Portable music players are associated with high frequency hearing loss in children, found a recent Dutch study (JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2018; doi:10.1001/jamaoto.2018.0646). Children, aged 9 to 11, had their hearing tested through air-conducted pure-tone audiometry (0.5 to 8kHz) and tympanometry in an audio booth. The tympanometry was used to assess middle ear function. To measure the prevalence of portable music players, the researchers asked the parents of the children to report the average frequency, volume, and length of time spent listening to music from a portable music player by their children.
The study found that 14.2 percent of the children had high-frequency hearing loss or audiometric notches, with 1.7 percent having bilateral impairment. The use of portable music players by 40 percent of the children was significantly associated with high-frequency hearing loss independent of time and volume. This hearing impairment was seen before exposure to other known noise hazards, and the researchers stressed that the damage done at this age might have lifelong consequences.
"Even if all of the study participants used devices that conformed to the regulation, output limits on PMPs are an incomplete solution. Headphones themselves are not regulated and affect output level, and sound output danger is determined both by the sound level and length of listening time," wrote Kevin H. Franck, PhD, MBA, in an editorial published with the study.
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