The World Health Organisation recently published “Hearing loss due to recreational exposure to loud sounds – A review”, produced to support their ‘Make Listening Safe’ initiative. This initiative is in response to concerns over young people listening to personal audio devices at high volume for prolonged periods of time, as well as exposure to loud noise levels in entertainment venues.
The review summarises the current evidence-base for leisure noise exposure, drawing on over 200 peer-reviewed published research papers. The review also discusses strategies that might be implemented to prevent hearing loss in the future.
Dr Warwick Williams, National Acoustic Laboratories, an Australian Hearing Hub member, is currently active with the Make Listening Safe working group.
