| Abstract [eng] |
Aim of the study: to investigate students' perceptions of leisure-time noise and its links to health. Objectives: to determine students' perceptions of noise during their leisure time (1); to determine the association of leisure time noise with students' health and well-being (2); to investigate measures taken by gymnasts to avoid leisure time noise (3). Methods. Descriptive study by means of a survey, comparing responses by gender and class. An anonymous survey of 9-12 grade students of Panevėžys city municipality gymnasiums was conducted. Results. The study involved 386 students in grades 9-12 in Panevėžys city gymnasiums. 73.1% of females and 26.9% of males participated in the study. More than half of the respondents believe that they are exposed to a noisy environment that affects their health. Gymnasium students ranked tinnitus as the most common health problem they felt after possible exposure to noise. When asked about the main sources of noise in their leisure time, respondents most frequently mentioned music (using headphones, loudspeakers, etc.). When asked at what volume they usually listen to music or other sound recordings when engaging in leisure activities, grammar school pupils chose "loud" as their answer option. More than half of the pupils rated their health as good. Gymnasts responding to the survey said that they thought their health condition was related to being in a noisy environment, and more than half of the respondents indicated that they sometimes experienced health problems after potentially noisy leisure activities. More than half of the respondents did not use noise protection when they felt the noise was too loud. Those who did use protection sought quieter leisure activities, reduced the noise level or limited the duration of exposure to noise. The correlation analysis of the study found weak and very weak relationships between the variables. Conclusions. More than half of the respondents said they think they are exposed to a noisy environment that affects their health. The most common sources of noise during leisure time are music (using headphones, loudspeakers, etc.) and motor vehicles. More than half of women and men answered that they usually listen to music or other sound recordings loudly during leisure time. The most common health problems felt after possible exposure to noise were tinnitus, irritability or annoyance and stress. Keywords: leisure noise, sources of leisure noise, the effects of leisure noise, perception of leisure noise. |
