The effects of personal listening device usage on vestibular function among healthy adolescents and young adults

Emerging reports show that personal listening device usage causes vestibular impairment. This study aims to investigate the effect of personal listening device usage on vestibular impairment.

Subjects between 13 and 25 years were recruited. Each subject underwent a personal listening device usage questionnaire and quantification of sound exposure level, followed by a series of vestibular tests. Statistical analyses were performed to identify the association between personal listening device characteristics, sound exposure level and vestibular function.

A total of 131 participants were recruited, with a mean age of 20 ± 2.55 years. The mean duration of personal listening device usage per day was 5.53 ± 2.76 hours. Noise exposure from personal listening device usage was noted to cause more saccular damage in adolescents. A correlation was found between the preferred listening level, the 40-hour equivalent continuous exposure level (r = 0.406, p = 0.029) and the latency right p13 among adolescents.

Sound exposure levels among adolescents are higher than among young adults. Personal listening device usage resulted in saccular damage among adolescents.