For Peyton Bowditch, hearing is not just important to their quality of life, but to their professional success.
The senior from Raleigh is earning their bachelor’s in Music Education in UNCG’s School of Music and will attend the University of Michigan in the fall for a master’s degree in choral conducting.
Since their first year at UNCG, Bowditch has participated in the free hearing screenings at the School of Music, conducted by audiology students in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD). Music students are recommended to get their hearing screened annually to ensure they aren’t experiencing hearing loss, as part of the School of Music’s Hearing Protection Program.
“When I began (at UNCG) I took a tour of the building and they explained the testing and what it is. I was told it was a cross-campus collaboration to protect our hearing,” Bowditch said.
UNCG was one of the first universities in the U.S. to have a hearing protection program for music students. The hearing screenings are a central component
Dr. Rebecca Libera, program manager.
Screenings are conducted by undergraduate and graduate audiology students, selected by CSD professors.
Autumn McNeill, 22, from Kernersville, is one of two undergraduate students conducting the hearing screenings this semester. Working with the music students is her first experience screening people.
“My first day, I loved it and I knew I could do this my whole life,” McNeill said. “Screening my peers has been a learning experience. Hearing loss is an invisible disability. Seeing my peers and helping them understand why they can’t hear or are struggling feels more personal, and I can connect with them.”
She greets each student and explains what she will do. She then asks a few pre-test questions, such as whether the student has been tested before, has earaches, is aware of a hearing loss, takes prescription medication, or has a relative with a hearing loss. The student then goes into a booth and puts on headphones, listening for tones that she will play.
After the screening, the audiology student conducting the test will go over the results briefly with the music student. If the student was tested in previous years, results can be compared to see if there’s been a hearing loss.
“When we see a difference in hearing loss, we recommend they get an in-depth hearing screening at the Speech and Hearing Center or their primary care provider,” McNeill said.
Music students are asked if they use hearing protection routinely. And while the students all said they used it, very few said they used it every time.
“Hearing protection is a good earplug that will dampen sound, but not block it out, I use high-fidelity earplugs at concerts. The Speech and Hearing Center has foam earplugs. You can also get custom ones made,” McNeill said.
Free earplugs are also available at the music library.
Bowditch admits they don’t use hearing protection each time.
“If I know I will be in a combined rehearsal (with orchestra), I’ll wear earplugs,” they said. “In my orientation to college as a music major, I was told what could happen if you don’t protect your hearing.”
Natalie Lyons, 23, of Clemmons, is currently earning her doctorate in audiology at UNC-Chapel Hill. She conducted hearing screenings at the School of Music as a senior at UNCG as an audiology student. Lyons said the opportunity prepared her for her graduate classes and impressed the nine graduate schools she applied to, being accepted to each one.
“Going into my first semester at UNC, I knew so much more than some of my other classmates, such as interpreting graphs,” Lyons said.
The 10-minute screenings she conducted on her classmates proved to be an asset professionally, as well as an eye-opening experience for her.
“I’d ask (the students) how loud they’d play music in their earbuds or headphones. OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) standards say 85 to 90 decibels are safe for eight hours. But for every 5 decibels over that, the time is cut in half. So, at 95 decibels, it’s safe for four hours, 100 decibels is only safe for two hours,” Lyons said. “Hearing loss can affect anyone, and once it’s gone, it doesn’t come back. Sometimes it’s a temporary hearing loss, but you don’t know if it will come back.”
Lyons knows firsthand the impacts of hearing loss. She was born with it, although she wasn’t diagnosed until age 7, when her mother discovered she was reading lips. She got a hearing aid at age 12. Lyons credits UNCG Professor Dr. Amy Myers with helping guide her in the field and reassure her that she could still do what she wanted to do.
“My senior year I talked with Dr. Myers about concerns I had with my hearing loss and not being able to hear the patients. She reassured me that I could still go into the field and it would help with relating to the patients,” Lyons said.
The audiology students who conduct the hearing screenings at the School of Music do it as part of a class. They are graded on papers and a final project at the end of the semester.
Libera said hearing loss is not often seen among college-aged students, and said education is a factor.
“We think of loud sounds (causing hearing loss), but even medium volume sounds over a long time are just as damaging to our hearing, and some students have more than one ensemble practice in a day,” she said. “I’m proud of our program. These types of programs make a difference for musicians, and attitudes toward ear protection are changing.”
Libera also expressed gratitude for the partnership with the CSD program.
“It’s been a huge benefit to have cutting edge information from the students at UNCG who are in the audiology field,” she said.
By Sarah Newell
