MP3 player listening habits of 17 to 23 year old university students.
This study evaluated the potential risk to hearing associated with the use of portable digital audio players. Twenty-eight university students (12 males, 16 females; aged 17-23) completed a 49-item questionnaire assessing user listening habits and subjective measures of hearing health. Sound level measurements of participants' self-identified typical and 'worst case' volume levels were taken in different classrooms with background sound levels between 43 and 52 dBA. The median frequency and duration of use was 2 h per day, 6.5 days a week. The median sound levels and interquartile ranges (IQR) at typical and 'worst case' volume settings were 71 dBA (IQR=12) and 79 dBA (IQR=9), respectively. When typical sound levels were considered with self-reported duration of daily use, none of the participants surpassed Leq(8) 85 dBA. On the questionnaire, 19 students reported experiencing at least one symptom of possible noise-induced hearing loss. Significant differences in MP3 user listening patterns were found between respondents who had experienced tinnitus and those who had not. The findings add to a growing body of literature that collectively supports a need for further research investigating MP3 player user listening habits in order to assess their potential risk to hearing health.
McNeill
Kylie
K
Faculty of Social Sciences, School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6N5, Canada.
Keith
Stephen E
SE
Feder
Katya
K
Konkle
Anne T M
AT
Michaud
David S
DS
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000293:Adolescent; D005260:Female; D006184:Habits; D006317:Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008144:Loudness Perception; D055539:MP3-Player; D008297:Male; D009146:Music; D009864:Ontario; D018570:Risk Assessment; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult