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.

Earplug Usage in Preservice Music Teachers

“…Earplug wearers have not necessarily worn the products correctly, and results of real-world noise circumstances versus laboratory testing often greatly overestimated attenuation of the earplug products. Musicians' earplugs, in particular, have a history of problems with accurate fit, occlusion effect (sound conducted through the bones of the ear that reverberates inside the head), and poor attenuation (Chesky & Amlani, 2015;Chesky et al, 2009;O'Brien, Ackerman, et al, 2014;O'Brien, Driscoll, et al, 2014). In fact, a recent report indicated discrepancies among marketed versus actual attenuation levels of custom and noncustom earplugs, as well as the measured differences in spectral characteristics of music when using various earplugs (Chesky & Amlani, 2015).…”

“…Since earplugs were developed for industry-specific applications and not for music environments (until more recently), new data suggest that “the spectral characteristics of music are altered by MEPs [musicians’ earplugs], regardless of whether the earplug was non-custom or custom” (Chesky & Amlani, 2015, p. 4). In the same article by Chesky and Amlani (2015), there also seemed to be disparity among the stated attenuation characteristics of custom and noncustom earplugs popularly marketed toward musicians. The researchers reported that custom-made earplugs with the 9-dB and 15-dB filters had higher attenuation rates than published (12.5-dB and 16-dB, respectively).…”

Identifying barriers and facilitators of hearing protection use in early-career musicians: a basis for designing interventions to promote uptake and sustained use

“…Musicians' dissatisfaction with the impact of HPDs on music listening and playing also highlights fundamental flaws with the design, specification and fitting of high-fidelity musicians' earplugs, which need addressing (O 0 Brien, Ackermann, and Driscoll 2014;Zander, Spahn, and Richter 2008). Indeed, the detrimental impact of HPDs on music listening and performance is not necessarily subjective, given that it has been shown that highfidelity musicians' earplugs can lead to an occlusion effect (Bernier and Voix 2013;Killion 2012), sound localisation difficulties (Chasin and Chong 1999), and altered spectral characteristics (Chesky and Amlani 2015); they have also been shown to alter the sound level and spectrum of played sounds (Kozłowski, Zera, and Mły nski 2011) and result in less resonant choral singing (Cook-Cunningham 2019).…”

University Marching Band Members’ Noise Dosages and Hearing Health-Related Knowledge

“…Less than 10% of the musicians reported using such protection frequently. A literature review suggests that musician reports very limited use of HPDs due to pain; pressure; discomfort; HPDs' inference with playing and monitoring ability; and distortion of timbre, dynamics, and sonority when they and their peers are playing [13,[29][30][31][32][33]. To cater to the hearing protection needs of the musicians, HPD manufacturers developed musicians' ear plugs (MEPs), claiming that MEPs replicate the natural response of the ear canal and offer adequate attenuation without compromising the spectrum of music and listening quality [33].…”

“…To cater to the hearing protection needs of the musicians, HPD manufacturers developed musicians' ear plugs (MEPs), claiming that MEPs replicate the natural response of the ear canal and offer adequate attenuation without compromising the spectrum of music and listening quality [33]. However, Chesky and Amlani [32] found that the claims used to market MEPs to musicians are misleading. They reported discrepancies for claiming attenuation characteristics in response to musical sounds and attributed these, in part, to the manufacturers' testing procedures for measuring attenuation and listening quality [32].…”