According to a new study conducted by House Research Institute (HRI) researchers, 72% of teenagers participating in a study experienced temporary reduced hearing ability following exposure to a pop rock performance by a popular female singer.

M. Jennifer Derebery, MD, a House Clinic physician, along with the House Research Institute tested teens’ hearing before and after a concert and presented the study findings at a recent American Otologic Society meeting and will be published in an upcoming issue of Otology & Neurotology.

The hearing loss that may be experienced after a pop rock concert is not generally believed to be permanent. It is called a temporary threshold shift and usually disappears within 16-48 hours, after which a person’s hearing returns to previous levels. However, repeated exposures to the same levels may cause permanent damage.

“Teenagers need to understand a single exposure to loud noise from either a concert or personal listening device can lead to hearing loss,” said Derebery. “With multiple exposures to noise over 85 decibels, the tiny cochlear hair cells may stop functioning and the hearing loss may be permanent.”

The decibel levels experienced at the concert exceeded what is allowable in the workplace, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). OSHA safe listening guidelines set time limits for exposures to sound levels of 85 dB and greater in the workplace. The volumes recorded during the concert would have violated OSHA standards in less than 30 minutes. In fact, one third of the teen listeners showed a temporary threshold shift that would not be acceptable in adult workplace environments.

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