Estimated Prevalence of Noise-Induced Hearing Threshold Shifts Among Children 6 to 19 Years of Age: The Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988–1994, United States

Abstract

These findings suggest that children are being exposed to excessive amounts of hazardous levels of noise, and children's hearing is vulnerable to these exposures. These data support the need for research on appropriate hearing conservation methods and for NITS screening programs among school-aged children. Public health interventions such as education, training, audiometric testing, exposure assessment, hearing protection, and noise control when feasible are all components of occupational hearing conservation that could be adapted to children's needs with children-specific research.