Music-induced Hearing Loss in Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Exposure to loud music has increased significantly because of the current development of personal music players and mobile phones. The aim of this study was to provide an overview of music-induced hearing loss and its symptoms in children.

DATA SOURCES: The search was performed in the databases Embase, Medline (OvidSP), Web-of-science, Scopus, Cinahl, Cochrane, PubMed publisher, and Google Scholar. Only articles written in English were included.

STUDY SELECTION: Articles describing hearing levels and music exposure in children were used, published from 1990 until April 2015.

DATA EXTRACTION: The quality of the studies was assessed on reporting, validity, power, and the quality of audiometric testing.

DATA SYNTHESIS: Data of each publication was extracted into spreadsheet software and analyzed using best evidence synthesis.

CONCLUSION: The prevalence of increased hearing levels (>15 dB HL) was 9.6%, and high-frequency hearing loss was found in 9.3%. The average hearing thresholds were 4.79 dB HL at low frequencies (0.5, 1, and 2 kHz) and 9.54 dB HL at high frequencies (3, 4, and 6 kHz). Most studies reported no significant association between pure-tone air thresholds and exposure to loud music. However, significant changes in hearing thresholds and otoacoustic emissions, and a high tinnitus prevalence suggest an association between music exposure and hearing loss in children.