Real-Time Synchronized Measurement of Preferred Listening Levels: Effects of Ambient Noise and Music Genre in...

Portable listening devices are widely used in daily activities, exposing users to music under highly variable ambient noise, and potentially increasing the risk of music-induced hearing loss. Previous studies show preferred listening levels (PLLs) increase in noise and vary by genre; however, these factors have typically been examined separately under laboratory conditions without synchronized real-world measurement.

Fifty-one normal-hearing young adults used a custom Android application with standardized earphones. Participants listened to four music genres (ballad, dance, pop, and new age) across five everyday environments (on-campus, off-campus, library, gym, and cafeteria). The application recorded an average listening level as Z-weighted equivalent continuous sound pressure level (LZeq), peak listening level as C-weighted peak level, and simultaneous ambient noise as LZeq. Listening-level data were sampled every 1 second and transmitted to a secure server at 5-second intervals, allowing cross-validation with participant worksheets. Average and peak outcomes were analyzed using two-way repeated-measures analyses of variance (ANOVAs).

Ambient noise varied across environments, with the lowest level in the library (50.40 dB SPL) and the highest in the cafeteria and gym (73.03 and 72.05 dB SPL). Across all observations, PLLs ranged from 43.0 to 99.8 dB SPL, with the lowest mean in the library-new age condition (55.14 dB SPL) and the highest mean in the gym-dance condition (74.85 dB SPL), demonstrating substantial inter-individual variability. Repeated-measures ANOVAs showed significant main effects of environment and genre on average PLLs, with no environment × genre interaction, indicating that these effects were independent. For peak levels, both main effects were significant, and an environment × genre interaction emerged, suggesting context-dependent modulation of transient peaks.

In everyday listening, average listening levels increased in noisier environments and differed across music genres, whereas peak levels reflected a context-dependent interaction between environment and genre. Real-time synchronized monitoring may help characterize everyday listening exposure and inform context-aware safe-listening strategies.