.Institute of Hygiene, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, 81499 Bratislava, Slovakia.
.Institute of Medical Physics, Biophysics, Informatics and Telemedicine, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, Sasinkova 2, 81372 Bratislava, Slovakia.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Jan 2;17(1):324. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17010324.
Social noise exposure is currently an emerging problem in adolescents and young adults. Various leisure time activities may be responsible for hearing impairment (temporary or permanent hearing threshold shift or hearing loss). The study aimed to quantify environmental noise from various sources-voluntary (social) noise (personal music players (PMPs), high-intensity noise exposure events), and road traffic noise and to detect hearing disorders in relation to individual listening to PMPs in the sample of young adults living and studying in Bratislava, the capital city of Slovakia.
The study included 1003 university students (306 men and 697 women, average age 23.1 ± 2) living in Bratislava for 4 or more years; 347 lived in the student housing facility exposed to road traffic noise (L = 67.6 dB) and 656 in the control one (L = 53.4 dB). Respondents completed a validated ICBEN 5-grade scale "noise annoyance questionnaire". In the exposed group a significant source of annoyance was road traffic noise ( < 0.001), noise from entertainment facilities ( < 0.001), industrial noise ( < 0.001), and noise from neighboring flats ( = 0.003). The exposure to PMPs was objectified by the conversion of the subjective evaluation of the volume setting and duration. With the cooperation of the Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT)specialist, we arranged audiometric examinations on the pilot sample of 41 volunteers.
From the total sample of respondents, 79.2% reported the use of a PMP in the course of the last week, and the average time was 285 minutes. There was a significant difference in PMP use between the road traffic noise-exposed (85.6%) and the control group (75.8%) ( = 0.01). Among PMP users 30.7% exceeded the lower action value (LAV) for industry (L = 80 dB). On a pilot sample of volunteers ( = 41), audiometry testing was performed indicating a hearing threshold shift at higher frequencies in 22% of subjects.
The results of the study on a sample of young healthy individuals showed the importance of exposure to social noise as well as to road traffic noise and the need for prevention and intervention.
社交噪声暴露目前是青少年和年轻人的一个新兴问题。各种休闲活动可能导致听力损伤（暂时或永久性听阈移或听力损失）。本研究旨在量化来自各种来源的环境噪声——自愿（社交）噪声（个人音乐播放器 (PMPs)、高强度噪声暴露事件）和道路交通噪声，并检测与年轻人样本中个人使用 PMPs 相关的听力障碍，该样本居住和在斯洛伐克首都布拉迪斯拉发学习。
该研究包括 1003 名居住在布拉迪斯拉发 4 年或以上的大学生（306 名男性和 697 名女性，平均年龄 23.1 ± 2 岁）；347 人居住在暴露于道路交通噪声的学生宿舍设施中（L = 67.6 dB），656 人居住在对照宿舍中（L = 53.4 dB）。受访者完成了经过验证的 ICBEN 5 级量表“噪声烦恼问卷”。在暴露组中，一个显著的烦恼来源是道路交通噪声（<0.001）、娱乐设施噪声（<0.001）、工业噪声（<0.001）和相邻公寓噪声（= 0.003）。通过将音量设置和持续时间的主观评估转化为客观评估，来量化 PMP 的暴露情况。在耳鼻喉科（ENT）专家的合作下，我们对 41 名志愿者的试点样本进行了听力测试。
在总样本受访者中，79.2%的人报告在过去一周内使用过 PMP，平均时间为 285 分钟。暴露于道路交通噪声的人群（85.6%）与对照组（75.8%）之间的 PMP 使用情况存在显著差异（= 0.01）。在 PMP 用户中，30.7%的人超过了工业的下限行动值（LAV）（L = 80 dB）。在志愿者的试点样本（= 41）中，听力测试显示 22%的受试者高频听力阈值发生了转移。
对年轻健康个体样本的研究结果表明，社交噪声以及道路交通噪声的暴露程度非常重要，需要进行预防和干预。
