MP3 player listening habits of 17 to 23 year old university students

Abstract

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.