Loud gym music doesn’t increase workout intensity

by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition

Photo credit: Dmitry Limonov

MSN reports that health experts have called for a reduction in music volumes in gym, based on a new study that showed that lower sound levels didn’t affect the intensity of the workout. You can read the abstract of the scientific paper in JAMA Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery.

My main quibble with the study is that the reduction in sound levels wasn’t enough to protect hearing of those taking the exercise class. The experimental reduction was only 3 decibels (dB), from 91.4 dB to 88.5 dB. There wasn’t any measure of peak sound levels, which is a problem because brief but loud sound exposures have a disproportionate effect on hearing. According to the NIH, tThe actual safe noise exposure level to prevent noise-induced hearing loss may be as low as 55 A-weighted decibels* (dBA) for a single noise exposure, so I’m pretty sure all the gym rats in this study experienced permanent damage to their hearing.

I think the study needs to be repeated with much lower music levels in the experimental group to see if there is any decrease in workout intensity without loud noise. Exercise is good, and any exercise of any type is much better than no exercise at all. But one can protect one’s cardiovascular health and improve one’s fitness without damaging one’s hearing.

Because 85 dBA is loud, and if it sounds loud, it’s too loud and puts auditory health at risk. If you go to the gym, ask the instructor to turn down the volume. Your ears will thank you when you get older.

*A-weighting adjusts unweighted sound measurements to approximate the frequencies heard in human speech. A-weighting is used in occupational noise exposure recommendations and standards because the inability to understand speech is the compensable workplace injury from excessive noise exposure.