Hearing in young adults. Part I: The effects of attitudes and beliefs toward noise, hearing loss, and hearing protector devices

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Abstract

There is great concern regarding the development of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) in youth caused by high sound levels during various leisure activities. Health-orientated behavior of young adults might be linked to the beliefs and attitudes toward noise, hearing loss, and hearing protector devices (HPDs). The objective of the current study was to evaluate the effects of attitudes and beliefs toward noise, hearing loss, and HPDs on young adults’ hearing status. A questionnaire and an audiological test battery were completed by 163 subjects (aged 18-30 years). The questionnaire contained the Youth Attitude to Noise Scale (YANS) and Beliefs about Hearing Protection and Hearing Loss (BAHPHL). A more positive attitude or belief represented an attitude where noise or hearing loss is seen as unproblematic and attitudes and beliefs regarding HPDs is worse. Hearing was evaluated using (high frequency) pure tone audiometry (PTA), transient evoked and distortion product otoacoustic emissions. First, mean differences in hearing between the groups with different attitudes and beliefs were evaluated using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Second, a χ ² test was used to examine the usage of HPDs by the different groups with different attitudes and beliefs. Young adults with a positive attitude had significantly more deteriorated hearing and used HPDs less than the other subjects. Hearing conservation programs (HCPs) for young adults should provide information and knowledge regarding noise, hearing loss, and HPDs. Barriers wearing HPDs should especially be discussed. Further, those campaigns should focus on self-experienced hearing related symptoms that might serve as triggers for attitudinal and behavioral changes.

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Most cited references 45

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Evaluation of noise-induced hearing loss in young people using a web-based survey technique.

J Meunier, Dai Chung, C. Des Rochers … (2005)

Many adolescents and young adults consciously expose themselves to loud music for entertainment. We hypothesized that these individuals might not be aware that exposure to loud music could result in hearing loss. Furthermore, we wished to assess the feasibility of a web-based survey to collect health information from this group. A 28-question survey was designed to target adolescents and young adults. The survey contained questions about views toward general health issues, including hearing loss, and was presented to random visitors at the MTV web site. In 3 days, 9693 web surveys were completed. Hearing loss was defined on a Likert scale as "a very big problem" by 8% of respondents compared with other health issues: sexually transmitted diseases, 50%; alcohol/drug use, 47%; depression, 44%; smoking, 45%; nutrition and weight issues, 31%; and acne, 18%. Notably, most respondents had experienced tinnitus or hearing impairment attending concerts (61%) and clubs (43%). Only 14% of respondents had used earplugs; however, many could be motivated to try ear protection if they were aware of the potential for permanent hearing loss (66%) or were advised by a medical professional (59%). A majority of young adults have experienced tinnitus and hearing impairment after exposure to loud music. Fortunately, many of these individuals could be motivated to wear ear protection. This novel web-based survey technique rapidly generated a large database and is a feasible method to obtain health data from this group.

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Prevalence of noise-induced hearing-threshold shifts and hearing loss among US youths.

Elisabeth Henderson, Marcia A Testa, Christopher Hartnick (2011)

We investigated trends in noise-induced threshold shifts (NITSs), high-frequency hearing loss (HFHL), and low-frequency hearing loss (LFHL). A total of 4310 adolescents 12 to 19 years of age completed audiometric testing during National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys in 1988-1994 and 2005-2006. NITS criteria were audiometric patterns of decreased 3- to 6-kHz thresholds but preserved 0.5- to 1-kHz and 8-kHz thresholds; HFHL and LFHL criteria were high and low pure-tone averages, respectively, of >15 dB HL. There were no significant increases in NITSs (odds ratio [OR]: 0.81 [95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.53-1.22]; P = .29), HFHL (OR: 1.21 [95% CI: 0.87-1.69]; P = .25), or LFHL (OR: 1.37 [95% CI: 0.77-2.45]; P = .28) between survey periods. However, a significant increase in the prevalence of NITSs occurred among female youths (11.6% [95% CI: 9.0%-14.1%] vs 16.7% [95% CI: 13.2%-20.3%]; P < .0001). The overall prevalence of exposure to loud noise or listening to music through headphones in the previous 24 hours increased from 19.8% (95% CI: 17.6%-22.1%) to 34.8% (95% CI: 31.0%-38.5%; P < .0001). In 2005-2006, female youths had a similar prevalence of exposure to recreational noise (23.6% [95% CI: 19.6%-27.6%] vs 27.7% [95% CI: 23.6%-31.8%]; P < .0001) and a lower prevalence of hearing-protection use (3.4% [95% CI: 1.6%-5.3%] vs 10.3% [95% CI: 7.3%-13.2%]; P < .0001) compared with male youths. Increased exposure to recreational noise and minimal use of hearing protection might have lead to an increase in NITS prevalence among female youths.

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Self-reported tinnitus and noise sensitivity among adolescents in Sweden.

S E Olsen Widén, S I Erlandsson (2015)

It seems to be a common opinion among researchers within the field of audiology that the prevalence of tinnitus will increase as a consequence of environmental factors, for example exposure to loud noise. Young people are exposed to loud sounds, more than any other age group, especially during leisure time activities, i.e. at pop concerts, discotheques and gyms. A crucial factor for the prevention of hearing impairments and hearing-related symptoms in the young population is the use of hearing protection. The focus of the present study is use of hearing protection and self-reported hearing-related symptoms, such as tinnitus and noise sensitivity in a young population of high-school students (N=1285), aged 13 to 19 years. The results show that the prevalence of permanent tinnitus and noise sensitivity, reported in the total group, was 8.7% and 17.1% respectively. Permanent tinnitus was not significantly related to level of socio-economic status, but age-related differences in the prevalence rates of experienced tinnitus and noise sensitivity were found to be significant. Older students reported such symptoms to a greater extent than younger students did. Those who reported tinnitus and other hearing-related symptoms protected their hearing to the highest extent and were the ones most worried.

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Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Noise Health

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Noise Health

Journal ID (publisher-id): NH

Title: Noise & Health

Publisher: Medknow Publications & Media Pvt Ltd (India )

ISSN (Print): 1463-1741

ISSN (Electronic): 1998-4030

Publication date (Print): Sep-Oct 2015

Volume: 17

Issue: 78

Pages: 237-244

Affiliations

[1 ] Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

[2 ] Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

[3 ] Department of Communication Pathology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

Author notes

Address for correspondence: Dr. Hannah Keppler, De Pintelaan 185, 2P1, Ghent - 9000, Belgium. E-mail: hannah.keppler@ 123456ugent.be

Article

Publisher ID: NH-17-237

DOI: 10.4103/1463-1741.165024

PMC ID: 4900495

PubMed ID: 26356365

SO-VID: 17f84b0c-87c8-4a8f-b3b4-d5628cd06e38

License:

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as the author is credited and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms.

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