Over 1 billion youngsters at hearing loss risk due to headphones, loud music: Study
Washington (PTI): Over one billion teenagers and young people are potentially at risk of hearing loss due to their use of headphones and earbuds, and attendance at loud music venues, according to a study published in the journal BMJ Global Health.
The international team, including researchers from Medical University of South Carolina, US, noted that the governments around the world need to urgently prioritise "safe listening" policies to safeguard aural health.
"There is an urgent need for governments, industry, and civil society to prioritise global hearing loss prevention by promoting safe listening practices," the authors of the study said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that over 430 million people worldwide currently have disabling hearing loss, the researchers said.
Young people are particularly vulnerable because of their use of personal listening devices (PLDs), such as smartphones, headphones and earbuds, and attendance at loud music venues, amid poor regulatory enforcement, they said.
Previously published research suggests that PLD users often choose volumes as high as 105 decibel (dB) while average sound levels at entertainment venues range from 104 to 112 dB.
This far exceeds the permissible sound levels of 80 dB for adults and 75 dB for children even if for very short periods of time.
The researchers gauged the prevalence of unsafe listening practices among teens and young adults to create a global estimate of the numbers who could therefore be at risk of hearing loss.
They trawled research databases for relevant studies published in English, French, Spanish and Russian, involving 12-34 year-olds, and reporting on objectively measured device output levels and length of exposure.
The research included 33 studies, corresponding to data from 35 records and 19,046 participants. 17 records focused on PLD use and 18 focused on loud entertainment venues.
The researchers also estimated the number of people who could be at risk of hearing loss by considering the estimated global population of 12-34 year-olds in 2022 (2.8 billion) and the best estimates of exposure to unsafe listening practices from PLDs or loud entertainment venues.
The research indicates that the prevalence of unsafe listening practices from PLD use and attendance at loud entertainment venues is common worldwide -- 24 per cent and 48 per cent, respectively, among teens and young people.
The researchers estimate that the global number of teens and young adults who could potentially be at risk of hearing loss as a result ranges from 0.67 to 1.35 billion.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
