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Hearing Loss Prevention (HLP)

PP708 - Sound Exposure Among Collegiate-Level Dance and Music Theatre Major Students

Posters
Location: Halls 4EF

    Lead Presenter(s)

  • Grace K. Cymanski (she/her/hers)

    Student
    Oho University
    Lancaster, Ohio

    Financial Disclosures: I do not have any relevant financial relationships with anything to disclose.
    Non-Financial Disclosures: I do not have any relevant non-financial relationships with anything to disclose.

    • Presenter(s)

  • SW

    Sophia Wu, BS (she/her/hers)

    Student
    Ohio University

    Financial Disclosures: I do not have any relevant financial relationships with anything to disclose.
    Non-Financial Disclosures: I do not have any relevant non-financial relationships with anything to disclose.

  • jz

    junhao zhang (he/him/his)

    student
    Ohio University
    Athens, Ohio

    Financial Disclosures: I do not have any relevant financial relationships with anything to disclose.
    Non-Financial Disclosures: I do not have any relevant non-financial relationships with anything to disclose.

  • Sophie Carleton, BS (she/her/hers)

    Au.D. Graduate Student
    Ohio University
    Ohio University
    Reedsville, Ohio

    Financial Disclosures: I do not have any relevant financial relationships with anything to disclose.
    Non-Financial Disclosures: I do not have any relevant non-financial relationships with anything to disclose.

  • KH

    Katlin Hill, AuD Student

    AuD Graduate Student
    Ohio University

    Financial Disclosures: I do not have any relevant financial relationships with anything to disclose.
    Non-Financial Disclosures: I do not have any relevant non-financial relationships with anything to disclose.

  • WK

    Whitney L. Knipp (she/her/hers)

    AuD Graduate Student
    Ohio University
    Athens, Ohio

    Financial Disclosures: I do not have any relevant financial relationships with anything to disclose.
    Non-Financial Disclosures: I do not have any relevant non-financial relationships with anything to disclose.

  • Nilesh J. Washnik, PhD (he/him/his)

    Assistant Professor
    Ohio University
    Ohio University
    Athens, Ohio

    Financial Disclosures: I do not have any relevant financial relationships with anything to disclose.
    Non-Financial Disclosures: I do not have any relevant non-financial relationships with anything to disclose.

  • TG

    Travis D. Gatling (he/him/his)

    Professor of Dance
    School of Dance
    Athens, Ohio

    Financial Disclosures: I do not have any relevant financial relationships with anything to disclose.
    Non-Financial Disclosures: I do not have any relevant non-financial relationships with anything to disclose.

  • Ishan S. Bhatt, PhD (he/him/his)

    Associate Professor
    University of Iowa
    Iowa City, Iowa

    Financial Disclosures: I do not have any relevant financial relationships with anything to disclose.
    Non-Financial Disclosures: I do not have any relevant non-financial relationships with anything to disclose.

  • Brent S. Frederick, BM

    Assistant Professor of Instruction in Musical Theater and Music Director
    Ohio University
    Ohio University
    Athens, Ohio

    Financial Disclosures: I do not have any relevant financial relationships with anything to disclose.
    Non-Financial Disclosures: I do not have any relevant non-financial relationships with anything to disclose.

Abstract: Previous studies have reported that music major students are at risk of developing noise induced hearing loss (NIHL) due to frequent high-sound exposure. Compared to music major students, music and dance theatre major students are not exposed to loud live music events that often, but they are exposed to high levels of sounds during group and individual dance rehearsals and theatrical performances. This study aims to determine the full-day noise exposure dose and estimate annual noise exposure for collegiate dance and theatre major students.

Summary: A growing body of literature indicates that student musicians' sound exposure frequently exceeds the recommended exposure limits stated by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (Gopal et al., 2013; Tufts & Skoe, 2018; Washnik, 2015). Phillips et al. (2010) reported high-frequency hearing loss "notches" among 45% of student musicians. Like music major students, collegiate-level dance and music theatre major students are also exposed to hazardous sound levels. Although dance and music theatre major students' exposure to live music events is relatively less than music major students, they get exposed to different types of high sound exposure activities, which place them at risk for noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL).
Dance and music theatre major students are exposed to different levels of sounds during a typical college day which includes listening to music pieces through headphones or speakers, playing instruments such as piano, singing solo or in choir, group and individual dance rehearsals, theatrical rehearsals, and lectures throughout the day. Considering the number of schools of theatre and dance in various universities across the nation, and the dearth of research on sound exposure among dance and music theatre major students, it is crucial to measure the sound exposure levels experienced by collegiate dance and music theatre major students. The purpose of this study is to determine daily noise exposure dose during a typical college day and estimate annual noise exposure among collegiate dance and music theatre major students. To our knowledge, this is the first study that aims at measuring noise exposure among dance and music theatre major students.
Thirty dance theatre major and thirty music theatre major students will be recruited. All the participants will complete a noise exposure questionnaire developed by Johnson et al. (2017) to estimate annual noise exposure. Of these 60 dance and music theatre students, 15 dance theatre and 15 music theatre major students will complete 2 days of noise dose measurements using an ER-200D noise dosimeter programmed according to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) criterion. The result of the study is expected to show hazardous sound level exposure among the majority of the dance and music theatre major students. Overall, the study results will raise awareness about the hazardous sound exposure among dance music theatre major students and support the need to include dance and music theatre major students in university-level hearing conservation programs for student musicians

Learning Objectives:

  • Upon completion of this session, the participants will be able to identify the risk of high sound exposure among dance and music theatre students.