Scalable tools for research into safe listening at music venues and events
With the launch of the HELA (Healthy Ears, Limited Annoyance) Research Cooperative, momentum continues to build globally to deliver safer listening experiences to attendees of music venues and events. However, the evidence base around safe listening is incomplete, with many important questions yet to be answered. In this webinar, Ian Wiggins (HELA Research Co-Op Vice Chair) will describe two ongoing projects that aim to develop tools to facilitate high-quality and scalable research into safe listening. The first involves the development and validation of a common data model for sound-level data from music venues and events, providing a standardized framework for annotating, sharing, and re-using measurement data. The second involves using smartphone-based location tracking to monitor personal sound exposure at music venues and events, an important step towards understanding the impact of that exposure on hearing health. Ian will conclude the webinar by laying out how we plan to combine these two projects to deliver exciting new citizen-science driven research into safe listening.
