The contraction witnessed in the numbers of personnel in modern standing armies means that army musicians, when not playing dirges for dead prime ministers, are increasingly deployed in combat roles.

The occupational health department of the UKs Ministry of Defence thought that it was important to determine whether its musicians were experiencing hearing loss as a result oftheir day job.

A sampling of 84 musicians suggested that they were at no greater risk of hearing loss than thier administrative counterparts after 8-12 years in service, and that there was no difference between the various instruments played.

Source: Occupational Medicine 2013, doi:10.1093/occmed/kqt026.