Dataset Information

Hearing loss in Korean adolescents: The prevalence thereof and its association with leisure noise exposure.

ABSTRACT: The increasing use of personal listening devices (PLDs) has been accompanied by a rise in the prevalence of hearing loss (HL) in younger age groups. However, there have been few reports on the relationship between HL and leisure noise exposure (LNE) in adolescents. The purpose of our study was to investigate the prevalence of HL in students attending general middle and high schools and to identify factors affecting HL prevalence. A total of 2,879 nationally representative adolescents in the first years of middle and high school underwent audiometric testing and otological examinations, and completed questionnaires, from June to December 2016. A speech-frequency hearing loss (SFHL) was considered present when the pure tone averages (PTAs) at 0.5, 1, and 2 kHz were ? 15 dB and a high-frequency hearing loss (HFHL) was considered present when the PTAs at 3, 4, 6, and 8 kHz were ? 15 dB. About 17% of Korean adolescents exhibited at least slight HL. The prevalence rates of SFHL and HFHL in the poorer ear were 11.6% and 10.3%, respectively, among Korean adolescents. The use of local area network (LAN) gaming centers and an experience of being asked by others to lower earphone volume were associated with both SFHL and HFHL. It is important to avoid excessive LNE to prevent adolescent HL. Additionally, SFHL or HFHL in the poorer ear was associated with lower academic performance.

SUBMITTER: Rhee J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6319738 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Hearing loss in Korean adolescents: The prevalence thereof and its association with leisure noise exposure.

Rhee Jihye J Lee Dongwook D Lim Hyun Jung HJ Park Moo Kyun MK Suh Myung Whan MW Lee Jun Ho JH Hong Yun-Chul YC Oh Seung-Ha SH

PloS one 20190104 1

The increasing use of personal listening devices (PLDs) has been accompanied by a rise in the prevalence of hearing loss (HL) in younger age groups. However, there have been few reports on the relationship between HL and leisure noise exposure (LNE) in adolescents. The purpose of our study was to investigate the prevalence of HL in students attending general middle and high schools and to identify factors affecting HL prevalence. A total of 2,879 nationally representative adolescents in the firs ...[more]

PMID: 30608926

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Project description:BackgroundSouth Korea and surrounding countries in East Asia are believed to have the highest proportion in the world of high frequency hearing loss due to occupational noise exposure, yet there has been limited information published in international journals, and limited information for control of noise in local workplaces beyond strategies from western countries. We exploit medical surveillance information from two worker groups to enhance local knowledge about noise-induced hearing loss and explore the possible importance of shift work to risk.MethodsFour-years of hearing data were evaluated for 81 male farm machine factory workers and 371 male firefighters who had successfully completed a health examination and questionnaires for the duration of the study period. The averages of hearing thresholds at 2, 3, and 4 kHz were used as the primary end-point for comparison. Repeat measure analysis adjusted for age, exposure duration and smoking status was used to measure the difference in hearing threshold between the two groups.ResultsNoise levels were measured in the factory at a mean of 82 dBA, with a range of 66-97. No concurrent measurements were taken for the firefighters, but historic comparison values showed a wider range but a similar mean of 76-79 dBA. Although losses during follow-up were negligible, the factory workers had significantly (P < 0.0001) more hearing loss at the baseline of the study than the firefighters in both ears at 2, 3, and 4 kHz, adjusted for age, duration of employment and smoking status. Among those with 10 years of employment, mean losses at these frequencies among the factory workers fell into the impairment range (> 25 dB loss). Firefighters also showed increased losses associated with longer exposure duration, but these were significantly less marked. Losses at lower frequencies (< or = 1 kHz) were negligible in both groups.ConclusionsKorean work environments with continuous noise exposure in the measured range should consider implementation of a hearing conservation program. Further evaluation of hearing loss in workers exposed to irregular or intermittent high noise levels, such as firefighters, is also warranted.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Current data suggest that approximately 466 million people (5.0%) of the world's population have disabling hearing loss, therefrom, 34 million children, impacting their quality of life. To provide estimates on the prevalence of hearing loss on a national level, we reviewed the epidemiological literature addressing hearing loss in children and adolescents living in Germany as an example for a Western country. METHODS:We searched Medline, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, ScienceDirect and LIVIVO to identify published data. Furthermore, we manually searched websites of relevant institutions and journals not listed in electronically and searched for ongoing studies and/or not yet published data in clinicaltrials.gov . Study selection, data extraction, and methodological assessment were carried out by two reviewers. RESULTS:In total, 11 reports provided data with sample sizes ranging from 310 up to more than 14 million children and adolescents. Prevalence data were collected by interviews (self-assessments), using pure-tone audiometry or the international classification of diseases (ICD-10) coding and ranged from 0.1 to 128 per 1000 children. Although the estimate of the prevalence of hearing loss goes down, when the threshold was raised, generating a comprehensive and coherent set of estimates proved challenging owing to clinical heterogeneity including variation in age, the study setting, the definition of hearing loss and the assessment method. Moreover, representativeness (external validity) was often impaired owing to estimates lacking currentness (i.e., referring to former West Germany) or selected (patient) data and may not be typical for a more general population. CONCLUSIONS:In conclusions, this work raises public awareness of the high prevalence of hearing loss, highlights issues associated with epidemiological research and is of great importance for researcher and those who use epidemiological data to inform clinical and political decision making.

Dataset Information

Hearing loss in Korean adolescents: The prevalence thereof and its association with leisure noise exposure.

Publications

Hearing loss in Korean adolescents: The prevalence thereof and its association with leisure noise exposure.

Similar Datasets

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