Schools of music and conservatories and hearing loss prevention

Abstract

Abstract

Music students are not being taught that music is a sound source capable of harming hearing. Ensemble directors of public school and college bands, orchestras, and choirs, are unaware and unprepared to recognize and manage risk from excessive sound exposures. Schools of music and conservatories around the world, and the organizations that accredit them, need to embrace the idea that schools of music are best suited to facilitate change, conduct research, create and impart knowledge, institute competency, and most importantly, cultivate a culture of responsibility and accountability throughout the music discipline. By drawing attention to actions pursued at and through the College of Music at the University of North Texas, the purpose of this paper is to encourage change and to assist others in efforts to reach the best conditions for preventing irreversible hearing disorders associated with music.

Sumario

A los estudiantes de música no se les enseña que la música es una fuente de sonido capaz de dañar la audición. Tanto los directores de conjuntos musicales en las escuelas públicas preparatorias, como los directores de bandas, orquestas y coros en las universidades no están preparados para identificar y manejar los riesgos a una excesiva exposición al sonido. Las escuelas de música y los conservatorios alrededor del mundo así como las organizaciones que las acreditan necesitan entender que las escuelas de música son las instituciones más adecudas para facilitar cambios, conducir investigaciones, crear y difundir conocimiento, establecer estándares, y lo más importante, cultivar una cultura de responsabilidad y auto regulación en todos los campos de la música. Usando las estrategias que se recomendaron, diseñaron, e implementaro en o a través del College of Music, Univeristy of North Texas, el propósito de este trabajo es impulsar el cambio y ayudar a otros para alcanzar mejores condiciones que puedan prevenir trastornos irreversibles auditivos associados con la música.

Key Words::

• Earplugs
• musicians
• music
• college
• students

Acknowledgements

This work was supported, in part, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, Grammy Foundation, Scott Foundation, National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), and the University of North Texas. This author would like to thank collaborating colleagues and graduate students, the Performing Arts Medicine Association, and the National Hearing Conservation Association.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.