Mor Rittblat MD MPH, Nir Tsur MD, Hodaya Etedgi BSc, Aya Ekshtein MSc, Maya Avni BSc, Oded Ben-Ari MD MHA
Background: Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is a prevalent hearing impairment, second only to age-related hearing loss. A change in the listening habits of adolescents may have contributed to the documented increase of hearing impairments in that age group.
Objectives: To examine the prevalence of NIHL among healthy young adults.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective study to examine audiograms of healthy candidates for the Israeli Air Force flight academy between 2018 and 2023. Hearing tests were performed by an expert audiologist using an audiometer.
Results: A total of 1940 audiograms were analyzed. The age range of the patients was 17–19 years. Using the British Society of Audiology classification, 174 (8.97%) audiograms and 313 frequencies were classified as impaired. The 8 kHz was the most affected frequency, accounting for 116 cases (37%).
Conclusions: Hearing impairment prevalence increased from 1% at entry into the education system to 8.45% at the end, respectively. Detecting hearing impairments early may minimize future disability and may reduce future disability and rehabilitation costs. Hearing screens for young adults due to the change in listening habits of adolescents may prove useful.