Effect of Sound Preference on Loudness Tolerance and Preferred Listening Levels Using Personal Listening Devices
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Participants
2.2. Procedures
3. Results
3.1. Normal Hearing Compared to Hearing Loss
3.2. Repeated Measures ANOVA
3.3. Main Effect of Condition
3.4. Main Effect of Sound Preference Category
3.5. Interaction Between Condition and Sound Preference Category
3.5.1. Interaction Between Condition and LTL
3.5.2. Interaction Between Condition and PLL
3.5.3. LTLs Compared to PLLs
4. Discussion
4.1. LTLs
4.2. PLLs
4.3. Implications for Hearing Health Counseling
4.4. Strengths and Limitations
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
Abbreviations
PLD | Personal listening device |
LTL | Loudness tolerance level |
PLL | Preferred listening level |
ANL | acceptable noise level |
dB | Decibel |
HL | Hearing level |
Hz | Hertz |
WHO | World Health Organization |
SD | Standard deviation |
References
- National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Noise-Induced Hearing Loss. Available online: https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/noise-induced-hearing-loss#2 (accessed on 20 May 2025).
- World Health Organization. Safe Listening Devices and Systems: A WHO-ITU Standard. Available online: https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/280085/9789241515276-eng.pdf (accessed on 20 May 2025).
- World Health Organization. World Report on Hearing. Available online: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240020481 (accessed on 20 May 2025).
- Dillard, L.K.; Arunda, M.O.; Lopez-Perez, L.; Martinez, R.X.; Jiménez, L.; Chadha, S. Prevalence and Global Estimates of Unsafe Listening Practices in Adolescents and Young Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta- Analysis. BMJ Glob. Health 2022, 7, e010501. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Punch, J.L.; Hitt, R.; Smith, S.W. Hearing Loss and Quality of Life. J. Commun. Disord. 2019, 78, 33–45. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Hussain, T.; Chou, C.; Zettner, E.; Torre, P.; Hans, S.; Gauer, J.; Markgraf, M.; Nguyen, Q.T. Early Indication of Noise-Induced Hearing Loss in Young Adult Users of Personal Listening Devices. Ann. Otol. Rhinol. Laryngol. 2018, 127, 703–709. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Jiang, W.; Zhao, F.; Guderley, N.; Manchaiah, V. Daily Music Exposure Dose and Hearing Problems Using Personal Listening Devices in Adolescents and Young Adults: A Systematic Review. Int. J. Audiol. 2016, 55, 197–205. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Kim, G.; Han, W. Sound Pressure Levels Generated at Risk Volume Steps of Portable Listening Devices: Types of Smartphone and Genres of Music. BMC Public Health 2018, 18, 481. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Portnuff, C. Reducing the Risk of Music-Induced Hearing Loss from Overuse of Portable Listening Devices: Understanding the Problems and Establishing Strategies for Improving Awareness in Adolescents. Adolesc. Health Med. Ther. 2016, 7, 27–35. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Breinbauer, H.A.; Anabalón, J.L.; Gutierrez, D.; Cárcamo, R.; Olivares, C.; Caro, J. Output Capabilities of Personal Music Players and Assessment of Preferred Listening Levels of Test Subjects: Outlining Recommendations for Preventing Music-Induced Hearing Loss. Laryngoscope 2012, 122, 2549–2556. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Henoch, M.A.; Chesky, K. Ear canal resonance as a risk factor in music-induced hearing loss. Med. Probl. Perform. Artist. 1999, 14, 103–106. [Google Scholar]
- Le Clercq, C.M.P.; van Ingen, G.; Ruytjens, L.; van der Schroeff, M.P. Music-Induced Hearing Loss in Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Otol. Neurotol. 2016, 37, 1208–1216. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Serpanos, Y.C.; Berg, A.L.; Renne, B. Influence of Hearing Risk Information on the Motivation and Modification of Personal Listening Device Use. Am. J. Audiol. 2016, 25, 332–343. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Florentine, M.; Hunter, W.; Robinson, M.; Ballou, M.; Buus, S. On the Behavioral Characteristics of Loud-Music Listening. Ear Hear. 1998, 19, 420–428. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Welch, D.; Fremaux, G. Understanding Why People Enjoy Loud Sound. Semin. Hear. 2017, 38, 348–358. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Berlyne, D.E. Aesthetics and Psychobiology; Appleton-Century-Crofts: Norwalk, CT, USA, 1971. [Google Scholar]
- Juslin, P.N.; Västfjäll, D. Emotional Responses to Music: The Need to Consider Underlying Mechanisms. Behav. Brain Sci. 2008, 31, 559–575. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Salimpoor, V.N.; Zatorre, R.J. Neural Interactions That Give Rise to Musical Pleasure. Psychol. Aesthet. Creat. Arts 2013, 7, 62–75. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Arnett, J. Sensation seeking: A new conceptualization and a new scale. Personal. Individ. Differ. 1994, 16, 289–296. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Halevi-Katz, D.N.; Yaakobi, E.; Putter-Katz, H. Exposure to Music and Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) among Professional Pop/Rock/Jazz Musicians. Noise Health 2015, 17, 158. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Vickers, E. The loudness war: Background, speculation, and recommendations. In Proceedings of the Audio Engineering Society Convention, San Fransisco, CA, USA, 4–7 November 2010; Volume 129, pp. 1–27. [Google Scholar]
- Torre, P.; Howell, J.C. Noise Levels during Aerobics and the Potential Effects on Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emissions. J. Commun. Disord. 2008, 41, 501–511. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Beach, E.; Williams, W.; Gilliver, M. Estimating young Australian adults’ risk of hearing damage from selected leisure activities. Ear Hear. 2013, 34, 75–82. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Vogel, I.; Brug, J.; van der Ploeg, C.P.B.; Raat, H. Young People’s Exposure to Loud Music. Am. J. Prev. Med. 2007, 33, 124–133. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Pavlov, I.P. Conditioned Reflexes: An Investigation of the Physiological Activity of the Cerebral Cortex; Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK, 1927. [Google Scholar]
- Fucci, D.; Petrosino, L.; Harms, D.; Banks, M. The Effect of Preference for Rock Music on Magnitude-Estimation Scaling Behavior in Young Adults. Percept. Mot. Ski. 1993, 76 (Suppl. S3), 1171–1176. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Cullari, S.; Semanchick, O. Music Preferences and Perception of Loudness. Percept. Mot. Ski. 1989, 68, 186. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Carraturo, G.; Kliuchko, M.; Brattico, E. Loud and Unwanted: Individual Differences in the Tolerance for Exposure to Music. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 2024, 155, 3274–3282. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Franklin, C.A.; White, L.J.; Franklin, T.C. Relationship between Loudness Tolerance and the Acceptance of Background Noise for Young Adults with Normal Hearing. Percept. Mot. Ski. 2012, 114, 717–722. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Franklin, C.A.; White, L.J.; Franklin, T.C.; Livengood, L.G. Comparing Loudness Tolerance and Acceptable Noise Level in Listeners with Hearing Loss. Percept. Mot. Ski. 2016, 123, 109–120. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Gordon-Hickey, S.; Moore, R.E. Influence of Music and Music Preference on Acceptable Noise Levels in Listeners with Normal Hearing. J. Am. Acad. Audiol. 2007, 18, 417–427. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Adult Hearing Screening. Available online: https://www.asha.org/practice-portal/professional-issues/adult-hearing-screening/#collapse_4 (accessed on 20 May 2025).
- American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Guidelines for Manual Pure-Tone Threshold Audiometry. Available online: https://www.asha.org/policy/gl2005-00014/ (accessed on 18 May 2025).
- Zaugg, T.L.; Thielman, E.J.; Griest, S.; Henry, J.A. Subjective Reports of Trouble Tolerating Sound in Daily Life versus Loudness Discomfort Levels. Am. J. Audiol. 2016, 25, 359–363. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Werbach, K.H.; Hunter, D. For the Win: How Game Thinking Can Revolutionize Your Business; Wharton Digital Press: Philadelphia, PA, USA, 2012. [Google Scholar]
- Pacewicz, K. The dopamine loop and its discontents. Analysis of “Gamification by design” as biopolitical power/knowledge. In Gamification. Critical Approaches; University of Warsaw: Warsaw, Poland, 2015; pp. 27–39. [Google Scholar]
- Sailer, M.; Hense, J.U.; Mayr, S.K.; Mandl, H. How Gamification Motivates: An Experimental Study of the Effects of Specific Game Design Elements on Psychological Need Satisfaction. Comput. Hum. Behav. 2017, 69, 371–380. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Fernandes, J.; Duarte, D.; Ribeiro, C.; Farinha, C.; Pereira, J.M.; da Silva, M.M. IThink: A Game-Based Approach towards Improving Collaboration and Participation in Requirement Elicitation. Procedia Comput. Sci. 2012, 15, 66–77. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Jaramillo-Mediavilla, L.; Basantes-Andrade, A.; Cabezas-González, M.; Casillas-Martín, S. Impact of Gamification on Motivation and Academic Performance: A Systematic Review. Educ. Sci. 2024, 14, 639. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Jones, B.A.; Madden, G.J.; Wengreen, H.J. The FIT Game: Preliminary Evaluation of a Gamification Approach to Increasing Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in School. Prev. Med. 2014, 68, 76–79. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Hamari, J. Transforming Homo Economicus into Homo Ludens: A Field Experiment on Gamification in a Utilitarian Peer-To-Peer Trading Service. Electron. Commer. Res. Appl. 2013, 12, 236–245. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Hamari, J. Do Badges Increase User Activity? A Field Experiment on the Effects of Gamification. Comput. Hum. Behav. 2017, 71, 469–478. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Chapkovski, P.; Khapko, M.; Zoican, M. Gamified Risk-Taking. J. Behav. Exp. Financ. 2024, 46, 101049. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Shatz, I. Using gamification and gaming in order to promote risk taking in the language learning process. In Proceedings of the 13th Annual MEITAL National Conference, Technion, Haifa, Israel, 3 June 2015; pp. 227–232. [Google Scholar]
- Frosolini, A.; Franz, L.; Caragli, V.; Genovese, E.; Cosimo de Filippis; Marioni, G. Artificial Intelligence in Audiology: A Scoping Review of Current Applications and Future Directions. Sensors 2024, 24, 7126. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Fligor, B.J.; Cox, L.C. Output Levels of Commercially Available Portable Compact Disc Players and the Potential Risk to Hearing. Ear Hear. 2004, 25, 513–527. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Chandler, J.J.; Pronin, E. Fast Thought Speed Induces Risk Taking. Psychol. Sci. 2012, 23, 370–374. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Lerner, J.S.; Keltner, D. Fear, Anger, and Risk. J. Personal. Soc. Psychol. 2001, 81, 146–159. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Blanchette, I.; Richards, A. The Influence of Affect on Higher Level Cognition: A Review of Research on Interpretation, Judgement, Decision Making and Reasoning. Cogn. Emot. 2010, 24, 561–595. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Keng, S.L.; Smoski, M.J.; Robins, C.J. Effects of Mindfulness on Psychological Health: A Review of Empirical Studies. Clin. Psychol. Rev. 2011, 31, 1041–1056. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Miller, W.R.; Rollnick, S. Motivational Interviewing, 4th ed.; Guilford Publications: New York, NY, USA, 2023. [Google Scholar]
- Ismail, A.H.; Munro, K.J.; Armitage, C.J.; Dawes, P.D. What Do Hearing Healthcare Professionals Do to Promote Hearing Aid Use and Benefit among Adults? A Systematic Review. Int. J. Audiol. 2019, 58, 63–76. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Characteristics | Hearing Loss | Normal Hearing |
---|---|---|
Age (years) | ||
Mean | 65.5 | 30.6 |
SD | 22.5 | 13.4 |
Range | 24 to 90 | 21 to 79 |
Gender (n) | ||
Females | 7 | 21 |
Males | 4 | 18 |
Total | 11 | 39 |
Pure Tone Average (dB HL) | ||
Mean | 50.5 | * |
SD | 14.6 | * |
Range | 35 to 78.3 | * |
Sound Sample | Preference Category | ||
---|---|---|---|
Enjoyable | Acceptable | Unpleasant | |
Music | |||
n | 35 | 14 | 1 |
% | 70 | 28 | 2 |
Running Speech | |||
n | 15 | 27 | 7 |
% | 30 | 54 | 14 |
Machinery Noise | |||
n | 0 | 9 | 42 |
% | 0 | 18 | 84 |
Sound Preference Category by Condition | M | SD |
---|---|---|
Enjoyable | ||
LTL | 81.36 | 10.36 |
PLL | 71.20 | 11.39 |
Total | 76.28 | 11.98 |
Acceptable | ||
LTL | 78.10 | 11.02 |
PLL | 64.38 | 12.39 |
Total | 71.25 | 13.55 |
Unpleasant | ||
LTL | 76.68 | 11.02 |
PLL | 50.68 | 13.23 |
Total | 63.68 | 17.82 |
Disclaimer/Publisher’s Note: The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content. |
© 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Share and Cite
Serpanos, Y.C.; DiBlasi, T.; Butler, J. Effect of Sound Preference on Loudness Tolerance and Preferred Listening Levels Using Personal Listening Devices. Audiol. Res. 2025, 15, 68. https://doi.org/10.3390/audiolres15030068
Serpanos YC, DiBlasi T, Butler J. Effect of Sound Preference on Loudness Tolerance and Preferred Listening Levels Using Personal Listening Devices. Audiology Research. 2025; 15(3):68. https://doi.org/10.3390/audiolres15030068
Chicago/Turabian StyleSerpanos, Yula C., Thomas DiBlasi, and Jasmin Butler. 2025. "Effect of Sound Preference on Loudness Tolerance and Preferred Listening Levels Using Personal Listening Devices" Audiology Research 15, no. 3: 68. https://doi.org/10.3390/audiolres15030068
APA StyleSerpanos, Y. C., DiBlasi, T., & Butler, J. (2025). Effect of Sound Preference on Loudness Tolerance and Preferred Listening Levels Using Personal Listening Devices. Audiology Research, 15(3), 68. https://doi.org/10.3390/audiolres15030068