependent on attitudes among students majoring in music. The purpose of this study was to assess the attitudes of music majors toward noise and to compare them to students not majoring in music. Participants ( N = 467) filled out a questionnaire designed to assess attitudes toward noise in youth culture and attitudes toward influencing their sound environment. Results showed that students majoring in music have a healthier attitude toward sound compared to students not majoring in music. Findings also showed that music majors are more aware and attentive to noise in general, likely to perceive sound that may be risky to hearing as something negative, and are more likely to carry out behaviors to decrease personal exposure to loud sounds. Due to these differences, music majors may be more likely than other students to respond to and benefit from a hearing loss prevention program.

An evaluation of musician earplugs with college music students

Musician earplugs are marketed and recommended for use in music settings but no studies have evaluated these products with musicians. This study evaluated the influences of earplugs on college students’ perception and abilities to communicate in a musical environment, attitudes of earplugs, comfort over time, and the influence of earplugs on ability to play music. College students (N = 323) were provided with earplugs for use during and following an experimental condition designed to mimic a night club. Results underline the challenges of earplugs in environments that are both loud and require verbal interaction. Responses to comfort questions were variable and suggest a multi-factorial set of influences that may include intrinsic variables. Despite these limitations, subjects in this study generally liked the earplugs and believed that they are valuable. However, the earplugs were not viewed favorably by musicians willing to use the earplugs while playing music. This study supports the view that earplugs are subject to many problems and should be considered as a last resort.

Schools of music and conservatories and hearing loss prevention

Abstract Music students are not being taught that music is a sound source capable of harming hearing. Ensemble directors of public school and college bands, orchestras, and choirs, are unaware and unprepared to recognize and manage risk from excessive sound exposures. Schools of music and conservatories around the world, and the organizations that accredit them, need to embrace the idea that schools of music are best suited to facilitate change, conduct research, create and impart knowledge, institute competency, and most importantly, cultivate a culture of responsibility and accountability throughout the music discipline. By drawing attention to actions pursued at and through the College of Music at the University of North Texas, the purpose of this paper is to encourage change and to assist others in efforts to reach the best conditions for preventing irreversible hearing disorders associated with music. Sumario A los estudiantes de música no se les enseña que la música es una fuente de sonido capaz de dañar la audición. Tanto los directores de conjuntos musicales en las escuelas públicas preparatorias, como los directores de bandas, orquestas y coros en las universidades no están preparados para identificar y manejar los riesgos a una excesiva exposición al sonido. Las escuelas de música y los conservatorios alrededor del mundo así como las organizaciones que las acreditan necesitan entender que las escuelas de música son las instituciones más adecudas para facilitar cambios, conducir investigaciones, crear y difundir conocimiento, establecer estándares, y lo más importante, cultivar una cultura de responsabilidad y auto regulación en todos los campos de la música. Usando las estrategias que se recomendaron, diseñaron, e implementaro en o a través del College of Music, Univeristy of North Texas, el propósito de este trabajo es impulsar el cambio y ayudar a otros para alcanzar mejores condiciones que puedan prevenir trastornos irreversibles auditivos associados con la música.

Auditory risk assessment of college music students in jazz band-based instructional activity.

It is well-known that musicians are at risk for music-induced hearing loss, however, systematic evaluation of music exposure and its effects on the auditory system are still difficult to assess. The purpose of the study was to determine if college students in jazz band-based instructional activity are exposed to loud classroom noise and consequently exhibit acute but significant changes in basic auditory measures compared to non-music students in regular classroom sessions. For this we (1) measured and compared personal exposure levels of college students (n = 14) participating in a routine 50 min jazz ensemble-based instructional activity (experimental) to personal exposure levels of non-music students (n = 11) participating in a 50-min regular classroom activity (control), and (2) measured and compared pre- to post-auditory changes associated with these two types of classroom exposures. Results showed that the L eq (equivalent continuous noise level) generated during the 50 min jazz ensemble-based instructional activity ranged from 95 dBA to 105.8 dBA with a mean of 99.5 ± 2.5 dBA. In the regular classroom, the L eq ranged from 46.4 dBA to 67.4 dBA with a mean of 49.9 ± 10.6 dBA. Additionally, significant differences were observed in pre to post-auditory measures between the two groups. The experimental group showed a significant temporary threshold shift bilaterally at 4000 Hz (P < 0.05), and a significant decrease in the amplitude of transient-evoked otoacoustic emission response in both ears (P < 0.05) after exposure to the jazz ensemble-based instructional activity. No significant changes were found in the control group between pre- and post-exposure measures. This study quantified the noise exposure in jazz band-based practice sessions and its effects on basic auditory measures. Temporary, yet significant, auditory changes seen in music students place them at risk for hearing loss compared to their non-music cohorts.

An Acoustical Analysis of the Frequency-Attenuation Response of Musician Earplugs

Abstract Musician earplugs (MEP) are intended to reduce the risk for noise induced hearing loss among musician populations while providing flat attenuation characteristics. However, survey data suggest that low use rates among musicians are associated with negative listening experiences due to perceived alterations in the spectral characteristics of music. These shortcomings warrant the assessment of how a MEP processes the full frequency and complex spectral nuances of musical sounds. The goal of this study was to assess the influence of musician earplugs on musical stimuli using an acoustic test fixture in order to characterize objectively the influence of customand non-custom-fit MEPs on both the attenuation levels and the spectral characteristics of music in and over a wide range of intensity levels in a simulated human ear canal. Our objective measurements inside ear of KEMAR confirm that the spectral characteristics of music are altered by MEPs, regardless of whether the earplug was a non-custom or custom earplug. The findings suggest that the claims used to market MEPs to musicians and music schools are misleading and that the discrepancies for claiming attenuation characteristics in response to musical stimuli are related, in part, to the use of the REAT testing procedure. New testing protocols are recommended.

Musculoskeletal Pain in Trombonists: Results from the UNT Trombone Health Survey.

The trombone is a popular, versatile, and unique member of the brass family of musical instruments. Yet the musculoskeletal health concerns of trombonists are grossly understudied. The purpose of this study was to develop and apply a novel online research strategy for assessing musical and non-musical demographics along with prevalence, frequency, intensity, quality, timing, and location of site-specific trombone-related pain. Of the 316 trombonist respondents to this open survey, 76.6% (n=242) experienced trombone-related pain in one or more sites over the past year. Lip was the site with the highest prevalence rate for pain (23%). Selected pain sites were outlined in three primary clusters of musculoskeletal sites: 1) the lips and jaw region, 2) left upper extremity, and 3) back region. Over 35% (n=114) reported that trombone-related pain prevented playing their instrument. Site-specific characteristics of pain suggest that future epidemiologic studies seek to better understand location-specific intensity, frequency, quality, and timing of pain. Such details will assist educators, performers, and clinicians understand, prevent, and treat musculoskeletal problems associated with learning and performing musical instruments.

An Acoustical Assessment of the Music Memory in Commercially AvailableHearing Aids

Hearing aids amplify speech-input signals using nonlinear amplification (i.e., wide dynamic range compression). When WDRC is used to process a music-input signal, listener’s report a negative aided listening experience. To circumvent this negative experience, hearing aids allow for music-input stimuli to be processed using a modified frequency-gain response, known as a memory or program. The music memory, in general, processes the input signal using a linear-like frequency-gain response, elevated output, or both. Increasing gain and output, we conjecture, has the potential to place the wearer at-risk (i.e., ≥85 Leq dBA) for Hearing-aid-induced hearing loss (HAIHL). We assessed the potential of this risk in two experiments. In Experiment I, 2-cc coupler gain was determined in three commercially available receiver-in-the ear/receiver-in-the-canal (RITE/RIC) hearing aids. Coupler gain responses were determined for a composite signal presented at 65 and 100 dB SPL for the WDRC memory and music memory, and for different degrees of occlusion. Results from this experiment were reported qualitatively. In Experiment II, the same three devices were fit on an acoustical manikin. Recordings of 10 musical passages were obtained for the same two memories, adjusted for the degree of occlusion at three presentation levels (i.e., 85-, 94-, and 103-dB SPL). Analyses of the recordings revealed that two devices programed in the music mode exceeded the at-risk threshold at presentation levels of 94- and 103-dB SPL. In addition, the same two devices programmed in WDRC exceeded the at-risk threshold at a presentation level of 103-dB SPL. Implications and future directions are discussed.

Reducing Risk of Noise-Induced Hearing Loss in Collegiate Music Ensembles Using Ambient Technology

Student musicians are at risk for noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) as they develop skills and perform during instructional activities. Studies using longitudinal dosimeter data show that pedagogical procedures and instructor behaviors are highly predictive of NIHL risk, thus implying the need for innovative approaches to increase instructor competency in managing instructional activities without interfering with artistic and academic freedom. Ambient information systems, an emerging trend in human-computer interaction that infuses psychological behavioral theories into technologies, can help construct informative risk-regulating systems. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of introducing an ambient information system into the ensemble setting. The system used two ambient displays and a counterbalanced within-subjects treatment study design with six jazz ensemble instructors to determine if the system could induce a behavior change that alters trends in measures resulting from dosimeter data. This study assessed efficacy using time series analysis to determine changes in eight statistical measures of behavior over a 9-wk period. Analysis showed that the system was effective, as all instructors showed changes in a combination of measures. This study is in an important step in developing non-interfering technology to reduce NIHL among academic musicians.

A Measurement Tool to Assess Hand Kinematics and Kinetics in Piano Players

The purpose of this study was to design and develop a measurement tool and protocol to measure hand posture and finger loads during piano playing and to study the relationship between palmar arch and associated forces generated when pressing keys during piano playing. Information gained from developing a system to study these parameters will ultimately provide piano players and instructors with information to enhance playing performance as well as strategies to reduce hand injuries and playing related pain.Copyright