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CDC: Most adults do not consistently protect hearing at loud events
More than 80% of adults said they never or seldom used hearing protection devices at loud entertainment or athletic events, according to findings published in MMWR.
“In addition to the known risk for hearing damage, nonauditory adverse health outcomes and health risks from excessive environmental sound exposure can include effects on the cardiovascular system, metabolism, blood pressure, body weight, cognition, sleep, mental health, quality of life, and overall well-being,” John Eichwald, MA, of the CDC’s National Center for Environment Health, and colleagues wrote.
Researchers analyzed data from 6,537 adult participants of the 2018 SpringStyles online survey regarding their frequency of using ear muffs or ear plugs at loud, recreational events. They found:
- 81.84% never or seldom used such devices;
- 10.08% used such devices some or about half the time; and
- 8.08% used a hearing protection device always or most of the time.
Eichwald and colleagues also reported that college-educated adults and those who were hearing-impaired or had a member of their household who was hearing-impaired were significantly more likely to use hearing protection devices. Conversely, women and older adults were less likely to use them.
“These findings suggest a need to strengthen a public health focus on the adverse health effects of excessive noise exposure at home and in recreational settings as well as a need for continued efforts to raise public awareness about the protective value of [hearing protection devices],” researchers wrote. – by Janel Miller
Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.