We are excited to have you join us for an amazing educational line up, check out the agenda below for the 2025 Conference. Please note that this agenda is subject to change.
The development of professional-level musicianship requires playing and listening to music many hours per day over many years, but extended exposure to loud music (>85 dB) can lead to hearing loss. Because limiting exposure to music or controlling acoustic environments is not always feasible for student musicians, it is important to understand the likelihood of using personal hearing protection. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of social, attitudinal, and emotional input on retention and acceptance of information on hearing preservation by college music students. Two types of instruction were evaluated: the standard written information on hearing preservation disseminated by NASM, and a multimedia video containing the same information, but presented via video interviews of socially relevant role models. Participants comprised 66 music majors enrolled in a large Midwestern university and were randomly assigned to each group. Data were collected and analyzed to understand if there were differences in knowledge scores, satisfaction scores, and intention to use hearing protection between the two groups. Knowledge scores between the two interventions were not significantly different but the video group had significantly higher scores regarding their intention to use hearing protection, suggesting the importance of including role models in interventions.
Learning Objectives: 1. Identify key components in a hearing loss prevention program for student musicians to increase their knowledge of hearing loss risk. 2. Describe the importance of socially relevant role models when providing information to student musicians. 3. Compare the differences in intention to use hearing protection between intervention participants based on the type of information they received.
