1 in 5 teenagers has a hearing loss

1 in 5 teenagers has a hearing loss

One in every five American teenagers has a hearing loss, and the National Foundation for the Deaf fears the same applies to New Zealand teens.

Research published in the United States today shows the number of teens with a hearing loss has jumped from 15 percent to 19.5 percent in a decade – a 30 percent increase.

NFD Chief Executive Louise Carroll said today that while the hearing loss found in the surveys was relatively slight, it had implications for those teens’ education and social lives.

“The high tones, where the research found the loss to be, are essential for understanding speech in everyday environments,” she said.

“Given the similarities between teen cultures in the United States and New Zealand, we have to accept that the same sort of hearing loss is probably occurring here too.

“We also have to understand why this is happening. A 30 percent jump in a decade suggests a change in practice across teen society, and one potential cause has to be the way teens listen to music, particularly through MP3 players.”

The researchers at the Brigham and Woman’s Hospital in Boston looked at two separate surveys of 12-19-year-olds, done in 1988-1994 and 2005-2006. The results are published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The researchers found 14.9 percent of 12-19-year-olds had a slight hearing loss in 1988-1994, but that jumped to 19.5 percent of teenagers in 2005-2006.

However, the researchers also found there was a 77 percent increase in the number of teens with mild or worse hearing loss over the same period.

“We have to wake up to what we are doing to our hearing,” Mrs Carroll said.

“Too many of us dismiss hearing loss as an old person’s problem, and young people consider themselves bullet-proof.

“It is not just the volume people listen to music at, but the length of time they are listening that does the damage. The rule of thumb is 60 decibels for 60 minutes, but how many of us have sat in buses and trains and heard music coming from other passengers’ MP3 players?

“Damaged hearing is damaged for good. This research should be a wake-up call for everyone.”

(Ends)

© Scoop Media