Hearing evaluation in adolescents exposed to amplified music

The music is mainly seen as art and leisure and can bring many benefits on a teenagers education. It´s not just pleasant for hearing but contributes to the physical and emotional wellbeing, triggering feelings that can affect humor, memory, brain function (prefrontal cortex, reasoning) heart rate, metabolism, immunologic system and pain perception. However, besides of its benefits, when the person is improperly exposed to the music, the pleasure can bring unpleasant health effects. The amplified music industry and mainly by the popularization and by the rise of individual portable sound devices between the young people make the hearing loss, inducted by the exposure on high sound pressure level, an evident concern. The risks to acquire hearing loss are dependent on factors like the number of hours using the earphones and intensity. The quantity of sound intensity as well the period of exposure are determinant factors of the capacity to cause hearing harm. Although young people are accustomed to be exposed to high sound pressure level, they have no knowledge about the future harms that can be caused by exposure, and when they understand the risks, they not exactly know how to prevent those harms and how to protect their hearing. Thus, the objective of this study is to investigate the amount of information young people have about amplified music and hearing health as well to understand their hearing habits, investigate the prevalence of tinnitus and hearing changes on young people of both sexes and perform a systematic review of the studies regarding the theme. 59 teenagers have attended this study, answered a questionnaire about amplified music and hearing. The THI was executed for the subjects that reported tinnitus. They were submitted to meatoscopy, immittanciometry, tonal threshold and high frequency audiometry and logoaudiometry. The question raised during the review of the literature was answered by the results that showed that although young people have knowledge about the risks of amplified music and hearing, the information is not concrete and they show no desire to change their hearing habits. Although no hearing losses were detected, the results of the clinical studies, mainly by the audiometric curves, suggests future PAIM and the questionnaires revealed that the adolescents have prior information about the issue but even so, they still incorrectly use the amplified music which bring us to the conclusion that effectives and efficiency campaigns with complete information should be done to reach teenagers interests with the purpose to change their behavior regarding amplified music to avoid a future generation of deaf adolescents. (AU)