Fundamental Research on the Hearing Loss by the Use of Headphone Stereo

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At first, a preliminary questionnaire survey of noise-induced hearing loss by the use of headphone stereo was conducted, which was applied to high school students in Gunma Prefecture asking the frequencies, periods and loudness of the headphone use. The number of subjects responded to the questionnaire was 2, 311, 2, 010 males and 301 females. The result revealed that the students who heard the headphone stereo at louder volume were indicated more often by the others to have a lower hearing acuity.From the view point of the consumer health, it is needed to conduct an extensive epidemiological survey, as the portable headphone stereo has become so popular within relatively shorter time. The results suggest an increased threshold of hearing at 1, 000 Hz, though the hearing level was not measured in 1990. It is recommended to measure the hearing level at 4, 000 Hz, which is the most sensitive frequency of noise-induced hearing loss.Then, in order to evaluate the association between the use of headphone stereo and increase of threshold, 122 students in two colleges were measured of the hearing level. From the analysis, the authors could find no significant relation between the headphone use and the hearing level, which may be due to less frequent headphone use. There may be a possibility that the results reflected only a partial correlation. It is recommended that the evaluation should be made again adding the data of more frequent headphone stereo users.