AES E-Library

A Clinical Study to Evaluate Rock Music, Symphonic Music and Noise as Sources of Acoustic Trauma

Recent studies have implicated high-intensity rock music as a potential source of hearing damage. The present study was designed to evaluate, under carefully controlled clinical conditions, the relative damage potential of rock music, symphonic music, and band-limited white noise. Ten normal hearing subjects were exposed to each program source for 60 minutes at an average sound pressure level of 95 dB binaurally through electrostatic headphones. After each exposure a TTS was obtained by Bekesy audiometry at each of 10 frequencies. An octave-band analysis demonstrated that both the rock and symphonic music had very similar frequency spectra, being within ±4 dB from 125 Hz to 8000 Hz and having maxima at 500 Hz. The TTSs for both rock and symphonic music were nearly identical with maximum TTSs from 2000 to 5000 Hz and averaging 8 to 10 dB. The white noise, being richer in high frequencies, produced average TTSs of 11 to 17 dB for the same test frequency range.

Authors: Barry, John P.; Thomas, Ian B.
Affiliations: Department of Public Health, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA ; Department of Electrical Engineering, University of MA , Amherst, MA(See document for exact affiliation information.)
JAES Volume 20 Issue 4 pp. 271-274; May 1972 Import into BibTeX

Click to purchase paper or login as an AES member. If your company or school subscribes to the E-Library then switch to the institutional version. If you are not an AES member and would like to subscribe to the E-Library then Join the AES!

This paper costs $20 for non-members, $5 for AES members and is free for E-Library subscribers.

Learn more about the AES E-Library

E-Library Location: (CD aes3)   /jrnl6877/1972/7076.pdf

Start a discussion about this paper!