Leveraging Monaural Exposures to Reveal Early Effects of Noise: Evidence from Police Radio Ear-Piece Use.

ABSTRACT: Research into the long-term effects of noise on hearing is often confounded by health and lifestyle differences between individuals. UK police radio ear-pieces are capable of emitting high sound levels and, crucially, are worn in one ear, allowing between-ear comparisons which control for individual-level confounding factors. Low volume-control settings are recommended to reduce risk to police hearing, yet actual usage patterns and auditory effects remain unexamined. This study used a large-scale survey (N = 4,498) to assess ear-piece noise exposure and the associated hearing health. Most participants reported using high volume-control settings and 45.2% reported experiencing signs of temporary threshold shift (TTS) in the exposed ear. Estimated weekly-averaged noise exposures frequ

SUBMITTER: Guest H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12858745 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan-Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature