On the occasion of World Hearing Day, the Schulich School of Music of McGill University and the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology (CIRMMT) are pleased to announce the launch of their Hearing Care Platform (HCP). Conceived in partnership with the NSERC-EERS Industrial Research Chair in In-Ear Technologies (CRITIAS) at the École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS), this project is designed to assess the noise exposure experienced by McGill music students.

While a pilot program with music students will begin in October 2020, the HCP’s measuring kiosk is now accessible to all students. Using their own listening devices and playlists, participants are asked to place their headphones on the artificial ears of a mannequin’s head. After answering a series of questions on a tablet, listening levels are assessed, and personalized information on hearing care is provided to the participant.

The kiosk is located on the fourth floor of the Elizabeth Wirth Music Building in the Marvin Duchow Music Library. (The library entrance is on the third floor.) Operating hours follow the library schedule.

A Workshop on user centred design in hearing care communication was held on December 13th 2018. A round table focused on the design principles of the two apps that are part of the platform. Particular attention was paid to the communication strategies aimed at promoting hearing care and preventing noise induced hearing loss.