Young people who have hearing losses, which they are still unaware of, tend to protect their hearing to a lesser degree than others. They are especially vulnerable on New Year's Eve in the surroundings of loud music and fireworks.

Bangs from fireworks can be very harmful.
"It is a fraudulent sound, because it's so short-lived that the brain doesn't register how strong it is. We perceive it as not so dangerous, but the ear can be damaged anyway", says Stephen Widén, researcher of psychology.
He is part of a research team at University West in Trollhättan, west Sweden, which for a long time has collaborated with American colleagues on studies of adolescents and risk-taking in loud environments. Previously the researchers have demonstrated that there are great differences between Sweden and the United States in this regard. Swedish youths protect themselves more often.

To protect or not protect
In a new study, the Swedish and U.S. researchers examined the extent to which various hearing problems affect young people's attitudes to loud sounds and risk taking. The survey was conducted on 258 American college students. Those who had experienced problems as tinnitus, hyperacusis and clearly noticeable hearing loss protected their hearing more often than others. The alarming thing was that there was a group of young people with positive attitudes to loud sounds, who had hearing losses which they were still unaware of. They tended not to use hearing protection. A small pilot study done in Sweden shows that the problem also exists here.

New suggestions
Perceived hearing problems seem to motivate young people to use hearing protection. The researchers behind the study therefore suggest that information campaigns on this should be supplemented. Young people should be shown what the sound of tinnitus is like and what it is like not to perceive what other people say.
It is necessary to protect your hearing from fireworks blasts, but there should be no need to use hearing protection at concerts according to Stephen Widén.
"I think that when you go out and listen to music, you should not have to put something in your ears. It is quite crazy really", he says.
Studies have shown that it is possible to use already available audio technology to spread the sound evenly throughout the room. Then you can keep within safe decibel levels, but still give the right feeling.

Reference:
Hearing, use of hearing protection, and attitudes towards noise among young American adults, Widen, Stephen E., Holmes, A. E., Johnson, T., Bohlin, Margareta, Erlandsson, Soly. I., International Journal of Audiology, 2009

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Latest update: 22 dec 2009