Authors: Şule Çekiç¹, Dilara Usta¹, İrem Yılbat¹
¹Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University
Background: Video games and e-sports expose players to high-intensity sounds, such as gunfire and explosions, potentially risking hearing health. This study aimed to evaluate short-term changes in hearing thresholds and auditory perception before and after gameplay in young adults who regularly play First-Person Shooter (FPS) games.
Method: This prospective observational study included 33 volunteers (18–30 years): a study group of 20 regular gamers and a control group of 13 non-gamers. Pure-tone hearing thresholds (0.25–8 kHz) and hearing-in-noise performance (digit triplet test) were measured pre- and post-gameplay using the mobile application e-audiologia.pl. Subjective hearing experiences were also evaluated via a Visual Analog Scale (VAS).
Results: Post-game pure-tone averages in the study group increased by 2–12 dB. While no significant difference was found in monaural pure-tone thresholds between groups (p > 0.05), binaural measurements showed a significant difference (p = 0.002). Performance on the digit triplet test was variable, and no significant changes were observed in subjective VAS scores (p = 0.092), suggesting that physiological changes occurred without the players’ awareness.
Conclusion: FPS games can lead to temporary hearing changes in young adults, particularly evident in binaural speech-in-noise performance and high-frequency thresholds. These subclinical changes may go unnoticed by the individual, highlighting the risk of recreational digital sound exposure. Mobile hearing tests provide a useful tool for monitoring these effects, though further research is needed to determine the long-term impact on auditory health.