Development of guidelines for protecting the hearing of patrons at music venues: practicalities, pitfalls, and making progress

This paper will describe the efforts of an Australian-based multidisciplinary working group to develop guidelines for protecting the hearing of patrons at music venues. As a starting point, the group considered the various European standards and regulations that require venue operators to limit the sound levels emitted at venues, provide hearing protection, information for patrons, and sound level monitoring. Following an iterative drafting process which incorporated feedback from group members, a consensus document was produced which included agreed requirements relating to hearing protection, information for patrons, and sound level monitoring. The most challenging aspect was reaching agreement on sound level limits, where a number of different views needed to be accommodated.