Objective: To determine the prevalence of hearing protection use among attendees of Rock and Roll concerts at baseline and in concerts where earplugs are provided for free at concert venue entrances.
Design: Six concerts performed at two music venues in Toronto, Canada were evaluated. Study personnel observed and recorded the use of hearing protection at three concerts where no earplugs were distributed, and three concerts where earplugs were provided for free at the concert venue entrance.
Study sample: A total of 955 individuals over the age of 18 were observed at six concerts. Six hundred and thirty-seven individuals (64% male) were observed at concerts where no earplugs were provided, and 318 individuals (68% male) were observed at concerts where free earplugs were provided.
Results: Multivariate logistic regression demonstrated a significant increase in hearing protection usage at concerts where earplugs were provided for free at the concert venue entrance, odds ratio 7.27 (95% CI: 3.24-16.30).
Conclusion: The provision of free earplugs at concert venues may be a simple and inexpensive intervention that could be a component of a larger public health campaign to prevent non-occupational noise-induced hearing loss.
Keywords: Earplugs; NIHL; Rock and Roll; concert; music; noise-induced hearing loss.