U.S. Grownups Ranging From Millennials to Baby Boomers Reveal Public Places Are Too Boisterous

Rockville, MD – May 3: A fresh countrywide review of U.S. adults circulated shows that a substantial proportion of Americans are worried that contact to loud noise in spare time locations has affected or will damage their hearing, and they reveal that it is also lessening their delight of those locations.

Appointed by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) for May Is Better Hearing & Speech Month, the review of over 1,000 U.S. adults ages 18 and older displays astonishingly steady consequences through age groups.

Overall, 41% of all adults surveyed are worried that previous contact to loud spare time locations may have damaged their hearing—and over half (51%) fear that potential contact could be damaging. Furthermore, over one third believed loud noise has lessened their pleasure of out-of-home actions.

Bars, clubs, and concerts transpired as the “top noisiest” locations in the ASHA sampling. Restaurants and movie theaters also positioned amongst the top graded places where poll respondents revealed that noise has worried them or prevented them from going to those places.

Two-thirds of respondents surveyed thought that society has become louder. Approximately half stated they have a tendency to choose tranquil or even much undisturbed out-of-home actions. And over a quarter had resolved not to go back to a location since they understood it to be noisy. Rather astonishingly, the youngest group surveyed, 18- to 29-year-olds, testified the uppermost level of displeasure with the noise intensities in public locations.

“The good news to emerge from our polling is that hearing health was highly valued across all the age groups surveyed,” revealed Gail Richard, PhD, CCC-SLP, ASHA 2017 president, adding, “More than 80% of all respondents said that their hearing status is extremely or very important, including almost three-quarters of 18- to 29-year-olds. This suggests a strong foundational appreciation of what could be lost to noise without sufficient protection. We urge both the public and those in charge of public venues to take steps to protect hearing health in their establishments.”

A bulk of survey respondents (72%) stated taking no less than one measure to restrict their contact to noise. Among the more widespread activities were moving away from noise sources, selecting off-peak times to go to establishments, and taking earplugs.

There are extra measures that the public can take to safeguard themselves, Richard observed. These actions comprise requesting for noise to be turned down, downloading a smartphone sound-level app to check noise, and studying the noise levels at destination locations before time (many online business and restaurant appraisal websites give statistics on noise level).

Poll outcomes proposed that locations bear some accountability for controlling noise levels, comprising turning down the level of music and loudspeakers and making design alterations to lessen ambient noise. Respondents also were chiefly in support of augmented training for customers and trade proprietors, and they backed necessitating locations to make earplugs obtainable, present “hearing protection zones,” and show noise-level screens with clear “safe/unsafe” displays.

“Our polling appears to discredit the notion that the public wants high noise levels to be part of their leisure activities,” stated Richard, adding, “This should be a wake-up call to those who believe that noise equates with fun environments. In reality, it may very well alienate customers and may not be the best choice from a business standpoint.”