One in five high schoolers has permanent ringing in the ears, and few take measures to protect their ears from loud music, according to a new study.

Those numbers are surprisingly similar to results of a study of college-aged adults, said lead author Annick Gilles, a clinical audiologist at Antwerp University Hospital in Edegem, Belgium.

She and her coauthors had expected the numbers to be higher for college-aged people, who “go out a lot,” she told Reuters Health.

Tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, caused by loud noise exposure is clearly linked to

hearing damage, she said. People with permanent ringing in the ears may be able to hear the same volumes of sound as before the damage, but often have trouble separating speech sounds out of a mix of noises.

For the new study, almost 4,000 Flemish high school students completed a questionnaire about temporary and permanent ringing in the ears, also answering questions about their attitudes toward loud noises and hearing protection.

Three out of four kids experienced temporary tinnitus, and one in five heard ringing all the time. Only five percent of the kids said they used any kind of hearing protection against loud noise, such as ear plugs, according to results in the journal PLOS ONE.

“Tinnitus on its own can be very troublesome and have dramatic effects on individuals,” said hearing researcher Dr. Josef Shargorodsky, a fellow at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore. “Many of the teens in this study likely also have associated hearing loss, which really exacerbates the problem.”

About 20 percent of people with tinnitus find it bothersome enough to seek medical help, said Brian Fligor, a pediatric audiologist from Harvard Medical School in Boston.

“Bothersome tinnitus interferes with sleep, concentration, communication, and ability to relax,” said Fligor, who was not involved with the study.

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Courtesy Reuters.com