Study: Teens Like Loud Music

Image: Thomas Hawk

Teens are apt to disregard requests (and even orders) from their elders and will often turn the volume on their iPods louder when told to turn it down, according to a new study published by the Colorado Daily Thursday.

Shocking inferences of teen rebelliousness and even disregard for their own hearing health come from a University of Colorado study of 29 metro-area Denver teens who participated in a survey about their iPod use and attitudes toward music.

A 2006 study conducted in Boston by Cory Portnuff, now a CU audiologist and doctoral candidate, showed listening to iPods on maximum volume for more than 5 minutes a day increases one’s risk of hearing loss. Portuff’s new study confirmed long-held suspicions such as:

* teenagers who feel like they wouldn’t enjoy their music as much on low volume tended to listen loud

* teens turn up their iPods to drown out the soundtrack of the surrounding environment

* teens who indicated the most concern about hearing loss from iPods played their music louder than their peers.

While no one in the study preferred the highest volume, the evidence showed between 7 percent and 24 percent of the teens listened to their iPods and MP3 players at risky levels, and boys listened slightly louder than girls across the board.