Tinnitus Severity Is Related to the Sound Exposure of Symphony Orchestra Musicians Independently of Hearing Impairment.
Jesper Hvass Schmidt, Helene M Paarup, Jesper Bælum
PMID 29757798WHAT IT FOUND
Symphony musicians with higher lifetime sound exposure reported more severe tinnitus, even when their hearing tests were normal.
The severity of the ringing was linked to the noise level they faced, not to measurable hearing loss.
Key findings
01Increased lifetime sound exposure was significantly associated with higher tinnitus severity, with an odds ratio of 1.16 for every 1 dB increase.
02Hearing thresholds did not significantly predict tinnitus severity, indicating that poorer hearing does not necessarily result in the perception of more severe tinnitus.
03The association between sound exposure and tinnitus severity persisted in musicians with normal hearing (thresholds better than 10 dB HL), with an odds ratio of 1.27.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
Tinnitus severity was measured using a non-standardized two-question scale, which may not accurately quantify the experience compared to validated tools like the Tinnitus Handicap Index. Selection bias is possible because musicians with severe tinnitus or hearing loss may have already left the orchestras, potentially underestimating the true association. Sound exposure was estimated from self-reported hours and average instrument levels, which may obscure minor variations between individual musicians. The cross-sectional nature of the survey prevents establishing causality between exposure and symptom development.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that normal hearing thresholds protect against severe tinnitus. This study found that tinnitus severity was linked to cumulative sound exposure even in musicians with completely normal hearing, so hearing tests alone do not capture the risk or the symptom burden.