“Know Your Noise” Helps Young People Understand Risks Associated with Recreational Noise Exposure and Take Action to Prevent Hearing Damage

Abstract

The Know Your Noise website was developed to provide accurate and personalized information about hearing health to increase users’ awareness of the risk for noise-induced hearing loss and increase their likelihood to undertake behavior change to reduce their exposure. This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of the site in meeting these goals. User engagement via google analytics showed good engagement with the site itself across a range of demographics. Results from an online evaluation survey indicated improvement in hearing health engagement following participation, particularly for those shown to be most at risk.

Keywords:

• Behavior change
• hearing
• motivation
• noise exposure

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the financial support of the Australian Government Department of Health, Department of Industry and Science, and the HEARing CRC, established under the Australian Government’s Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) Program. The CRC Program supports industry-led collaborations between industry, researchers, and the community.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no known conflicting interests.

Notes

1 This non-linear scale (every 3 dB increase doubles the exposure risk) further complicates matters.

2 Note: There was not total overlap between the subset of those who donated their research data, and those who completed the evaluation survey.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Megan Gilliver

Megan Gilliver is a Behavioral Scientist at the National Acoustic Laboratories, Australia. With a Ph.D. in Psychology and over 13 years of hearing health research experience, she is interested in understanding behavior to develop effective interventions promoting hearing health. She has a particular interest in the behavioral and cognitive factors that influence individuals’ decisions about their hearing, including work aimed at preventing noise-induced hearing loss, and overcoming barriers to hearing rehabilitation uptake.

Elizabeth Francis Beach

Elizabeth Francis Beach is the former Head of the Behavioral Sciences Department at the National Acoustic Laboratories, Australia. Her research covered a range of issues relevant to hearing and hearing-related behaviors, including leisure noise exposure and its impact on hearing health; the development of strategies for encouraging safe listening for staff and patrons; and motivating young adults to protect their hearing. She also worked on projects related to improving the delivery of hearing health services and streamlining decision-making processes for clients with hearing loss using behavioral insights.