New Study Warns Over 1 Billion Young People Are at Risk of Hearing Loss Due to Unsafe Music Listening Practices

According to consequence.net millions of young people across the globe who listening to music are in danger of losing their hearing. A new study has ranged 670 million to 1.35 billion of teens and young adults who could lose their hearing due to unsafe listening practices.

The title of the research study is  “Prevalence and Global Estimates of Unsafe Listening Practices in Adolescents and Young Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis” and it is published by the BMJ Global Health Journal. The research study looks into the effects of hearing music through headphones, earbuds and watching live performances at venues such as arenas, theaters and bars.

This research study looked at other 33 studies that  have put together data from 35 records which totals to 19,000 young people at age 12 to 34. Out of the records 17 focused on personal listening devices and 18 centered on live music venues. Also the study found out that 24% of young people were listening to music on dangerous decibel levels on their personal listening devices and the 48% of the people were exposed to dangerous decibel levels at various live performances.

The global population of people in the age group of  12 to 34 is estimated at 2.8 billion and the  perviously mentioned  range of 670 million to 1.35 billion young people is estimated to be in danger of hearing loss.

This study has been a confirmed and updated in 2015 by  World Health Organization (WHO). The organization  have mentioned  that 1 billion young people are at potential risk of hearing loss from voluntary recreational noise exposure.

“Exposure to unsafe listening practices from voluntary use of PLDs and attendance at loud entertainment venues is highly prevalent in adolescents and young adults. It is estimated that 0.67–1.35 billion adolescents and young adults worldwide could be at risk of hearing loss from exposure to unsafe listening practices. There is an urgent need for governments, industry and civil society to prioritize global hearing loss prevention by promoting safe listening practices. WHO global standards, recommendations and toolkits are available to aid in the development and implementation of policy and public health initiatives to promote safe listening worldwide.” said WHO

For more information, including the exact decibel levels and other factors, read the full study here. Please take care of your ears when listening to music at home or at a show.