Ear or Headphones as a Risk Factor to Aural Health of Disk Jockeys and On-Air Presenters in Kumasi Ghana
- 1. Department of Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat (EENT), Komfo-Anokye Teaching Hospital, Ghana
- 2. Ear, Nose and Throat Nursing Training School, Komfo-Anokye Teaching Hospital, Ghana
- 3. Department of Special Education, University of Cape Coast, Ghana
- 4. School of Public Health, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana
abstract
The frequent use of ear/headphones among disk jockeys and on-air presenters has been thought to cause ear health problems and contribute to hearing loss in most low resourced regions globally. This study, examined one hundred and forty-five (145), DJ‘s and one hundred and forty-three (143) On-air presenters, two hundred and eighty-eight (288), subjects in all, from various radio and TV stations in the Kumasi metropolis in the Ashanti region of Ghana. The purpose of this study was to investigate the aural health disk jockeys and on-air presenters in the Kumasi metropolis of Ghana. A Qualitone Wide Range Type three audiometer used for a hearing screening test.
Of the 143 on-air presenters enrolled in the study, one hundred and twenty-six (126) (representing 88.1%) had normal hearing in both ears, thus between 0 to 25dB. The remaining seventeen (17), representing (11.9%), failed. And of the one hundred and forty-five (145), DJ‘s enrolled in the study, ninety-eight (98) (representing 67.6%) failed the screening test and the remaining forty-seven (47), (representing 32.4%) passed bilaterally.
In responds to a questionnaire, one hundred and sixty-four (164) (representing 57%), respondents reported frequent headaches, ear pain, intermittent tinnitus and the inability to hear very soft sounds immediately after using and taking off their ear/headphones, sixty-four (64) (representing 22.2%), reported itching and the remaining sixty (60) (representing 20.8%), had no complains.
In the end, there was an association between the frequent use of ear/headphones, hearing loss, (i.e. mild hearing loss, mild-moderate hearing loss, NIHLnoise induced hearing loss), intermittent tinnitus, ear pain, frequent headaches, itching and the inability to hear very soft sounds immediately after using and taking off ear/headphones.