Levels of Music Played by Caucasian and Filipino Musicians with and without Conventional and Musicians’ Earplugs

Abstract

Some musicians may play the music louder while using earplugs thus reducing the effectiveness of the hearing protection offered by earplugs. In addition, the dynamic range (DR) of the music may be altered because of the use of earplugs with negative impact on perceived quality of music. There are some cultural differences in attitudes toward loudness, which may lead to differences in the loudness of music played by musicians from different cultures.To investigate the effect of the use of two different types of earplugs on the loudness and DR of music played by musicians of Caucasian and Filipino origins.Quasi-experimental repeated measures design.Thirty six musicians with normal hearing within the age range of 18–49 yr. Fifteen were of Caucasian (eight men and 7 women) origin and 21 were of the Filipino (nine men and 12 women) origin.All participants received a brief educational session, which included information on music-induced hearing loss, the benefit of using earplugs, and the correct procedures for inserting and removing earplugs. They played music in five different conditions (three min each): Trial 1 of conventional and musicians’ earplugs in random order, no earplug, and trial 2 of conventional and musicians’ earplugs in random order.Maximum, minimum, average (average sound level measured over the measurement period; LAVG), and peak levels were recorded using a dosimeter while playing music in each of the five conditions. The DR was derived by subtracting the minimum values from the maximum values. A different measure of the dynamic range 2 (DR2) was derived by subtracting the LAVG value from the peak value. Mixed analyses of variance (ANOVA) (Cultural origin and Gender as nonrepeated variables) was performed on LAVG, DR, and DR2.Based on the LAVG levels yielded by them, 42–61% of the musicians may be at risk for hearing loss. The mixed ANOVA revealed some main effects of culture and some significant interactions involving cultural origin, the plug conditions, type of earplugs, and trial number.Use of earplugs may vary the overall loudness of music, the DR, or the DR2 in some musicians depending on the type of earplugs and cultural origin, and the effect may change with practice.

Effect of Hearing Protection Use on Pianists’ Performance and Experience: Comparing Foam and Musician Earplugs

“…The results, shown in Figure 4 , indicate that dynamic ranges do not vary significantly across hearing condition. A previous study by Rawool and Buñag (2019) operationalized 2 different measures of dynamic range, namely (max-min) and (max-mean). We therefore replicated the analysis for the second measure of dynamic range and obtained similar results; that is, no effect of hearing condition on either measure of dynamic range was observed.…”

“…As previous research (Rawool and Buñag, 2019) had observed an effect of hearing protection on the dynamic range of music performance, we also investigated this phenomenon but found no effect of hearing condition on dynamic range. This could be attributed to two main differences: (1) the instrument types (strings, winds and piano in Rawool and Bunag as opposed to pianists only in this study), (2) the analysis method (audio recording analysis in Rawool and Bunag versus MIDI velocity data in this study).…”

“…Additionally, however, Zander et al (2008) found a positive correlation between use of hearing protection and perception of loudness of one’s own instrument as well as loudness of neighboring instruments ( Zander et al, 2008 ). Highlighting the subjective nature of loudness, Rawool and Buñag (2019) suggest that perception of loudness among musicians—and thus willingness to use hearing protection—may be influenced by cultural background (comparing here Caucasian and Filipino musicians, but playing different instruments). In a series of in-depth interviews with various musicians, Beach and O’Brien (2017) found that student participants expressed more advantages related to the use of earplugs compared to professional and amateur musicians.…”

“…A third study ( Rawool and Buñag, 2019 ) compared solo performances of musicians playing a wide variety of instruments with and without earplugs in terms of average sound level and dynamic range. The authors cite musicians’ complaint that earplugs hinder their ability to differentiate loud and quiet sounds as a reason to investigate changes in dynamic range.…”