"FORTE Fortissimo", the direction for musicians to play as loud as possible, may become a rarity in Dorset.

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, along with others from around the world, now has to abide by EU health and safety legislation to protect musicians' hearing.

The legislation is to protect hearing in the work place. It reduces the sound limit for prolonged exposure by five decibels to 85, the threshold for damage.

Anne Dolan, the BSO's head of local authority liaison, said: "It's going to be challenging for us, it's going to be challenging for the sector as a whole."

Cllr David Smith, board member for the community, who went to the BSO's performance of Beethoven at the pavilion last weekend, said the fact orchestras could be affected was "absolutely ridiculous".

Orchestras were given two years' grace to adjust to the law, and that period comes to an end in April.

A three-month consultation of orchestras by the Association of British Orchestras (ABO) ended this month as it seeks to work with the legislation in the best way possible.

Mark Pemberton, director of the ABO, said: "We acknowledge people can have their hearing damaged by noise. We are supporting orchestras so they will be able to adjust."

The ABO commissioned a survey of musicians that found half or more of players are affected, especially the brass and woodwind sections.

The problem was partly put down to new, louder instruments compared with the 1960s. Musicians also do not like using ear protection in case it affects their performance.

Trumpets can produce around 110 decibels and violins have registered 109. A jackhammer hits around 100 decibels from a one metre distance.

Composers like Gustav Mahler and Shoskatovich, who produced particularly noisy pieces, are said to be most at risk from having performances curtailed.

The decibel scale is like the richter scale because it is logarithmic. Increases and decreases are not to scale. A five-decibel decrease is an approximate 60 per cent drop in power.

Anne Dolan, said potential solutions include acoustic screens, careful positioning of musicians, including putting them at different heights, and mixing up quieter and louder works.

She said: "What we are not about to do is rid ourselves of the huge, wonderful and challenging symphonic works that have been performed for years.

"It's about a new framework and addressing health and safety issues at the same time."