A January 2011 public health study has revealed that girls are as equally vulnerable to experiencing a certain type of hearing damage as boys. While this may not be considered news to most people who see both teenage boys and girls almost permanently wearing earphones plugged into mobile phones or MP3 players with an obvious sound leakage indicating high volume settings, but the survey results show that 1 in 6 are suffering some form of noise induced hearing loss.

Research was conducted into three types of hearing loss: low-frequency, high-frequency and mid-range, known as noise-induced hearing-threshold shifts (NITS). Impairment at any of the three levels can have an effect on hearing, particulary sounds from the human voice or other sources at the different registers.

While there appeared to be no change from previous studies in the prevalence of all three types of hearing loss, the results on this occasion revealed that teenage girls had experienced an increase from 12 per cent to 17 per cent in the rate of NITS (mid range frequency) since the last survey conducted between 2005-6.

Past research into industrial deafness tended to find key differences between the adult male and female in the workforce according to occupation, and it was always considered more likely that teenage boys would be more prone to hearing problems as a result of being more active in participating in loud music, sports or other potentially physically dangerous pursuits. However, increased use of portable music devices such as MP3 players, iPods and mobile phones may be a cause of the noted increase of hearing loss in girls.

According to the study, the number of teens listening to music via headphones or ear pieces during a 24 hour period has increased from 20 per cent in the late 1980s and early 1990s to 35 per cent in the last two decades.The findings suggest that around 17 per cent – or 1 in 6 – of both teenage boys and girls have impaired hearing, making it more difficult for them to register speech and some high-pitched sounds in the mid- to high-frequency range.