Noise is a very common reason for hearing loss. The question is whether young adults realise the danger of developing a noise related hearing loss. The aim of this study was to evaluate the attitude towards leisure noise and noise protection in young people. The study was qualitative and four focus group meetings were conducted with 28 young adults in total, with an age range of 18 to 35. Reasons for attending loud venues, attitudes towards loud leisure noise, earplugs and how participants assess the risk of developing a hearing loss as a result of visiting very noisy events were discussed in the focus groups. Generally, the results of this study supported previous findings that young people believe that louder music is richer. Additionally, participants were not well educated about the dangers and consequences of listening to loud music. This may be a reason why the majority did not have a positive attitude to hearing protection tools. It would be interesting to see how education of young people in terms of dangers of exposure to loud noise would influence their attitude. There is some research concerning this subject but findings are not fully conclusive.
