In Sunday’s (6/28) Sacramento Bee, Edward Ortiz writes, “For a musician, there is a terror greater than stage fright: a music injury. As with athletes, musicians’ bodies are pushed to the limit through hours of practice and intense bursts during performances. And often, the result is the onset of a repetitive stress injury or similar ailment.” But many musicians ignore injuries because competition for jobs is so fierce. “As a result, the incidence of music injuries has yet to be adequately established. A recent joint study by the Texas Center of Music and Medicine at the University of North Texas and the Performing Arts Medical Association concluded that nearly 65 percent of the music-student population in the United States has dealt with some kind of repetitive stress or motion injury. … One of the more prevalent music injuries is rarely talked about: hearing loss. Players and educators of school bands and orchestras are most at risk of hearing loss. In a recent study on the effect of sound levels on 53 music educators, it was established that 68 percent of them showed signs of noise-induced hearing loss in one or both ears.” Musicians from the Sacramento Philharmonic are interviewed in the story.
Posted June 29, 2009
