Awareness on excessive noise exposure, hearing protection and perceived symptoms of noise exposure among grade 12 students of a selected government school in the Colombo District

Abstract

Introduction: More studies have been conducted recently to address the growing concern of hearing loss among adolescents due to non-occupational noise exposure. Objective: To describe adolescents’ current awareness on excessive noise exposure, risky listening situations and perceived auditory symptoms in the Sri Lankan context. Methods: This was a school based descriptive cross sectional study. In a purposively selected school, study participants were selected using simple random sampling. Proportional probability sampling was used to select participants from each subject stream. Results were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: All participants considered excessive noise exposure as a cause of hearing loss. 71.4% comprehended that hearing loss due to excessive noise cannot be cured. Only 9.9% recognized that the usage of ear protectors was the most effective mode of hearing protection. Among different noisy situations, most frequently exposed situations included traffic noise exposure, usage of mobile phones and MP3 players. The most common exposure duration was less than one hour with 6-10 loudness range. Ear fullness and muffled speech were the most prominent auditory symptoms after being exposed to noise. Conclusion: Although all study participants were aware that hearing loss can occur due to excessive noise, their awareness on the usage of most effective hearing protection methods was considerably low. A hearing conservation programs for adolescents should be developed to address non-occupational noise effects on hearing and hearing protection. Schools seem to be the best place to begin the process of teaching hearing protection.