“There are more important things to worry about”: attitudes and behaviours towards leisure noise and use of hearing protection in young adults
Objective: Noise-induced hearing problems among young adults are increasing due to participation in activities where music is played at a loud volume. This study explored attitudes towards leisure noise, hearing protection, and perceived susceptibility to noise damage in young adults with no hearing...
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| Format: | Article |
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Taylor & Francis
2018
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49333/ |
| _version_ | 1848797975473553408 |
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| author | Hunter, Abby |
| author_facet | Hunter, Abby |
| author_sort | Hunter, Abby |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Objective: Noise-induced hearing problems among young adults are increasing due to participation in activities where music is played at a loud volume. This study explored attitudes towards leisure noise, hearing protection, and perceived susceptibility to noise damage in young adults with no hearing problems. Understanding attitudes and behaviours will assist with the future development of strategies to improve awareness and use of hearing protection.
Design: A qualitative study.
Study Sample: Four focus groups, with 28 adults aged between 18 and 35 years (6 male; 22 female; mean age 23 years).
Results: Using Framework Analysis, five themes emerged. Earplug use occurred when participants had experienced previous hearing damage. Others chose not to use earplugs because music venues are expected to be loud. Peer behaviours and opinions also had a strong influence over earplug use. A lack of knowledge of hearing related damage resulted in a lack of concern for hearing health and other health conditions taking priority.
Conclusions: The challenge is to present hearing health messages that are relevant and accessible to young adults. Music and entertainment venues must also take greater responsibility to protect the hearing of its customers by at least informing visitors of the dangers of loud music. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:12:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-49333 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:12:25Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-493332020-05-04T19:28:32Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49333/ “There are more important things to worry about”: attitudes and behaviours towards leisure noise and use of hearing protection in young adults Hunter, Abby Objective: Noise-induced hearing problems among young adults are increasing due to participation in activities where music is played at a loud volume. This study explored attitudes towards leisure noise, hearing protection, and perceived susceptibility to noise damage in young adults with no hearing problems. Understanding attitudes and behaviours will assist with the future development of strategies to improve awareness and use of hearing protection. Design: A qualitative study. Study Sample: Four focus groups, with 28 adults aged between 18 and 35 years (6 male; 22 female; mean age 23 years). Results: Using Framework Analysis, five themes emerged. Earplug use occurred when participants had experienced previous hearing damage. Others chose not to use earplugs because music venues are expected to be loud. Peer behaviours and opinions also had a strong influence over earplug use. A lack of knowledge of hearing related damage resulted in a lack of concern for hearing health and other health conditions taking priority. Conclusions: The challenge is to present hearing health messages that are relevant and accessible to young adults. Music and entertainment venues must also take greater responsibility to protect the hearing of its customers by at least informing visitors of the dangers of loud music. Taylor & Francis 2018-01-29 Article PeerReviewed Hunter, Abby (2018) “There are more important things to worry about”: attitudes and behaviours towards leisure noise and use of hearing protection in young adults. International Journal of Audiology . ISSN 1708-8186 (In Press) Noise-induced hearing problems; tinnitus; leisure noise; attitudes; earplugs http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14992027.2018.1430383 doi:10.1080/14992027.2018.1430383 doi:10.1080/14992027.2018.1430383 |
| spellingShingle | Noise-induced hearing problems; tinnitus; leisure noise; attitudes; earplugs Hunter, Abby “There are more important things to worry about”: attitudes and behaviours towards leisure noise and use of hearing protection in young adults |
| title | “There are more important things to worry about”:
attitudes and behaviours towards leisure noise and use of
hearing protection in young adults |
| title_full | “There are more important things to worry about”:
attitudes and behaviours towards leisure noise and use of
hearing protection in young adults |
| title_fullStr | “There are more important things to worry about”:
attitudes and behaviours towards leisure noise and use of
hearing protection in young adults |
| title_full_unstemmed | “There are more important things to worry about”:
attitudes and behaviours towards leisure noise and use of
hearing protection in young adults |
| title_short | “There are more important things to worry about”:
attitudes and behaviours towards leisure noise and use of
hearing protection in young adults |
| title_sort | “there are more important things to worry about”:
attitudes and behaviours towards leisure noise and use of
hearing protection in young adults |
| topic | Noise-induced hearing problems; tinnitus; leisure noise; attitudes; earplugs |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49333/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49333/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49333/ |