‘Unsafe listening practices’ harmful

PARENTS might need to be more aware of what their teens are getting up to as a recent study has revealed that over a billion adolescents and young adults are at risk of hearing loss due to what is called “unsafe listening practices”.

This was revealed through a study released by the BMJ Global Health Journal (an online journal dedicated to publishing peer-reviewed content relevant to those involved in global health, including policymakers, funders, researchers, clinicians and front-line healthcare workers).

The study named Prevalence and Global Estimates of Unsafe Listening Practices in Adolescents and Young Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis, was conducted by the health journal to look into unsafe music exposure caused by personal listening devices (PLDS) and loud entertainment venues.

The study focused on young people aged 12 to 34 years, where data was compiled from 35 records totalling more than 19 000 people. It found that 24% of people were listening to music at an unsafe decibel level, while 48% had been exposed to unsafe volume levels at live events.

University of Kwazulu Natal’s (UKZN), Dr Neethie Joseph, Academic Leader in the Discipline of Audiology at the university agreed with the study and said high levels of noise, exceeding guidelines on safe listening levels can result in damage to the inner ear causing permanent hearing loss.

“At first, individuals would experience temporary threshold shifts and tinnitus (ringing in the ears) which could subside over hours or days. If repeated exposure over time occurs this can become permanent and result in noise-induced hearing loss. This would affect listening in background noise and following conversations, and can be disabling. Noise-induced hearing loss has been described as if seeing through a frosted glass, but in terms of listening, lack of clarity when listening,” said Joseph.

She said as children were becoming more exposed to unsafe listening levels, studies were showing that there were changes happening in the inner ear structures, causing difficulty listening in challenging environments such as when there is background noise. “With time, this can put them at risk for serious hearing loss,” said Joseph.

She added that hearing loss was an invisible disability and could result in difficulty with communication, social isolation and lead to depression. “Noise-induced hearing loss cannot be reversed. It is important to protect your hearing. Do not take the risk of damaging your ears through high levels of sound which disrupts the fine balance cells of the inner ear which are important in coding and sending auditory information to the brain where sound is processed and understood. Prevention is always best,” said Joseph.

She advised safe listening practices at all times, adding that one should be able to have a conversation with someone at arms-length in an environment with background noise.

“Otherwise the sound is too loud,” said Joseph.