Full-day noise exposure for student musicians at Brigham Young University

Abstract

For a student musician, several activities during the day contribute to significant noise exposure and these activities take place in a variety of environments. From rehearsing in large spaces to practicing in small rooms to performing in concert halls, the sound levels experienced during the day are often high and varied. This study at Brigham Young University contextualizes the noise exposure in these situations by looking at full-day musician noise exposure in different activities and environments. The study also explores what effect room acoustic characteristics have on noise exposure and looks at trends in dosage received over activity duration. Variation was observed in dosages received between different instrument types. Additionally, room reverberation characteristics were found to have a probable correlation with the amount of noise exposure received. Both OSHA and NIOSH standards were used in dosage calculations and results from each standard were compared.