It's Safe Listening Week in Australia and we're focusing on the gaming world: protecting players' hearing!
A collaborative poll conducted by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), the World Health Organization (WHO), and other partners has revealed insightful statistics about listening habits in the gaming community.
Poll results highlight the potentially harmful effects of prolonged headphone use, particularly among young adults and children who engage in video gaming. These findings are important for the more than 4 in 5 Australians that play video games (Biggs, 2023)
In Australia, a 2021 survey revealed that 86% of 15-24 year-olds and 82% of 5-14 year-olds played video games (Hughes). This trend is mirrored in the United States in 2023, where over 90% of children above 2 years old engaged in gaming, with 8-17 year-olds averaging 1.5 to 2 hours of daily play (Alanko).
The prevalence of gaming extends to education, with a 2014 study showing that 78% of teachers use games in classrooms (Shapiro). In 2024, under-18s represented 20% of US gamers, totaling 618 million players, highlighting the significant role of video games in modern youth culture and education (Howarth).
Lindsay Creed, ASHA’s associate director of audiology practices, emphasised the importance of the issue, stating, "In the US, on average, young adults are gaming for 17 hours per week, and unfortunately, a third of them are already noticing difficulty hearing." Among this group, a quarter believe their gaming habits have contributed to these issues.
The survey found 43% of respondents use headphones for extended periods, and nearly 30% do so at high volumes. This combination of prolonged exposure and high volume levels puts gamers at high risk for potential hearing damage.
Despite these risks, there seems to be a disconnect between awareness and action. The majority of gamers believe their listening habits are fine as they are, both in terms of volume level (71%) and time spent listening (68%). Less than one-third of video gamers feel they are at risk of hearing loss from playing video games.
However, there is hope! The study found that most gamers are receptive to safer listening features proposed by the WHO. These features are expected to have minimal impact on gaming experiences while significantly reducing the risk of hearing loss.
To safeguard hearing during play, gamers should:
Reduce the volume and use noise-cancelling headphones
Take regular breaks
Be aware of the signs of hearing loss, like difficulty understanding conversations in noisy environments
Regularly monitor hearing health, using digital screening tools
By adopting these practices, gamers can minimise the risk of hearing damage while still enjoying their favourite pastime.
Implementing safer listening features, educating gamers about the risks, and promoting responsible headphone use can help ensure that the joy of gaming doesn't come at the cost of long-term hearing damage.