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Earplugs can prevent hearing loss from loud music: study

Xinhua, April 8, 2016 Adjust font size:

It might seem a little strange, but wearing earplugs to loud music concerts can be an effective measure in preventing temporary hearing loss, a study said Thursday.

The prevalence of acquired hearing loss has risen in past years. In the U.S., a survey found that the number of American adolescents with hearing loss has increased by 31 percent since 1988.

An explanation for this trend is the increase in exposure to recreational noise, such as visiting concerts, festivals, and nightclubs, where sound pressure levels can stay at 100 to 110 decibels for several hours.

In the new study, Wilko Grolman of the University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands, and colleagues randomly assigned 51 individuals attending an outdoor music festival for 4.5 hours in Amsterdam to earplugs or no earplugs.

The average age of the participants was 27 years and the the average sound pressure level experienced was 100 decibels during the festival.

After the festival, the proportion of participants with temporary hearing loss was only eight percent in the earplug group, compared with 42 percent in the unprotected group, the study found.

In addition, a lower percentage of participants had tinnitus in the earplug group -- 12 percent against 40 percent in the unprotected group.

"The present randomized clinical trial (RCT) adds proof to the scarce evidence and knowledge on this topic, which is a growing global problem," Grolman wrote.

"This RCT adds evidence that earplugs are effective in preventing temporary hearing loss during high recreational music levels. Therefore, the use of earplugs should be actively promoted and encouraged to avoid noise-induced hearing loss."

The study was published in the U.S. journal JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery. Endit