Survey shows students cranking volume up loud risk hearing loss

Teenagers cranking up the music on headphones and other personal devices are being warned that they risk losing their hearing if they do not change their habits urgently.

Results from a new survey carried out by the National Foundation for Deaf & Hard of Hearing found many young people had the volume settings up far too loudly.

As a result, their hearing suffered, with 34 per cent of the 479 Year 9 students found to have “abnormal hearing”, meaning that their parents were advised to get them checked by their doctor.

That’s much higher than a World Health Organisation (WHO) estimate that 20 per cent of people aged between 12 and 35 suffer from hearing loss. That global figure was up by a third since the late 1990s.

Students from Auckland’s Rutherford College and Manurewa High took part in the Listen Up Screening Pilot programme; as did students from Picton’s Queen Charlotte College.

The results varied wildly, with 42 per cent of students found to have abnormal hearing at Rutherford (decile 5), 32 per cent at Manurewa (decile 1) and only 10 per cent at Queen Charlotte (decile 6).

More than a third of all those tested said they experienced ringing in their ears, which was possibly a precursor to tinnitus — 41 per cent of those with abnormal hearing and 36 per cent of those with “normal” hearing.

At Manurewa, 28 per cent of students tested said they listened to music at maximum volume for more than three hours a day. WHO recommends youths are not exposed to maximum levels for more than six minutes a week.