Hearing

[noel_ayoub]

Hi

I am thinking of doing a research project on how listening to music causes a loss in hearing. I am not sure exactly what type of project I should do, and that is why I am here. I was thinking of dividing people into groups that listened to music a lot, sometimes, and never, andsubdividing them into volume. Also, I was thinking of testing different headphoens to see if they are related to hearing loss. If anyone has any suggestions, please reply to this

Thank you

[Sareena Avadhany]

hi noel_ayoub,

This idea is really great for a project. If you're submitting this to the science fair, the fair has strict guidlines on what you can do to human subjects. If your projects involves afflicting pain to anyone by headphone volume, I am 100% sure that will not be allowed. If you are going to ask people how much music they listen to, what is 'alot'? what is 'not alot'? How would you define those variables? If what you want to do is not possible, maybe you could find data from an experiment similar or exact to what you want to do and analyze the data. If you can't do something one way, think about another way to approach the problem. It is also important to see what can you do with the resources you have. If you are a high school student, or middle school student, or in grade school, look at who you can ask for help, advice and assistance, how you will be able to acquire the materials you need, and so on. This is definitely not to deter you from your goals, rather to help you! These are just new avenues of ideas that you can choose from and think about.

I hope this helps!

Sincerely,
Sareena

[noel_ayoub]

Hi

Thanks for replying to my question. I was thinking about splitting the subjects into plotted times, such as one hour, two hours, and so on. The equipment is not a problem, because i know ear doctors that have many machines that detect hearing. I was also wondering if it is possible to detect changes in hearing in about three to four months time.

Thank you

[Sareena Avadhany]

Hi noel_ayoub,

Are you planning to participate in a science fair, or at a school fair? If it is at a science fair, please check on the restrictions, and what forms you need to get approved in order to participate. Working with human subjects can be difficult. There are so many factors you need to consider. How are you going to be able to control what they hear when they are at home? Let's say you have a group of subjects that listen to music at a low frequency. How long are they going to listen to music? Or if they forget? And since you want to test for three to four months, you will definitely need subjects who are willing to follow your procedures for that length of time.

What grade are you in?

I hope this helps!
Regards,
Sareena

[noel_ayoub]

Hi

I am doing this for a class I am taking. If my teacher thinks my project is noteworthy, it might enter a science fair. Those are the reasons why I wasn't sure about doing this project. I am not sure how I would be able to control the subjects in the experiment.

I am a junior in high school.

Thank you

[hhemken]

All I can think of is having two treatment groups, one with the test music and one without (control). The most accessible way to gather results would be to apply some standard hearing tests before, during, and after to all subjects and look for significant differences.

It will be difficult to know how much exposure to what level of noise/music they are being exposed to.

Alternatively, the tests can be done over a period of a few consecutive days, where the subjects are asked to listen to no music or loud noise at all during those days outside of the testing period (honor system). Each day test subjects are exposed to 0.5-1.0 hr of predefined music at a predefined volume and distance using the same equipment for all. Control sunbjects sit in the same place with the music off. Standard hearing tests are applied before and after each session to all. After a few days, one may expect to observe "lasting" changes in those who hear the music as well as changes immediately after listening to the music as compared to control subjects. The delay between listening to music and having the hearing test should be measured, and the subjects test order randomized each day.


I hope this is useful.

[jasonfukushima]

noel_ayoub,
be sure u get a good amount of people to test on and do it for a long period of time. Also, make sure you have the resources to test hearing loss. Do either one test or the other(volume or headphones), this way you are not overwhelmed.

I hope this helps.