Kids these days just aren't hearing the way they used to.
According to a study printed in the Journal of the American Medical Association, one in five teenagers suffers from some level of noise-induced hearing loss.
The study compared about 3,000 teenagers from 1988 to 1994 to about 1,800 children between 2005 to 2006.
The study showed that males were more likely to have hearing loss than females, and those from a poor socioeconomic status were more susceptible to noise-induced hearing loss than individuals from a higher social upbringing.
About 20 percent of the teenagers in the 2005 to 2006 age group showed signs of hearing loss, indicating a 31 percent increase in the prevalence of hearing loss among teenagers since 1994.
The AMA defines slight hearing loss as a 15- to 25-decibel decrease of sensitivity. Mild or worse hearing loss is categorized as any amount more than 25 decibels.
Although hearing loss is a preventable condition, many youth do not know they are losing their hearing as they inflict permanent damage to themselves.
A similar study by the University of Colorado at Boulder and the Children's Hospital Boston determined that up to 24 percent of adolescents listen to music at levels that are dangerous.
However, steps can be taken to prevent noise-induced hearing loss, according to UF clinical audiologist Shawna Dell.
A large factor in noise-induced hearing loss is cultural influences, Dell said.
For example, concerts, amplifiers, traffic, fireworks and portable music players all factor into the gradual loss of hearing, according to Dell.
"If they continue that behavior, they will lose hearing by adulthood," she said.
Using earplugs or earmuffs during loud activities is important to protecting one's hearing, she said.
The study, headed by Josef Shargorodsky of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, did not attempt to suggest a specific cause for the hearing loss.
Listeners can protect their outer hair cells from damage by turning down the volume on their music players, Dell said.
Another rule of thumb, according to researchers of a past UF study, is that if an environment is so noisy that people have to significantly raise their voices to be heard, that noise is ‘loud enough that it risks hurting your ability to hear.'
Once a significant number of those hair cells die, they stop growing, which damages hearing.
"It is a cognizant choice," Dell said. "You choose to expose yourself to noise. Prevention is the key."
