Pure-Tone Hearing Thresholds and Otoacoustic Emissions in Students of Music Academies.

Małgorzata Pawlaczyk-Łuszczyńska,Adam Dudarewicz,Kamil Zaborowski,Małgorzata Zamojska-Daniszewska

doi:10.3390/ijerph18031313

Abstract

The objective of this study was to assess the hearing of music students in relation to their exposure to excessive sounds. A standard pure-tone audiometry, transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) and distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) were determined in 163 students of music academies, aged 22.8 ± 2.6 years. A questionnaire survey and sound pressure level measurements during solo and group playing were also conducted. The control group comprised 67 subjects, mainly non-music students, aged 22.8 ± 3.3 years. Study subjects were exposed to sounds at the A-weighted weekly noise exposure level (LEX,w) from 75 to 106 dB. There were no significant differences in the hearing thresholds between groups in the frequency range of 4000–8000 Hz. However, music students compared to control group exhibited lower values of DPOAE amplitude (at 6000 and 7984 Hz) and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) (at 984, 6000, and 7984 Hz) as well as SNR of TEOAE (in 1000 Hz band). A significant impact of noise exposure level, type of instrument, and gender on some parameters of measured otoacoustic emissions was observed. In particular, music students having LEX,w ≥ 84.9 dB, compared to those with LEX,w < 84.9 dB, achieved significantly lower DPOAE amplitude at 3984 Hz. Meanwhile, both TEOAE and DPOAE results indicated worse hearing in students playing percussion instruments vs. wind instruments, and wind instrument players vs. students playing stringed instruments.

Highlights

Excessive exposures to loud music may cause various hearing symptoms and lead to noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL)
Results of transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) and distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) measurements in the group of music students and in the control group are summarized in Tables 7 and 8, respectively
There were no significant differences between music students and control group in case of the majority of TEOAE parameters, excluding signal-to-noise ratio

Summary

Introduction

Excessive exposures to loud music may cause various hearing symptoms (e.g., tinnitus or temporary threshold shift of hearing) and lead to noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). Professional musicians due to chronic exposure to loud sound (music) and long impact during the day are more predisposed to the development of hearing loss as compared to those who listen to music only occasionally [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13]. Hearing impairment was found nearly twice as frequently in rock or pop musicians than in classical musicians (63.5% vs 32.8%, p < 0.05) and mainly affected the range from 3000 to 6000 Hz. The most often observed hearing symptoms were tinnitus (26.3%), hyperacusis (21.7%) and diplacusis (6.3%). Hyperacousis was more often found among pop or rock musicians, whereas diplacusis in classical musicians [13]

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Discussion

Conclusion