Noise sensitivity and musical background

Noise sensitive individuals have a predisposition to attend to sounds and to perceive them negatively. Noise sensitivity predicts noise annoyance. The aim of this study was to investigate if noise sensitivity is associated with musical background. A total of 197 participants were recruited in Finland (N=91; 44 men, 47 women) and in Italy (N=106; 10 men, 96 women). The age range was from 19 to 56 years (M = 28.57, SD = 7.93 for Finland; M = 24.71, SD = 8.01 for Italy). We administered questionnaires and listening tests both online and in the laboratory, focusing on musical background. Noise sensitivity was studied using the Weinstein's Noise Sensitivity Scale administered online. The subjects were divided into 3 groups according to their musical experience. The groups were non-musicians (N = 103), amateur musicians (N = 44) and musicians (N = 50). Non-musicians, amateurs and musicians did not differ significantly from each other in noise sensitivity. This finding hence does not relate noise sensitivity with a history of long-term exposure to music.