Self-report and long-term field measures of MP3 player use: how accurate is self-report?

This study was designed to evaluate the usage patterns of portable listening device (PLD) listeners, and the relationships between self-report measures and long-term dosimetry measures of listening habits.

This study used a descriptive correlational design.

Participants (N = 52) were 18-29 year old men and women who completed surveys. A randomly assigned subset (N = 24) of participants had their listening monitored by dosimetry for one week.

Median weekly noise doses reported and measured through dosimetry were low (9-93%), but 14.3% of participants reported exceeding a 100% noise dose weekly. When measured by dosimetry, 16.7% of participants exceeded a 100% noise dose weekly. The self-report question that best predicted the dosimetry-measured dose asked participants to report listening duration and usual listening level on a visual-analog scale.

This study reports a novel dosimetry system that can provide accurate measures of PLD use over time. When not feasible, though, the self-report question described could provide a useful research or clinical tool to estimate exposure from PLD use. Among the participants in this study, a small but substantial percentage of PLD users incurred exposure from PLD use alone that increases their risk of music-induced hearing loss.