I first met Dr. Malyuk at the 2016 ICSOM Conference in Washington, DC. She gave a presentation on issues related to musician hearing health that was so impressive that I made sure I was first in line to meet her afterward. Over the next few months I discussed with her my desire to find a way to make sure as many musicians as possible could have high quality earplugs. With Dr. Malyuk’s help, the Orchestra Committee of the National Symphony Orchestra was able to set up a 3-day Hearing Clinic at the Kennedy Center, during which time she saw approximately 60 musicians from the NSO and the Washington National Opera Orchestra. Dr. Malyuk performed a hearing screening, took impressions for custom musician’s earplugs, and answered questions for each of those 60 musicians. Many of the players had not only never had custom earplugs made, but many also had never even had their hearing checked so this was an invaluable service. The fact that she was willing to do this in residence at the Kennedy Center meant that many more people chose to participate than would have been able to otherwise. Even those of us who have had custom earplugs made in the past by other audiologist were impressed because of her ability to focus specifically on the concerns of professional musicians. And since she is a musician herself she was able address concerns that aren’t always obvious to non-musicians. Overall, the Hearing Clinic was a great success and it’s rewarding to look out into the orchestra and see so many players wearing high quality, custom fitted earplugs for the first time in their careers. It was clear to all of us afterward that there is great value in having these sorts of services provided by an audiologist like Dr. Malyuk who has a real passion for musician hearing health.

Steven Wilson Bassoon, Orchestra Committee, National Symphony Orchestra