Risky leisure noise exposure during the transition to adulthood and the impact of major life events - results of the OHRKAN cohort study.

Objective: To investigate the influence of four major life events (leaving home, full-time employment, married/cohabiting, parenthood) and socio-demographic variables on risky total leisure noise (TLN) during transition to adulthood with a special focus on visiting discotheques and listening to portable listening devices (PLDs).

Design: Longitudinal analysis of the OHRKAN cohort. Risky TLN covering 22 activities was defined as exceeding 85 dB(A) averaged over a 40-hour week. Potential determinants were analysed using Generalised Linear Mixed Models.

Study sample: A closed cohort of 2,148 students recruited in ninth grade at schools in Regensburg in 2009-2011 and surveyed five times over about 10 years. In waves 3 to 5, 1,608 individuals participated at least once.

Results: The prevalence of risky TLN decreased from 72.5% (median age 20) to 38.5% (median age 26). A decrease was also observed for visiting discotheques while exposure to PLD use remained relatively constant. Marriage/cohabiting and parenthood significantly reduced the prevalence of risky TLN and discotheques visits while only marriage/cohabiting reduced the prevalence of risky PLD use.

Conclusions: Young adults are particularly at risk to leisure noise exposure. The later major life events occur, the longer they expose themselves to risky leisure noise. Therefore, prevention is of utmost importance.