Objective: To assess the potential risk of hearing loss to young listeners, due to the use of personal listening devices (PLDs). Design: The study included two parts: (1) A self-report questionnaire on music listening habits, and (2) Physical measurements of preferred listening levels, in quiet and in everyday background noise. Study sample: Young teenagers aged 13 to 17 years. Part 1 included 289 participants with mean age of 14 years. Part 2 included 11 and 74 participants (2A and 2B) with a mean age of 15 years. Eleven listened to PLDs in quiet conditions (2A) and 74 in everyday background noise (2B). Results: Questionnaire main findings indicated that most of the participants reported high or very high volume settings and demonstrated low awareness towards loud music listening consequences. Physical measurements corrected for diffuse field indicated mean preferred listening levels of: 82 (SD = 9) dBA in quiet, and 89 (SD = 9) dBA in the presence of background noise. The potential risk to heari...

Preferred listening levels of personal listening devices in young teenagers: Self reports and physical measurements

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between recreational sound exposure and potentially undiagnosed or subclinical hearing loss by assessing sound exposure history, threshold sensitivity, distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) amplitudes, and performance on the words-in-noise (WIN) test. DESIGN Survey data were collected from 74 adult participants (14 male and 60 female), 18 to 27 years of age, recruited via advertisements posted throughout the University of Florida campus. Of these participants, 70 completed both the survey and the additional functional test battery, and their preferred listening level was measured in a laboratory setting. RESULTS There were statistically significant relationships between hearing thresholds and DPOAE amplitude. In contrast, performance on the WIN was not reliably related to threshold sensitivity within this cohort with largely normal hearing. The two most common exposures included bars or dance clubs, followed by music player use. There were no statistically significant relationships between individual or composite measures of recreational sound exposure, including preferred listening level, years of music player use, number of reported sound exposures, previous impulse noise exposure, or previous noise-induced change in hearing, and functional measures including threshold, DPOAE amplitude, and WIN measures. Some subjects were highly consistent in listening level preferences, while others were more variable from song to song. CONCLUSIONS No reliable relationships between common recreational sound exposure or previous noise-induced changes in hearing were found during analysis of threshold sensitivity, DPOAE amplitude, or WIN performance in this cohort. However, the study sample was predominantly female and Caucasian, which limits generalizability of the results.

No Reliable Association Between Recreational Noise Exposure and Threshold Sensitivity, Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emission Amplitude, or Word-in-Noise Performance in a College Student Population.

Purpose This study examined listening levels and duration of portable listening devices (PLDs) used by people with diversity of ethnicity, education, music genre, and PLD manufacturer. The goal was...

Cultural and Demographic Factors Influencing Noise Exposure Estimates From Use of Portable Listening Devices in an Urban Environment

Purpose To estimate real-environment iPod listening levels for listeners in 4 environments to gain insight into whether average listeners receive dosages exceeding occupational noise exposure guide...

Listening habits of iPod users.

Dietary supplement comprised of ß-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, and magnesium: failure to prevent music-induced temporary threshold shift.

W ith the introduction of the Walkman by Sony in the late 1970s, personal music listening habits were forever changed, only to be supercharged early in this century by Apple’s iPod players. The proliferation of personal music players (PMPs) is a cultural change that raises concern because of the tremendous quantity of audio stimulation that users—especially children— can now regularly introduce to their ears. Much has been reported about the use of PMPs in the scienti c and trade literature as well as in the popular media. A Google search for the 12 months from January 2008 to January 2009 for the terms “warning music ‘hearing loss’” yielded 19,000 hits. Although a number of these hits represented measured information and advice, many included dire predictions such as this 2009 headline from News. Com.Au: “Experts warn of MP3 player hearing loss ‘catastrophe.’” The purpose of this article is to provide a factual basis to assess the potential risks of PMP use by offering guidance on how audiologists can accurately measure PMP sound levels to estimate realistically the risk of hearing damage. The sidebar and Figure 1 on page 15 summarize the potential risks of PMP use relative to other noisy activities for young people. Regardless of whether an audiologist chooses to measure earphone outputs, it is important to understand the relative risk of music listening so that clients may be counseled appropriately. Although PMPs may not be the bane of young people’s hearing, these devices can be played too loudly, too long, and too often. Indeed, studies indicate that most of these devices are capable of producing high sound levels (Fligor & Cox, 2004; Keith et al., 2008; Portnuff & Fligor, 2006). Investigations of typical PMP listening levels suggest that most users adhere to safe levels, although there is evidence that a small percentage do not. Some young people (estimates vary widely) play PMPs at sound levels of 85 dBA or greater especially when background noise is present, using higher volume settings with louder background noise (Airo et al., 1996; Fligor & Ives, 2006; Portnuff et al., 2009). One mitigating factor in the presence of background noise is earphone type. Listeners tend to choose lower output levels in noisy environments when using sound-isolating earphones (Fligor & Ives, 2006). Only a handful of studies have attempted to factor in PMP use times, which are needed to estimate eight-hour equivalent average exposures. These results suggest that about 15% to perhaps as many as 25% of users would be expected to have exposures equal to or exceeding 85 dBA on an occasional or routine basis (Airo et al., 1996; Portnuff et al., 2009; Williams, 2005). Of concern is that the rate of PMP use is on the rise. Average listening time has increased over the past 20 years, from about 40 minutes per day in the 1980s to an hour per day in the 1990s to two hours per day in this decade (Ahmed et al., 2006; Airo et al., 1996; Bradley et al., 1987; Felchlin et al., 1998; PasschierVermeer, 1999; Rice, Rossi, & Olina, 1987; Torre, 2008; Williams, 2005). Although hearing risk from PMPs may not be a widespread public health concern, further research is underway. It is important for hearing professionals to identify those individuals who are at risk by accurately measuring PMP sound levels to assess more sensibly the likelihood of hearing damage.

Susan C. Megerson

Papers

Personal Music Players: Are We Measuring the Sound Levels Correctly?