Use Of Music Players Research Articles

A Looming Epidemic: Personal Music Player Use in Young Adults and Concern for Future Noise-Induced Hearing Loss

A Looming Epidemic: Personal Music Player Use in Young Adults and Concern for Future Noise-Induced Hearing Loss

Risk Factors For Hearing Decline From Childhood To Early Adolescence.

To identify risk factors of hearing decline between 9 and 13 years of age. The risk factors examined included sociodemographic, health, and lifestyle-related factors. This study was embedded within a population-based prospective cohort study from fetal life onwards in the Netherlands. Pure-tone audiometry and tympanometry were performed at the age of 9 and 13 years. The hearing decline was defined as an increase in low-frequency or high-frequency pure-tone average of at least 5 dB in one of both ears. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to examine the association of possible risk factors with hearing decline. The study was conducted from April 2012 to October 2015, and from April 2016 to September 2019. Of the 3,508 participants included, 7.8% demonstrated a hearing decline in the low frequencies, and 11.3% in the high frequencies. Participants who reported alcohol consumption were more likely to have a hearing decline in the low frequencies (OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.1; 2.0). Moreover, a lower educational level was associated with an increased odds of having a hearing decline in the high frequencies (OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.0; 1.8). Age, sex, household income, personal music player use, and body mass index were not associated with hearing decline. Educational level and risky behavior were significantly associated with hearing decline from childhood to early adolescence. The findings of the present study can help in the design of public health interventions to prevent hearing loss at a young age. 2 (prospective cohort study) Laryngoscope, 133:389-395, 2023.

No Reliable Association Between Recreational Noise Exposure and Threshold Sensitivity, Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emission Amplitude, or Word-in-Noise Performance in a College Student Population.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between recreational sound exposure and potentially undiagnosed or subclinical hearing loss by assessing sound exposure history, threshold sensitivity, distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) amplitudes, and performance on the words-in-noise (WIN) test. Survey data were collected from 74 adult participants (14 male and 60 female), 18 to 27 years of age, recruited via advertisements posted throughout the University of Florida campus. Of these participants, 70 completed both the survey and the additional functional test battery, and their preferred listening level was measured in a laboratory setting. There were statistically significant relationships between hearing thresholds and DPOAE amplitude. In contrast, performance on the WIN was not reliably related to threshold sensitivity within this cohort with largely normal hearing. The two most common exposures included bars or dance clubs, followed by music player use. There were no statistically significant relationships between individual or composite measures of recreational sound exposure, including preferred listening level, years of music player use, number of reported sound exposures, previous impulse noise exposure, or previous noise-induced change in hearing, and functional measures including threshold, DPOAE amplitude, and WIN measures. Some subjects were highly consistent in listening level preferences, while others were more variable from song to song. No reliable relationships between common recreational sound exposure or previous noise-induced changes in hearing were found during analysis of threshold sensitivity, DPOAE amplitude, or WIN performance in this cohort. However, the study sample was predominantly female and Caucasian, which limits generalizability of the results.

Association Between Portable Music Player Use and Hearing Loss Among Children of School Age in the Netherlands

Portable music player use may have harmful effects on hearing. The magnitude and effect of frequent music exposure, especially at younger ages, on hearing are unclear. To examine the prevalence of noise-induced hearing loss in a 9- to 11-year-old population and associations with portable music player use and sociodemographic factors. A cross-sectional study within an ongoing, prospective, birth cohort study within Rotterdam, the Netherlands was conducted. Between ages 9 and 11 years, 5355 children underwent their first audiometric evaluation. Children were excluded if they had missing or failed tympanometry results. The study was conducted from April 16, 2012, to October 25, 2015. Portable music player (PMP) use and sociodemographic factors assessed via parental questionnaires. Hearing acuity measured by pure-tone audiometry at 0.5 to 8 kHz. Possible noise-induced hearing loss was contingent on a high-frequency notch and/or high-frequency hearing loss in the audiogram, or reported hearing-related symptoms. The final sample included 3116 participants who were a mean (interquartile range) age of 9.7 (9.6-9.9) years and equally distributed between boys (1550 [49.7%]) and girls (1566 [50.3%]). Of these, 1244 (39.9%) reported no PMP use, 577 (18.5%) reported use 1 or 2 days per week, 254 (8.2%) reported use 3 or more days per week, and for 1041 (33.4%), PMP use was not reported. Audiometric notches and high-frequency hearing loss were present in 443 (14.2%) of all children; 140 (4.5%) fulfilled the criteria of a notch, 238 (7.6%) of high-frequency hearing loss, and 65 (2.1%) of both. Of the cohort, 52 (1.7%) showed bilateral impairment. Hearing-related symptoms were reported for 232 (11.3%) of the respondents, and 831 (40.0%) of the respondents used portable music players. Portable music player use was associated with high-frequency hearing loss (odds ratio [OR], 2.88; 95% CI, 1.36-6.980 for 1 or 2 days per week and OR, 2.74; 95% CI, 1.22-6.96 for ≥3 days per week), but listening time and duration were not. There was no association of music exposure with high-frequency notches. In this study, 14.2% of school-aged children showed audiometric notches or high-frequency hearing loss. This hearing impairment is already present prior to exposure to known noise hazards, such as club and concert attendance, and may have lifelong consequences. Repeated measurements are needed to confirm the association of portable music player use with hearing impairment in children.

Variation in Music Player Listening Level as a Function of Campus Location.

There has been significant discussion in the literature regarding music player use by adolescents and young adults, including whether device use is driving an increase in hearing loss in these populations. While many studies report relatively safe preferred listening levels, some studies with college student participants have reported listening habits that may put individuals at risk for noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) if those listening habits continue over the long term. The goal of the current investigation was to extend listening level data collection sites from urban city settings studied by others to a more rural campus setting. This was a prospective study. Participants were 138 students on the University of Florida campus (94 males, 44 females), 18 years or older (mean = 21 years; range: 18-33 years). In this investigation, the current output level (listening level) was measured from personal listening devices used by students as they passed by a recruiting table located in one of three areas of the University of Florida campus. One location was in an open-air campus square; the other two locations were outside the campus recreation building ("gym") and outside the undergraduate library, with participants recruited as they exited the gym or library buildings. After providing written informed consent, participants completed a survey that included questions about demographics and typical listening habits (hours per day, days per week). The output level on their device was then measured using a "Jolene" mannequin. Average listening levels for participants at the three locations were as follows: gym: 85.9 ± 1.4 dBA; campus square: 83.3 ± 2.0 dBA; library: 76.9 ± 1.3 dBA. After adjusting to free-field equivalent level, average listening levels were gym: 79.7 ± 1.4 dBA; campus square: 76.9 ± 2.1 dBA; library: 70.4 ± 1.4 dBA. There were no statistically significant differences between male and female listeners, and there were no reliable differences as a function of race. After accounting for daily and weekly use patterns, 5% were deemed at risk based on the criteria put forward by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and 9% were deemed at risk based on the guidance provided by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Some 5-10% of the participants were deemed at risk; this finding is consistent with other studies using similar methods. It is possible that the same listeners would have selected different listening levels in other noise backgrounds, however. This unknown variable makes it difficult to estimate risk with a single listening level measurement.

Importancia de la salud auditiva

A study is made on the exposure to noise, on its harmful effects and the current situation on hearing problems in young people due to the excessive use of music players and to the exposure to high levels of noise in discotheques. Information is provided about possible hearing damage in musicians, sound technicians, and disk jockeys.The Pedro Salesa Cabo Foundation is aware of this problem and is conducting an extensive study, together with Mutua Intercomarcal and the society Prevint, to evaluate the problem and its possible solutions. This study “Impacto sonoro de la música en sus intérpretes y técnicos” is supported by different audiological tests in the people affected.

Digital Music Exposure Reliably Induces Temporary Threshold Shift in Normal-Hearing Human Subjects

One of the challenges for evaluating new otoprotective agents for potential benefit in human populations is the availability of an established clinical paradigm with real-world relevance. These studies were explicitly designed to develop a real-world digital music exposure that reliably induces temporary threshold shift (TTS) in normal-hearing human subjects. Thirty-three subjects participated in studies that measured effects of digital music player use on hearing. Subjects selected either rock or pop music, which was then presented at 93 to 95 (n = 10), 98 to 100 (n = 11), or 100 to 102 (n = 12) dBA in-ear exposure level for a period of 4 hr. Audiograms and distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) were measured before and after music exposure. Postmusic tests were initiated 15 min, 1 hr 15 min, 2 hr 15 min, and 3 hr 15 min after the exposure ended. Additional tests were conducted the following day and 1 week later. Changes in thresholds after the lowest-level exposure were difficult to distinguish from test-retest variability; however, TTS was reliably detected after higher levels of sound exposure. Changes in audiometric thresholds had a "notch" configuration, with the largest changes observed at 4 kHz (mean = 6.3 ± 3.9 dB; range = 0-14 dB). Recovery was largely complete within the first 4 hr postexposure, and all subjects showed complete recovery of both thresholds and DPOAE measures when tested 1 week postexposure. These data provide insight into the variability of TTS induced by music-player use in a healthy, normal-hearing, young adult population, with music playlist, level, and duration carefully controlled. These data confirm the likelihood of temporary changes in auditory function after digital music-player use. Such data are essential for the development of a human clinical trial protocol that provides a highly powered design for evaluating novel therapeutics in human clinical trials. Care must be taken to fully inform potential subjects in future TTS studies, including protective agent evaluations, that some noise exposures have resulted in neural degeneration in animal models, even when both audiometric thresholds and DPOAE levels returned to pre-exposure values.

Evidence of hearing loss in a ‘normally-hearing’ college-student population

We report pure-tone hearing threshold findings in 56 college students. All subjects reported normal hearing during telephone interviews, yet not all subjects had normal sensitivity as defined by well-accepted criteria. At one or more test frequencies (0.25–8 kHz), 7% of ears had thresholds ≥25 dB HL and 12% had thresholds ≥20 dB HL. The proportion of ears with abnormal findings decreased when three-frequency pure-tone-averages were used. Low-frequency PTA hearing loss was detected in 2.7% of ears and high-frequency PTA hearing loss was detected in 7.1% of ears; however, there was little evidence for ‘notched’ audiograms. There was a statistically reliable relationship in which personal music player use was correlated with decreased hearing status in male subjects. Routine screening and education regarding hearing loss risk factors are critical as college students do not always self-identify early changes in hearing. Large-scale systematic investigations of college students’ hearing status appear to be warranted; the current sample size was not adequate to precisely measure potential contributions of different sound sources to the elevated thresholds measured in some subjects.SumarioReportamos los hallazgos de umbrales auditivos con tonos puros en 56 estudiantes universitarios. Todos los sujetos reportaron audición normal durante entrevistas telefónicas, aunque no todos tenían sensibilidad auditiva normal, conforme se define por criterios bien aceptados. En una o más de las frecuencias evaluadas (0.25-8 kHz), el 7% de los oídos tuvieron umbrales >25 dB HL y el 12% tuvieron umbrales >20 dB HL. La proporción de oídos con hallazgos anormales disminuyó cuando se usaron promedios tonales puros de tres frecuencias. Se detectaron hipoacusias con PTA en las frecuencias bajas en 2.7% de los oídos, e hipoacusias con PTA en altas frecuencias fueron detectadas en un 7.1% de los oídos; sin embargo, hubo poca evidencia de audiogramas con “muescas”. Existió una relación estadísticamente confiable en la que el uso de dispositivos para escuchar música se correlacionó con una disminución en la condición auditiva de sujetos varones. El tamiz de rutina y la educación en relación con los factores de riesgo para la hipoacusia se vuelven críticos, dado que los estudiantes universitarios no siempre auto-identifican cambios en su audición. Parecen justificadas las investigaciones sistemáticas a gran escala en estudiantes universitarios sobre su condición auditiva; el tamaño actual de la muestra no fue adecuado para medir con precisión las contribuciones potenciales de diferentes fuentes de sonido en la elevación de los umbrales medidos.

A Cognitive Constraint Model of the Effects of Portable Music-Player Use on Driver Performance

We describe an approach to modeling strategic variations in how people might select media content from an Apple iPod portable music player while driving. An experiment was conducted to determine the time required to select a target from a list using the scroll wheel on the iPod. It was found that a linear model accurately predicted the time to scroll through a list to a target. This model was then used in conjunction with a previously reported steering control model to derive a priori predictions for dual-task performance over the entire range of possible multitasking strategies. From this set of strategies, we then focused on identifying the fastest and the safest strategies for completing both a simple selection task and also a more complex selection task. It was found that the model predictions bracketed the observed human data from a recent study that investigated the effects of using an iPod while driving. Moreover, the analysis suggests that in order to compensate for the inherent risks of using devices that demand longer interaction episodes to complete a task, people might adjust their multitasking strategy by giving more time up to steering control while completing the secondary task.

Recreational noise exposure and its effects on the hearing of adolescents. Part I: An interdisciplinary long-term studyExposición a ruido recreativo y sus efectos en la audición de los adolescentes. Parte I: un estudio interdisciplinario a largo plazo

This interdisciplinary long-term study examined the effects of recreational noise exposure on the hearing of adolescents. Boys and girls (aged 14–17 years) were examined during a four–year period. Audiological, psychosocial, and sound measurements were performed yearly to determine the hearing threshold level (HTL) of participants in the 250–16 000 Hz range, their participation in recreational activities, and the sound levels at discos and through personal music player use. A tendency of the mean HTL to increase in both genders during the study was observed, especially at 14 000 Hz and 16 000 Hz. Boys had a higher mean HTL than girls. The participation in musical activities increased yearly, ’attendance at discos’ being the favourite musical activity for both groups. In general, boys were more exposed to high sound levels than girls. The equivalent sound levels in discos ranged between 104.3 and 112.4 dBA, and between 75 and 105 dBA from personal music players.