Hearing and loud music exposure in a group of adolescents at the ages of 14-15 and retested at 17-18

Abstract

Young people expose themselves to potentially damaging loud sounds while leisure activities and noise induced hearing loss is diagnosed in increasing number of adolescents. Hearing and music exposure in a group of adolescents of a technical high school was assessed at the ages of: 14-15 (test) and 17-18 (retest). The aims of the current study were: (1) To compare the auditory function between test and retest; (2) to compare the musical exposure levels during recreational activities in test and retest; (3) to compare the auditory function with the musical exposure along time in a subgroup of adolescents. The participants in the test were 172 male; in the retest, this number was reduced to 59. At the test and retest the conventional and extended high frequency audiometry, transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) and recreational habits questionnaire were performed. In the test, hearing threshold levels (HTLs) were classified as: Normal (Group 1), slightly shifted (Group 2), and significantly shifted (Group 3); the Musical General Exposure (MGE), categorized in: Low, moderate, high, and very high exposure. The results revealed a significant difference (P < 0.0001) between test and retest in the HTL and global amplitude of TEOAEs in Group 1, showing an increase of the HTL and a decrease TEOAEs amplitude. A subgroup of adolescents, with normal hearing and low exposure to music in the test, showed an increase of the HTL according with the categories of MGE in the retest. To implement educational programs for assessing hearing function, ear vulnerability and to promote hearing health, would be advisable.

Prevenção da perda auditiva no contexto escolar frente ao ruído de lazer

“…In the present study, as in previous ones, we observed that most adolescents used earphones (1,7,12,22) . These findings show the importance of educational/ preventive actions to help improve the awareness of adolescents to exposure to high-intensity music, as suggested in the literature (2,8,14,15,19,21,23) . Some initiatives have already been developed for the purpose of promoting and protecting the auditory health of school students.…”

“…Youths have been showing inadequate behavior regarding the duration of use and volume of portable music players, exceeding 1 hour/day at a strong intensity, thus leading to hearing risks (3,7,14,15) . Most individuals in this population are unaware of the damage that excessive noise exposure may cause to hearing (2,4) . The consequences that this exposure can cause vary from a temporary disorder to future permanent hearing impairment (1,13) .…”

“…Hearing loss caused by leisure activities with loud noise has been growing substantially in young populations (1,2,3) , causing concern among researchers (3,4,5,6,7,8) . Exposure to high sound pressure levels in leisure activities has been placing at risk the hearing of young individuals throughout the world.…”

Daily music exposure dose and hearing problems using personal listening devices in adolescents and young adults: A systematic review

“…In terms of effect size, there was substantive and significant hearing threshold deterioration in higher frequencies between 12.5 kHz and 16kHz (Peng et al, 2007). A longitudinal study by Biassoni et al (2014) also found significant hearing changes and positive large d values at frequencies from 0.25 to 16 kHz by comparing hearing threshold changes over a three year period with music exposure. In addition, similar results were obtained in the studies by Kim et al (2009) and Le Prell et al (2013), showing significantly worse hearing thresholds in participants who used PLDs for 5 years or more than for those who had less experience of using PLD.…”

Epidemiology and Risk Factors for Leisure Noise-Induced Hearing Damage in Flemish Young Adults

“…[232425262728] To estimate a realistic risk of NIHL, those leisure activities that result in excessive noise exposure should be identified. [3] Although it is known that young adults participate in several leisure activities and that leisure habits may change during different phases of life,[68293031] previous research mostly focused on specific noise sources only. For example, leisure noise exposure from sources other than PMPs or from people attending nightclubs has mostly been neglected in other studies.…”