Raising Awareness Among Musicians About Hearing Loss Prevention
Created in 2022 by musicologist Méi‑Ra St‑Laurent, the podcast Musicians’ Hearing Health consists of nine episodes in which she reflects on her own experience with acoustic trauma and addresses the taboos that still surround hearing-related issues among musicians today. Throughout the series, she provides listeners with the tools needed to better understand how the auditory system functions, the sound exposure factors that can contribute to hearing damage, and the various hearing disorders associated with musical practice. Drawing on her personal experience, her research, and her many conversations with specialists in the field, Méi‑Ra also explains why regular visits to an audiologist, reducing noise at the source, and using appropriate hearing protection are essential strategies for preventing hearing damage and safeguarding musicians’ hearing over the long term. The final episode offers a reflection on how Quebec’s laws and regulations regarding occupational noise exposure remain insufficiently adapted to the realities of professional and amateur musicians.
Through this podcast, Méi‑Ra seeks not only to raise awareness within the musical community about the importance of hearing health, but also to encourage healthcare professionals to recognize the specific needs of musicians in terms of hearing-loss prevention, assessment, and care. Ultimately, the podcast invites listeners to rethink their relationship with hearing health so that musicians no longer have to choose between their passion for music and their hearing.
In this first episode, Méi‑Ra St‑Laurent introduces herself and shares the story of her hearing trauma, an experience that had a profound impact on her journey as a musician.
In this second episode, Méi‑Ra explores why, even in 2022 when the podcast was created, musicians rarely spoke openly about their hearing-related problems. She also examines the physical and psychological impacts that hearing-related problems can have on a musician’s career.
In this episode, Méi‑Ra takes a closer look at how the hearing system works, explaining the auditory pathway from the outer ear to the auditory nerve while highlighting the ear’s remarkable complexity and vulnerability.
In this fourth episode, the main sound parameters that can contribute to hearing damage are presented, helping listeners better understand the factors that influence auditory health and hearing risk. Méi‑Ra also draws practical connections between these parameters, the sounds encountered in everyday life, and a range of musical instruments.
In this episode, Méi‑Ra discusses the main hearing disorders that can affect musicians, including hearing loss, tinnitus, hyperacusis, diplacusis, and sound distortion. Using a well-known piece by Mozart, Méi‑Ra recreates how music may be perceived by individuals experiencing different hearing disorders, providing listeners with a concrete illustration of the effects these conditions can have on musical perception.
This episode explains why it is essential for musicians to have their hearing evaluated by an audiologist, even before they notice any changes in their hearing. Méi‑Ra also discusses the unique factors that audiologists must consider when assessing the hearing of musicians, whose auditory demands often differ significantly from those of the general population.
In this seventh episode, Méi‑Ra presents a variety of practical, low-cost strategies that can be implemented in music classrooms to reduce the risk of hearing problems associated with music instruction.
In this eighth episode, Méi‑Ra examines the advantages and disadvantages of using hearing protection among musicians, with particular attention to the challenges these devices can pose for musical performance and listening. She focuses specifically on earplugs designed for musicians and highlights their positive impact on protecting the hearing health of music educators. Finally, she briefly presents the research of acoustician Jérémi Voix, whose work focuses on developing innovative hearing protection technologies that could transform the way musicians protect their hearing.
In this final episode, Méi‑Ra examines the various laws and regulations governing occupational noise exposure in Quebec. The episode also explores how the application of these laws and regulations affects musical practice and influences the recognition of occupational hearing injuries among musicians.
