Effects of a hearing protection campaign on the discotheque attendance habits of high-school students.

This study investigated whether a hearing education campaign would prompt adolescents to display hearing-protective behaviour when attending a discotheque. A sample of 169 high-school students participated in the campaign. A questionnaire was administered to them before and 1 year after the campaign, asking for the frequency of discotheque attendance within the past 6 months, and whether they used earplugs in the discotheque. The percentage of subjects who went to discotheques more than 10 times within 6 months decreased from 34% to 24% after the campaign. The overall difference between pre- and post-campaign frequencies of discotheque attendance, however, was not significant. The percentage of subjects using earplugs in the discotheque rose from 0% before to 3.7% after the campaign. In essence, the campaign had little effect in inducing hearing-protective behaviour in adolescents when attending discotheques. The need for sound level limitations in discotheques is highlighted.