Abstract

Background and Objective: The prevalence of hearing loss in Estonian youth, and their knowledge of how noise can affect hearing, has been unknown and unstudied. Despite having an effective newborn hearing screening system since 2004, Estonia does not screen for hearing loss later in life. As the number of people with hearing loss is always rising, according to the World Health Organization, and because extreme noise exposure is increasingly an issue for young people, this study was conducted to investigate how common hearing loss and hearing loss related symptoms are in Estonian teenagers.
Methodology: The study was conducted in 17 Estonian schools from 2019 to 2023, using a total of 946 participants, ages 14-16. Hearing levels were tested from 1000 Hz to 8000 Hz. Participants also filled in a questionnaire on listening habits and previous hearing/ ear problems, including how many hours per day they wear headphones/earphones to listen to music.
Results: While mean hearing levels were within normal limits for all frequencies, single sided hearing loss was higher at 6000 Hz and 8000 Hz (4.13% and 4.44% of participants, respectively). A small but statistically significant decrease in sensitivity compared to adjacent frequencies (the so-called Coles’ notch) was observed at 3000 Hz, indicating hearing loss due to acoustic overload. A hearing sensitivity decrease of >10 dB at 3000 Hz compared to sensitivity at 2000 and 4000 Hz occurred in 5.48% of the total sample. 69.45% of children found that the
sound at concerts is sometimes too loud, and 52.11% said the same of sound at cinemas, but only 15.9% of students admitted to having used or currently using earplugs or other hearing protection for loud sounds.
Conclusions: While hearing loss is not too common in the sample here, the effects of noise exposure can be observed. Sustained daily usage of headphones and the high occurrence of tinnitus and noise sensitivity is worrisome. Knowledge surrounding noise induced hearing loss and what effects noise can have on our everyday lives is still lacking among Estonian youth.