Many adolescents frequently expose their ears to loud sounds, for example from portable music players. Some of them may think that 'the doctor said that my hearing is good, so I guess I can handle the loud volume'. A new doctoral thesis from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, shows that research-based teaching in school can be used to positively change adolescents' awareness and behaviour.
Eva West, researcher at the Department of Pedagogical, Curricular and Professional Studies, has developed research-based teaching material about sound, hearing and auditory health that she has tested on nearly 200 students in grades 4-8. The students' knowledge about sound, the function of the ear, hearing and tinnitus was tested before and after the teaching. She also studied the students' attitudes towards high sound levels.
Challenging for students
Tinnitus
'Teaching young people about how hearing works and that there are small hair cells that we need to be careful with may help them better understand messages such as "Be careful with your hearing",' says West. Her results show that the students' attitudes towards sound levels and hearing were healthier after than before the teaching, and there were also signs that their behaviour changed in a healthy direction.
The thesis was successfully defended on Friday 20 January.
International Journal of Science Education