Effects of leisure noise exposure on hearing during adolescence to young adulthood – results of 10 years OHRKAN cohort study

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of total leisure noise (TLN) exposure, with a focus on portable listening device (PLD) usage and noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) among adolescents, over a 10-year period. DESIGN: Questionnaire and audiometric data from three observations (O1, O3, O5) were included. TLN exposure was calculated based on self-reported duration from 18 leisure activities using assigned sound pressure levels (SPLs). For PLD exposure, SPLs were estimated from self-reported volume settings. NIHL was defined according to the 2001 Niskar notch classification. Associations between leisure noise exposure and audiometric notches were analysed using generalised linear mixed models (GLMM). STUDY SAMPLE: Closed cohort with 2148 school students who attended 9th grade between 2009 and 2011 in Regensburg (Germany). RESULTS: Increased audiometric notch prevalence was observed across all waves, as age increased (O1: 2.4%, O3: 3.7%, O5: 4.9%). No significant association was found between TLN or PLD exposure and audiometric notches, whereas audiometric notches were associated with wave, gender and education. CONCLUSION: The implementation of preventive measures at an early age is crucial to prevent early onset of NIHL. Additionally, identified risk groups should be considered.