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Rates Of Hearing Loss, Tinnitus More Than Doubled Among Musicians
- February 19, 2026
- Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
Musicians suffer hearing loss in pursuit of their passion more than twice as often as average folks, a new evidence review says.
More than 2 in 5 musicians suffer from tinnitus and a quarter are affected by hearing loss, researchers recently reported in the journal Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery.
“Many musicians quietly live with ringing ears, sound sensitivity or hearing loss, no matter whether they play in a symphony hall or a small club,” researcher Dr. Shaun Nguyen said in a news release. He’s a professor of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleson.
For the review, researchers pooled data from 67 previous studies involving more than 28,000 musicians.
Almost 43% of musicians report tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, compared to just 13% of the general population, the study found.
Likewise, hearing loss affects nearly 26% of musicians versus 12% of non-musicians, and hyperacusis — an increased sensitivity to everyday sounds — affects 37% of musicians compared to 15% of other folks.
You can’t blame it on rock and roll, either. There were no significant differences in hearing problems between classical musicians or pop/rock artists, the study found.
Researchers suspect the numbers might be even greater, since these studies didn’t include amateur or part-time musicians and lacked consistency in how they tracked hearing loss.
For example, about 63% of cases of hearing loss among musicians were based on subjective self-reporting, researchers said. Only 37% had their hearing loss confirmed through testing.
Since people often don’t realize they’ve suffered hearing loss, it’s likely there are even more cases than these studies found, researchers said.
“The research we have is still imperfect, often based on self-reported symptoms and missing details about things like other loud hobbies, specific instruments and how consistently people use hearing protection,” Nguyen said.
The results suggest musicians might need their hearing tested more frequently, given that hearing problems are an occupational hazard to them, researchers said.
“What we really need now is more personal, musician-entered risk profiling so we can offer practical, tailored advice that helps artists protect their hearing without sacrificing the music they love,” Nguyen said.
More information
The Hearing Health Foundations has more on musicians and hearing loss.
SOURCE: American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, news release, Feb. 17, 2026
