Music-Listening Behavior of Adolescents and Hearing Conservation: many risks, few precautions

Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is a significant social and public-health problem. Long-term exposure to high-volume levels will cause permanent hearing loss after 5-10 years. With the massive spread in the popularity of portable MP3 players, exposure to high sound levels has increased dramatically, and millions of adolescents and young adults are potentially at risk of permanent hearing loss by listening to their favorite music. In order to prevent hearing loss or to prevent any mild hearing loss to progress to more severe hearing loss, it is necessary to reduce exposure to high-volume sounds, including music. This may be induced through health education aimed at promotion of protective behaviors among the children and young people themselves, or through health protection measures. It is important that this is done step by step through careful theory-based intervention planning. The research as presented in this thesis reports on studies on adolescents music-related risk and protective behaviors, important and modifiable determinants of such behaviors, and ideas and opinions of experts, key persons and decision-makers on the possibilities for potentially effective strategies and interventions for the prevention of music-induced hearing loss in adolescents. In the project that this thesis reports upon a mix of qualitative and quantitative approaches has been applied such as a summary of the literature, focus group as well as individual interviews, a Delphi study, and a school-based survey.

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