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Harvard Scientists Disclaim Teen Hearing Loss Epidemic

by Warren Riddle on December 28, 2010 at 04:55 PM

teen with headphonesLast summer, researchers from the Channing Laboratory at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston concluded that teen hearing loss has drastically increased over the last 20 years. The scientists based their conclusions on separate, extensive studies conducted for the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The first survey analyzed the hearing capabilities of 2,500 adolescents between 1988 and 1994, and the second involved 1,791 teens during 2005 and 2006.

Well, Harvard Medical School scientists have now performed another investigation into those same numbers, and -- apparently -- the kids are actually alright. According to The Atlantic, the Harvard contrarians determined that, despite the heavy prevalence of MP3s and headphones among modern teens, "the results revealed no change in the prevalence of hearing loss from the early 1990s to the mid-2000s." So, parents should probably lay off their oblivious, hard-rocking kids a little bit -- until the next debatable study arrives, of course. For now, concerned and wary parents can reference the Harvard findings at Pediatrics.

Tags: headphones, health, hearing, HearingLoss, mp3, music, science, study, teens, top

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