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Musicians' Hearing Center

When is Hearing Protection Needed?

The Musicians’ Hearing Center was established in the fall of 2003 with the mission of providing musicians of western Pennsylvania with the hearing protection and information they need to play their music with reduced risk of permanent hearing loss.

Whether your musical repertoire includes Beethoven or Bon Jovi, as a musician, you need to protect yourself from permanent hearing loss that can result from exposure to high levels of sound. The UPMC Musicians’ Hearing Center offers a full range of services to help you preserve your hearing.

Evaluation and Assessment

Our audiology experts will perform a comprehensive audiologic evaluation to provide a baseline for monitoring your hearing health. We also can conduct an individual assessment for new hearing protection technology. Custom and noncustom products are available.

Hearing Protection for Musicians

In the past, many musicians did not wear hearing protection because the available earplugs attenuated some sounds more than others, leaving speech and music muffled. In recent years, a special musicians’ earplug has been introduced that reduces the overall sound evenly across all pitches. Speech and music stay clear – just quieter. Custom earplugs with interchangeable filters provide comfortable protection for a variety of instruments, situations, and contexts. Individual evaluations are completed to ensure appropriate fit and attenuation of sounds. Learn more about our earplugs for musicians.

In-Ear Monitors

Monitor earphones are available in several styles and can be custom fitted. In-ear monitors are evaluated in order to provide the musician with needed information for the sound engineer who will be tuning the monitors. In-ear monitors can provide excellent sound quality while protecting the musician from harmful, loud sounds. Learn more about our in-ear monitors.

Education

The UPMC Musicians’ Hearing Center can tailor strategies specific to your individual listening environment for reducing the negative effects of high levels of sound. Our audiology experts are available for educational seminars, and we provide textbooks for classroom learning.

The center’s comprehensive hearing protection services also may benefit others who are continually exposed to loud noises, including:

  • Recording engineers
  • Sound crews
  • Construction workers
  • Aircraft personnel
  • Emergency vehicle operators
  • Industrial workers
  • Medical-dental workers
  • Those engaged in noisy sports or leisure activities

Learn more about our custom earmolds for hearing protection.

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