UK Hearing Conservation Association Conference – Stigma stopping some musicians from using hearing protection
A stigma around weak hearing is one reason career musicians are reluctant to use devices.
Dr Samuel Smith, a researcher at the University of Manchester said stigma associated with hearing loss is stopping musicians from using hearing protection.
Presenting at the inaugural UK Hearing Conservation Association conference, Smith revealed other reasons for low uptake including unpleasant sensation, cost and appearance.
The consistent use of hearing protection devices among musicians, according to a 2005 study, may be as low as 6%, Couth explained.
Studies suggest workers in the music sector are more likely to be affected by noise than those working in construction and agriculture. High-profile rock musicians including Dave Grohl and Noel Gallagher have recently revealed their hearing loss concerns following a lifetime in the profession.
For musicians who refer to the hierachy of control, the model suggests turning down the source. However, Couth said this doesn’t sit well in the profession. “If you’re a career musician you can’t neccesarily turn down the source of the sound. Or you can’t tell musicians around you to turn it down”.
Couth and his team is currently carrying out research using a behavioural framework model which he plans to share data from at next year’s conference.
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UK Hearing Conservation Association Conference – Stigma stopping some musicians from using hearing protection
A stigma around weak hearing is one reason musicians are reluctant to use devices.
Mark Glover - SHP Editor
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I’ve some personal experience of this, as a mixing desk sound engineer in the past I would wear hearing protection during the other acts other than the one I was contracted to work with, and wear closed cup headphones with good attenuation of outside sound when working. My son was a brass and percussion member of several bands and orchestras in his youth, he wore ear plugs some of the time, but was mercilessly made ‘fun’ of for doing so. His hearing now is at 40 years younger than me only slightly better than mine as a result. This needs to be addressed at the earliest stages in school bands/orchestras where the SPL regularly in enclosed hard-walled rooms exceeds damaging levels.
Thanks for sharing John – yes, it really is a problem that’s not really getting the attention it deserves. The UK Hearing Conservation Association are doing a good job in encouraging awareness and certainly worth getting involved with if you haven’t already. Hope you and your soon are doing okay.
Hello, I am doing a noise assessment which caused several issues along the line for school music service. It is incredibly difficult to select the appropriate hearing protection for musicians as they move around various schools, not always have the best place to perform music lessons also not entirely their fault – primary schools do not have a lot of extra spaces. Also, from the readings i am getting it is quite a different range from 81 dBA for 1-2-1 practices to the same teacher doing a Ceilidh band which is in the range of 90 dBA. Selecting a hearing protection which would be affordable for the service, comfortable and that would not over protect or under protect had proven to be a challenge. The guidance published by the HSE is not very informative when it comes to different types of lessons – they provide a reading, but actually the weekly schedule is not always the same, it changes, so does the piece of music. These staff are paid hourly (however lessons are required to deliver within a primary school) so there is no normal 8 hrs working day. Putting together a risk assessment for this kind of service was not a straightforward experience. And then of course you are right to say there is resistance to wear it due to how they are perceived and the culture around it. Fortunately, we can enforce this due to being the employer, but the culture is not quite there yet. Totally on board with the article. Thank you.