Again, females show stronger intensity levels than

males, especially in the higher frequency regions selleck screening library (average response over all frequencies 8.0 vs. 5.6, F = 16.5, p < 0.001). When including only the large instrument categories (i.e. HS, LS, WW, BW) into the analysis, we found significant Temsirolimus differences in DPOAE responses (F(3, 26) = 3.14, p < 0.01): High- and low-string players showed overall higher DPOAE responses than wood-wind and brass-wind players. No significant interactions were found with gender and instrument category (F = 1.2, p > 0.5). The DPOAE intensity levels also covariated with age, showing a decrease in intensity with increasing age (F = 4, p < 0.001). TEOAE and DPOAE responses significantly correlated at the same frequencies (1, 1.5, 2, 3, and 4 kHz): R 2 ranged from 0.27 to 0.45, p < 0.001. The individual relation between TEOAE and DPOAE responses and the pure-tone thresholds was weak. Some musicians showed (almost) normal pure-tone thresholds with surprisingly low OAE responses, while others showed poor pure tone thresholds, Selleck CHIR-99021 but relatively high OAE responses.

Correlation coefficients between audiometric thresholds and TEOAE intensity levels at the same frequencies were significant, but low: R 2 = 0.17/0.19/0.22/0.23, p < 0.05) at 1, 2, 3, and 4 kHz, respectively. The correlation between the average TEOAE response and the average pure-tone threshold at 1, 2, 3, and 4 kHz was 0.29. Slightly higher correlations were found between the DPOAE-responses and the pure-tone thresholds: R 2 = 0.13/0.21/0.37/0.40 at 1, 2, 3, and 4 kHz, respectively and R 2 = 0.45 for the average pure-tone threshold

and average DPOAE response of 1, 2, 3, and 4 kHz. In addition to the individual data, we also investigated the OAE distributions in the audiogram categories defined above. The average TEOAE per audiogram 3-mercaptopyruvate sulfurtransferase category is shown in Fig. 5a, the average DPOAE in Fig. 5b. The figures illustrate that the musicians in the normal hearing category have the strongest overall TEOAE (mean = 8.04, SD = 4.6) and DPOAE (mean = 9.51, SD = 4.6) responses, while musicians in the rest category show the weakest TEOAE (mean = 3.32, SD = 5.7), and DPOAE (mean = 2.01, SD = 6.6) responses. Significant differences were also found between OAE of the normal hearing category and the other categories (i.e. N vs. NM, NP, SL, and FL, post-hoc Bonferroni, p < 0.05) Fig. 5 a Average TEOAE-intensity levels for musicians in each audiogram category b Average DPOAE-intensity levels for musicians in each audiogram category Discussion The first experimental question was whether musicians of symphony orchestras should be treated as a special group with regard to hearing, noise, and noise related hearing problems. A combination of factors puts the hearing of many professional musicians at risk: they are often subjected to intense sound levels for long periods of time, while studying, rehearsing, and performing music.