Acoustic injuries due to headphones among high school students

A survey was performed at 3 junior and 2 senior high schools in Kagawa Prefecture, in order to carify the use of headphones and the possibility of auditory damage due to headphones. Out of 2,217 students, 46.1% used “headphones”, including earphones and so-called Walkman-type headphones. Most of them used the headphones to listen to music. There was a significant difference in the incidence of cochlear symptoms between headphones users and non-users. In junior high school students, the incidence of cochlear symptoms was higher in those who had used headphones for more than four years and in those who used headphones for more than two hours per day. The extent of use correlated with the incidence of cochlear symptoms and the results indicate the possibility that acoustic injury could be caused by headphones.