ESS - SA - Comunicações em eventos científicos
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- Musicians noise exposure in a Portuguese orchestra – a case studyPublication . Rodrigues, Matilde; Alves, Pedro; Ferreira, Luis; Neves, Paula; Aguiar, Livia; Vieira Da Silva, ManuelaExposure to high noise levels is broadly recognized as being one of the most significant and frequent risk factors in occupational environments, particularly at industrial settings (Arezes et al., 2012). Such exposure can result in several effects for the workers' health, mainly in the development of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL), which is the most frequent occupational disease in Europe (EU-OSHA, 2002). However, there are other professionals groups that are also considered as important, concerning noise exposure. The professional orchestras musicians are one of these groups. Previous studies show that orchestral musicians are exposed to loud music (Lee et al., 2005; MacDonald et al., 2008; O’Brien et al., 2008), which can have a great impact on their health. However, despite the relevance of this issue for orchestral musicians, it seems that the problematic of noise exposure is still not well characterized, and the strategy for the noise exposure assessment not well established. Furthermore, the Portuguese legislation, in particular the Decreto-Lei nº 182/2006, does not consider the specific case of musicians, and there is no code of conduct provided in accordance with Directive 2003/10/CE that establishes the guidelines about how musicians should be protected from noise exposure. This is particularly critical considering that the hearing ability of these musicians is a relevant part and a crucial tool of their professional activity and performance (Jansen et al., 2009; Kähäri et al., 2004). Besides, without a reliable risk assessment of musicians' exposure, it is not possible to compare sound pressure levels with the current guidelines and it is also very complex to define and implement an effective strategy to reduce the risk of NIHL (Arezes et al., 2012).