Musicians practice and perform in a variety of different settings and they are exposed to high levels of sound, sometimes for long periods. They require different amounts of protection depending on the sound levels they encounter during rehearsals and performances. Some musicians use different filters in each ear (e.g., ER•9 in one ear and a ER•25 in the other) depending on the location of the sound source.

	ER•9	ER•15	ER•25	Harmful Sound Comes From:
Small strings	•	•		Own instrument, other strings
Large strings	•	•		Brass
Woodwinds		•		Brass, percussion
Brass		•	•	Own instrument, other brass
Flutes		•		Percussion
Percussion		•	•	Own instruments, other percussion
Vocalists	•	•		Own voice, speakers, monitors
Acoustic guitar	•	•		Drums, speakers, monitors
Amplified instruments		•	•	Speakers, monitors
Marching bands		•		Multiple sources
Music teachers		•		Multiple sources
Recording engineers		•		Speakers, monitors
Sound crews		•		Speakers, monitors

The above table was adapted from: Chasin, Marshall (1996). Musicians and the Prevention of Hearing Loss, Singular Publishing Group, Inc., San Diego, CA.