Attitudes to noise and behaviour towards hearing protection among Pasifika university students in New Zealand

Abstract

It is estimated that 1.1 billion young people worldwide are at risk of hearing loss due to high levels of noise exposure. Hearing loss can contribute to low self-esteem, poor employment prospects and social problems. The aim of this research was to explore the attitudes and beliefs towards noise, hearing loss and hearing protection among Pasifika university students in New Zealand. 96 Pasifika students completed the Youth Attitude to Noise Scale (YANS) and Beliefs About Hearing Protection and Hearing Loss (BAHPHL) questionnaire electronically using a Qualtrics survey. The findings show that the study sample had higher mean scores in the BAHPHL scales related to susceptibility to hearing loss, severity of hearing loss, and benefits of preventive action compared to findings of similar international research. This implies that Pasifika participants had more positive beliefs than their international peers on some factors. Despite their greater awareness, the Pasifika sample had similarly poor attitudes related to minimising loud sounds in the daily environment, perceived barriers towards prevention, behavioural intention and social norms towards hearing conservation. This study provides a good foundation to develop a culturally appropriate hearing conservation intervention aimed at improving hearing-health outcomes among young Pasifika people.

Personal Listening Device Use and Attitude to Noise in Relation to Depression and Anxiety among Medical Students

“…The YANS score in our study was slightly lower than those reported from Brazilian young adults[ 33 ] and New Zealand students[ 34 ], but higher than the mean entire YANS score in Belgium. [ 18 ] In our study, females had more difficulties concentrating in noisy environments compared to males, which is consistent with other studies.…”

“…[ 35 ] Concerning the attitudes toward daily noises, earlier studies showed more negative attitudes of boys compared to girls. [ 33 ] However, this finding was not confirmed in our study. We show that students who find it difficult to concentrate in noisy environments are more prone to depression.…”

Understanding Attitudes, Beliefs, Behaviors, and Barriers to Hearing Loss Care Among Hispanic Adults and Caregivers

“…The stigmatization in the Hispanic community could be explained by the negative colloquial connotation of sordo (deaf) for HL (Marrone et al, 2017). In a study conducted at Pasifika University in New Zealand, students' knowledge of HL was measured (Reddy et al, 2021), and researchers found that most of the students had great knowledge and awareness of the risks and consequences of HL but held poor attitudes when discussing measures to minimize noise exposure in their daily environment, such as discos, dances, concerts, and sporting events (Reddy et al, 2021). Similar responses have been reported among Hispanic construction workers, who refer that use of hearing protective devices was seen as a hassle or useless since they believed HL would not happen to them (Robertson et al, 2007).…”

Noise-induced hearing loss and hearing protection: Attitudes at a South African coal mine

“…This questionnaire has previously been used and validated in South Africa (Keppler et al, 2015 ) and internationally such as in New Zealand (Reddya et al, 2021 ), Colorado (Hickey, 2019 ) and Sweden (Svensson et al, 2004 ). In addition to the questionnaire’s internal consistency being previously investigated by Gilles et al ( 2013 ) and Keppler ( 2010 ), the results of a research investigation into the test-retest reliability of the BHPHL questionnaire revealed that there was no noteworthy association between the test and retest, and the variances in the scores of the BAHPHL questionnaire (as determined by Pearson correlation, p > 0.05) (Sofie et al, 2018 ).…”