Correlation between Hearing Thresholds and Habitual use of Headphones/Earphones among Students of Tertiary Institutions in Northwestern Nigeria

Abstract

Background: There has been ongoing concern that prolonged use of
headphones/earphones that amplify the sound intensity can lead to noise
induced hearing loss. This study therefore aimed at determining the correlation
between hearing thresholds and habitual usage of headphones/earphones
among undergraduates of tertiary institutions in Northwestern Nigeria.
Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted on young adults, who are
undergraduate students of tertiary institutions, to assess the hearing thresholds
of individuals who frequently use headphones or earphones. Ethical clearance
was obtained, and participants who met specific criteria were selected. Amultistage sampling technique was used, and 272 participants (representing 544 ears)
with equal number of controls were recruited. They completed questionnaires
and underwent otoscopic examination and pure tone audiometry (PTA). Those
having wax or foreign bodies in the ears had it removed before performing PTA.
The data was recorded and analyzed using SPSS version 20. Frequency tables
and variable relationships were examined to determine significance, which was
set at a p-value of <0.05.
Result: The study involved 272 users of headphones/earphones (representing
544 ears) and an equal number of age- and sex-matched controls. The
participants' ages ranged between 18 and 33, with 50.4% being male. The pure
tone average among the headphones/earphones users and the controls ranged
from 11.0 – 43.8dB, with a mean of 20.2±6.0 and 10.6 – 43.2dB, with a mean of
19.6 ± 4.5, respectively. More than half, 280/544 ears (51.5%) of the participants
used headphones/earphones for over 4 years, and of these, 222/280 ears (79.3%)
used them for 1 – 4 hours daily. Moderate volume was the preferred listening
mode for 63.2% of the users. A moderate positive correlation was observed
between hearing thresholds and hours of headphone/earphone use, and a weak
positive correlation between hearing thresholds and preferred level of loudness
(r = 0.290, p < 0.0001) while no correlation was found between hearing
threshold and long-term use (r = 0.003, p = 0.937).
Conclusion: This study suggests that individuals who use headphones or
earphones for prolonged periods of listening hours daily or at higher listening
levels tend to have poorer hearing thresholds.