title: Subjective tinnitus and hearing problems in adolescents.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We investigated the hearing problems and tinnitus frequencies in adolescents at three public primary and two high schools.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study was carried out at three public primary and two high schools. 428 Turkish school children (244 girls, 184 boys) were asked to voluntarily answer a set of questionnaires in their classrooms at the beginning of the training program. There were 250 students (105 male, 145 female) in Primary School and 178 (79 male, 99 female) students in High School. We used questionnaire to evaluate subjective tinnitus and hearing problems. Walkman usage, listening loud and noisy music, intra-familial physical trauma, concentration difficulty in class and school success were also evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In age-related groups (Group 1=11-13 years; Group 2=13-15 years; Group 3=16-18 years), hearing loss was present in 32.1% of Group 1, 19% of Group 2 and 28.3% of Group 3. Listening loud and noisy music was reported in 81.8% of Group 1, 95.4% of Group 2 and 87% of Group 3. Tinnitus was present 36.8% in Group 2, 33.5% in Group 1 and 31.5% in Group 3. Tinnitus after listening loud music was present in 42.7% of Group 2, 36.1% of Group 3 and 25.6% of Group 1. Among all students with tinnitus, 19.5% considered their school success as very good, 41.1% as good and 39.4% as bad. In students, using Walkman, tinnitus was seen both in the right and left ears.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Tinnitus may be seen in adolescents at primary and high schools. Listening loud and noisy music and Walkman usage may cause an increase in the frequency of tinnitus manifestation. Adolescents should be educated about the hazardous effects of loud music. Education should include families, teachers, students, and whole community. These issues should be taken into public health policy of the countries.
authors.affiliation: Kirikkale University, Faculty of Medicine, Pediatry Department, Turkey.
authors.forename: Selda Fatma
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Bulbul
authors.forename: Nuray Bayar
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Muluk
authors.forename: Elif Pinar
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Cakir
authors.forename: Erennur
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tufan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education; D006311:Hearing Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D009146:Music; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014012:Tinnitus / Q000503:physiopathology*