Tinnitus Severity Is Related to the Sound Exposure of Symphony Orchestra Musicians Independently of Hearing Impairment

Abstract

Musicians frequently report tinnitus. Any tinnitus and severe tinnitus are significantly associated with the cumulative lifetime sound exposure, which was shown to be the most important factor not only for the prevalence but also for the severity of tinnitus-even in musicians without hearing loss. High-frequency hearing thresholds and tinnitus severity were correlated only if the cumulative lifetime sound exposure was excluded from the analyses.This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives License 4.0 (CCBY-NC-ND), where it is permissible to download and share the work provided it is properly cited. The work cannot be changed in any way or used commercially without permission from the journal.

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“…Tinnitus can be debilitating and have a great impact on musicians private and professional lives [25]. A study by Schmidt et al (2019) noted that the presence of tinnitus, whilst not consistently identified as attributed to noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) may be related to noise exposure, meaning musicians can be considered a high-risk group and that the percept has potential to interfere with professional functioning, as well as outside of professional work. Schmidt et al (2019) used a questionnaire which included two questions relating to whether musicians found tinnitus to be "a problem" during and/or outside of orchestral life.…”

“…A study by Schmidt et al (2019) noted that the presence of tinnitus, whilst not consistently identified as attributed to noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) may be related to noise exposure, meaning musicians can be considered a high-risk group and that the percept has potential to interfere with professional functioning, as well as outside of professional work. Schmidt et al (2019) used a questionnaire which included two questions relating to whether musicians found tinnitus to be "a problem" during and/or outside of orchestral life. Although the breadth of the study did not explore the specific ways in which tinnitus may impact the professional and non-professional lives of musicians, it highlighted some interesting findings.…”