You Don't Care Enough About Your Hearing, Study Shows

The next time you hear that obnoxious ringing in your ears after a killer rock show, you might want to think twice about standing so close to those speakers, kids.

A new Web study has found that many adolescents and young adults have a clear disconnect between the notion that listening to loud music — especially at concerts and clubs — can lead to hearing loss, and that prevention (which can be as simple as using earplugs), can drastically reduce the odds of hearing impairment later on in life.

Nearly 10,000 young people completed the 28-question survey — posted at MTV.com over a three-day period — which included questions regarding their views toward general health issues. Hearing loss ranked as a big concern only among eight percent of participants, a low number compared to other health issues, including sexually transmitted diseases (50 percent), alcohol/drug use (47 percent) smoking (45 percent), depression (44 percent) and nutrition and weight issues (31 percent). The study was designed by the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (MEEI), Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health.

"It's ironic, because the kids want to listen to loud music because they like to hear it. But if they do it often enough, they won't be able to hear much anymore, so they won't be able to enjoy it," said Roland Eavey, M.D., director of Pediatric Otolaryngology at MEEI. "If you walk to the parking lot after a concert, you'll hear kids say, 'Man, my ears feel really funny!' For them, it's fun and not thought to be potentially serious, but if they [expose themselves] often enough, they'll start getting permanent hearing changes."

Notably, most respondents have experienced ringing in their ears (tinnitus), or significant hearing impairment after attending loud concerts and clubs. The most common symptoms that occur are a feeling of stuffiness in the ears, abnormal hearing and ringing in the ears, said Dr. Eavey, who explained that those effects are often temporary, but can eventually lead to longtime damage. Almost 13 percent of young patients, ages 6 to 19, have suffered from noise-induced hearing loss.

"What happens is that this is cumulative, and so little by little [your hearing] can go down and you might not even realize it. But if you wear earplugs, you can still enjoy the music and you won't lose your hearing," Eavey said. The doctor also noted that most musicians and sound technicians wear the plugs during shows. "They know how valuable their ears are, and they want to protect them," he said. By law, earplugs are also required to be sold at clubs in France.

Hearing Education and Awareness for Rockers (HEAR), a non-profit hearing information source for musicians and music lovers, aims to educate young people on the dangers of being exposed to excessively loud noises or music. As they state on their official Web site, "It's not cool when you can't hear." The organization, started in 1988 by musician Kathy Peck, has gained support from many rock and roll superstars, including Lars Ulrich of Metallica and Pete Townshend of the Who, who attributes a loss of hearing in his right ear to years of exposure to loud music onstage.

While only 14 percent of respondents said they have used protective earplugs in the past, up to 66 percent of those surveyed said they would be willing to wear ear protection if they were aware of the potential for permanent hearing loss, or were advised by a medical professional to do so.

Misconceptions about earplugs may stop some from taking advantage of the protection they offer. "People think that if you put plugs in, you won't be able to hear the music, which is not true," Eavey said. "It just filters out the loudness." Ideally, the doctor hopes that the use of earplugs will grow as a result of the findings, which will be published in the April issue of professional journal Pediatrics. You can check out the results on the publication's Web site.

"We hope this will bring a level of awareness about this to the MTV audience. They can take care of their ears by wearing earplugs, and that by doing so, it will no longer be viewed as something dorky," Eavey said. "We hope, in that respect, it will change the culture and become more natural."