Association between leisure noise exposure and hearing status in young Croatian adults

Young people often use headphones or speakers and most visit noisy places recreationally. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to determine the relationship between exposure to recreational noise and hearing in 108 young Croatian participants aged 18-28 years. Hearing was assessed with audiometry and noise exposure by measuring the headphone volume to which each participant was accustomed while listening to music. Data on the daily use of headphones/speakers, visits to recreational noisy places, self-assessment of hearing, and health and demographics data were obtained with a questionnaire developed for this purpose. Mild sensorineural hearing loss was found in 5.5 % of participants (one man and six women). While all men reported their hearing as good, 13.9 % of women (n=9) described their hearing as average. Those women had significantly higher hearing thresholds than women who rated their hearing as good (p=0.036). Men spent significantly more time using headphones/speakers than women (1.9±1.2 vs 1.3±0.8 hours, p=0.002). Both men and women spent similar amount of time in recreational noisy venues, averaging 12.0 hours per month. More men used headphones at volumes exceeding 70 dB than women (52.2 % vs 27.7 %, p=0.009). Participants who self-reported hearing loss had significantly higher hearing thresholds than those who did not (p=0.036). Although we found no clear link between recreational noise and hearing loss, elevated thresholds in participants who reported hearing difficulties highlight the need for targeted hearing loss prevention.