title: Effects of a hearing protection campaign on the discotheque attendance habits of high-school students.
abstract: This study investigated whether a hearing education campaign would prompt adolescents to display hearing-protective behaviour when attending a discotheque. A sample of 169 high-school students participated in the campaign. A questionnaire was administered to them before and 1 year after the campaign, asking for the frequency of discotheque attendance within the past 6 months, and whether they used earplugs in the discotheque. The percentage of subjects who went to discotheques more than 10 times within 6 months decreased from 34% to 24% after the campaign. The overall difference between pre- and post-campaign frequencies of discotheque attendance, however, was not significant. The percentage of subjects using earplugs in the discotheque rose from 0% before to 3.7% after the campaign. In essence, the campaign had little effect in inducing hearing-protective behaviour in adolescents when attending discotheques. The need for sound level limitations in discotheques is highlighted.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hearing Voice and Speech Disorders, University Hospital Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria. viktor.weichbold@uklibk.ac.at
authors.forename: Viktor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Weichbold
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zorowka
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000328:Adult; D004430:Ear Protective Devices / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006266:Health Education; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009146:Music; D009622:Noise / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires