Rehearsal Sound Exposure and Choir Singers' Hearing: A Pilot Field Study.

Unlabelled: Exposure to high- and moderate-intensity sound is inevitable for professional singers during their working day, the majority of which is spent in rehearsal, preparing for a performance. The impact of self-produced sound exposure on singers' hearing within the rehearsal setting has not been examined.

Objectives: This original pilot field study investigates the feasibility of data collection and hypothesis testing of singers' hearing within the rehearsal environment.

Audiological findings in professionals exposed to music and their relation with tinnitus.

Professional musicians are at high risk of developing tinnitus due to their over-exposure to music at both occupational and recreational level. This is a 5-year long prospective case series study performed in the Musicians/Performing Arts Medicine Clinic of the 1st Otorhinolaryngology Department of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. A total of 274 professional musicians underwent thorough medical history, history of music exposure, assessment of the impact their hearing status has on their professional life (Musicians Hearing Handicap Index), behavioral (Pure Tone Audiometry, standard and extended high frequency) and objective audiometric tests (TEOAE and DPOAE).

Musicians' Hearing Handicap Index: A New Questionnaire to Assess the Impact of Hearing Impairment in Musicians and Other Music Professionals.

Purpose We aimed to develop and validate the Musicians' Hearing Handicap Index (MHHI), a new self-evaluation tool for quantifying occupation-related auditory difficulties in music professionals. Although pure-tone audiometry is often considered the "gold standard" and is usually employed as the main instrument for hearing assessment, it cannot fully describe the impact of hearing dysfunction. The MHHI is an attempt to complement the hearing impairment assessment toolbox and is based on a unique approach to quantify the effects of hearing-related symptoms or hearing loss on the performance of musicians and other music industry professionals.