The Journal of Pediatrics
Volume 152, Issue 3 , Pages 400-404.e1, March 2008

MP3 Players and Hearing Loss: Adolescents’ Perceptions of Loud Music and Hearing Conservation

  • Ineke Vogel, MSc

      Affiliations

    • From the Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
    • Corresponding Author InformationReprint requests: I. Vogel, Dept of Public Health, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, PO Box 2040, 3000 CA Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
    • ,
  • Johannes Brug, PhD

      Affiliations

    • From the Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
    • ,
  • Esther J. Hosli, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Prevention and Healthcare, TNO Quality of Life, Leiden, The Netherlands.
    • ,
  • Catharina P.B. van der Ploeg, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Prevention and Healthcare, TNO Quality of Life, Leiden, The Netherlands.
    • ,
  • Hein Raat, MD, PhD

      Affiliations

    • From the Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Received 28 December 2006; received in revised form 9 May 2007; accepted 5 July 2007. published online 22 October 2007.

Objective

To explore adolescents’ behaviors and opinions about exposure to loud music from MP3 players.

Study design

We conducted a qualitative analysis of focus-group discussions with adolescents aged 12 to 18 years from 2 large secondary schools (1 urban and 1 rural) for pre-vocational and pre-university education. The semi-structured question route was theoretically framed within the protection motivation theory.

Results

Most adolescents—especially male students and students from pre-vocational schools—indicated that they often played their MP3 players at maximum volume. Although they appeared to be generally aware of the risks of exposure to loud music, they expressed low personal vulnerability to music-induced hearing loss. Most adolescents said that they would not accept any interference with their music-exposure habits.

Conclusions

Interventions should target students from pre-vocational schools and should focus on increasing adolescents’ knowledge of the risks of loud music and how to protect themselves. Besides hearing education for adolescents and technical modifications of MP3 players, volume-level regulations for MP3 players may be warranted.

Abbreviations: PMT, Protection motivation theory

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 Supported by a grant (#2100.0107) from the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMw) Prevention Research Program. The work was done entirely independently of the funder.

PII: S0022-3476(07)00661-0

doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2007.07.009

The Journal of Pediatrics
Volume 152, Issue 3 , Pages 400-404.e1, March 2008

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