Headphone/Earphone Usage Practices and its Health Effects among College going Students: A Cross-Sectional Study from South India

Introduction: Noise induced hearing loss is one of the most common public health problems occurring due to use of headsets.The usage of earphone/ headphone has been increasingly used in the recent times due to online learning. Objective: To determine the usage practices of headphone/earphone and associated effects among college students of Tamil Nadu.Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted among college students in Tamil Nadu from January to February 2022. Snowball sampling technique was used, and 640 students respondedto a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire circulated through online platform. Results:Out of 640 students, 57.1% were female students, 71.5% students used earphones for less than 5 hours, 32.5% students cleaned earphone daily, 46.6% didn’t share their earphone, whereas 83.1% of students experienced at least one symptom or sign on using earphone. Conclusion: Due to online learning, earphone usage and its effects was increased among students in our study, so awareness about rational use of earphones is much needed among the younger generations.