Transcript Margulies_Poster_Final 4-7-15

Hearing Conservation Attitudes and Behaviors at Orthodox
Jewish Weddings
Audrey Margulies, B.A., Adrienne Rubinstein, Ph.D.
CUNY AuD Program, The Graduate Center, CUNY
Department of Speech Communication Arts and Sciences, Brooklyn
College CUNY
INTRODUCTION
An important recreational source of
noise is music, either through the use of
personal listening devices or in public
settings such as entertainment venues. It
has been estimated that over 20 years,
since the early 1980s to 2000, the number
of young people with social noise
exposure has tripled (Smith et al., 2010).
Due to the permanent nature of NIHL,
prevention is essential to lessen its
prevalence. In the workplace, occupational
standards were established in order to
regulate the amount of noise to which
workers may be exposed. In contrast, for
recreational environments, no safety
guidelines to protect hearing exist. As
such, when it comes to leisure activities,
individuals must practice hearing
conservation independently. Unfortunately,
studies examining the hearing
conservation behaviors in adult
populations reveal low hearing protection
device (HPD) usage (Nondahl et al.,
2006).
Research has proposed that hearing
conservation programs are more beneficial
when developed for specific age and/or
ethnic and racial groups (Crandell et al,
2004). Presently, there is an absence of
research related to noise exposure and
hearing conservation among the Orthodox
Jewish community who frequently attend
weddings. Noise levels at Orthodox
Jewish weddings may reach extremely
high and damaging levels, yet the attitudes
and behaviors of this population regarding
hearing conservation at such events
remain unknown. Consequently, analysis
of the attitudes and behaviors of Orthodox
Jewish wedding attendees can help guide
future hearing conservation education for
this population.
METHODS
PARTICIPANTS
• 149 guests at five Orthodox Jewish weddings, all 18 years old
and above, who volunteered to participate in this study by
responding to the study survey. Four of the weddings took
place in the New York-New Jersey area, and one wedding was
held in Toronto, Canada.
MATERIALS
• The survey included 13 items, addressing attitudes and
behaviors related to hearing conservation (and attitudes
towards noise level addressed in a concurrent investigation).
NOISE DOSIMETER RECORDINGS
• Noise measurements were conducted at three Orthodox
Jewish weddings in the New York-New Jersey area. Sound
level readings were taken with the Casella CEL-35X dBadge
dosimeter. Data were analyzed using supplied software with
National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
protocols and definitions.
ANALYSIS
• Cronbach’s alpha was performed to establish internal
consistency of the items.
• Pearson Chi square analysis was performed to investigate
relationships between age, as well as gender, and hearing
conservation attitudes and behaviors
RESULTS
Results revealed that the noise dose at each of the three
weddings exceeded NIOSH recommendations (Table 1).
Table 1. Noise exposure levels using NIOSH standards
• Cronbach’s alpha (a=.761) established good internal
consistency.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. What are the sound exposure levels at
Orthodox Jewish weddings?
1. Do attendees hold positive attitudes
toward the need for hearing
conservation at Orthodox Jewish
weddings?
1. Is hearing conservation being practiced
at weddings among Orthodox Jewish
attendees?
1. Is there an association between
hearing conservation practice and
age?
1. Is there an association between
hearing conservation practice and
gender?
• The majority of participants (67%) responded that they agree or
strongly agree that hearing protection is necessary at weddings.
This suggests that most of the participants possess a healthy
attitude toward hearing conservation.
• The majority of participants (87%) reported avoiding standing
near the speakers at weddings, with more than half (60%) of the
participants reported that they leave the room to take a break
from loud music.
• A smaller number (13%) responded that they leave a wedding
early due to loud music.
• Only 12% of participants responded that they wear earplugs at
weddings (Figure 1), with a larger percentage (38%) responding
that they would probably or definitely use earplugs more often if
the host provided them (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Pie chart showing percentage of participants that
•would
The association
between
hearing
conservation
wear earplugs
if the gender
weddingand
host
provided
them
attitudes and behaviors was found to be insignificant [2 (15, N =
149) = .614, p <.05].
• A significant association between age and hearing conservation
attitudes and behaviors was revealed [2 (75, N = 149) = .012, p
<.05].
RESULTS
Figure 1. Pie chart showing percentage of participants
who wear earplugs at weddings.
Figure 2. Pie chart showing percentage of participants
who would wear earplugs of the wedding host.
CONCLUSIONS
1. Noise measurements at the three Orthodox
Jewish weddings sampled revealed hazardous
levels of noise exposure; the noise dose at each
wedding exceeded NIOSH recommendations.
2. The majority of Orthodox Jewish wedding
attendees believe that hearing protection is
necessary at weddings.
3. Limited hearing conservation is being practiced at
Orthodox Jewish weddings among attendees,
with only a small percentage of attendees
reporting earplug usage.
4. Age is significantly associated with hearing
conservation attitudes and behaviors, however,
practically, the differences in reported behavior
between 18-30 year olds and 30+ year olds
appear to be minor.
5. There is no significant association between
gender and hearing conservation
attitudes/behaviors.
6. Future research measuring noise levels at
Orthodox Jewish weddings should use a larger
sample size, and a survey item regarding noise
exposure earlier in the day, prior to arriving at the
wedding, should be considered.
7. Future efforts toward hearing conservation at
Orthodox Jewish weddings should focus on
increasing earplug usage, as this is one of most
effective healthy hearing conservation behaviors,
yet according to our study, the least practiced.
Provision of earplugs by the wedding host may
provide only a partial solution.
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environments.
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