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　　One in five US teenagers have some degree of hearing loss, according to researchers who said the problem is growing, "Teenagers really underestimate how much noise they are exposed to．" Dr Josef Shargorodsky said．①

　　The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, compared national survey between the early 1990s and the mid-2000s．In the first survey, about 15％ of teenagers had some degree of hearing loss．② Most of the hearing loss was in one ear only．While it was usually slight, one in 20 adolescents had more problems-up 50％ since the first survey．

　　Hearing loss is very common in the elderly, another researcher of the study Grimes said, but she added that it was concerning to see it come into the younger age groups．In babies and young children, hearing problems are known to delay language development, which in turn influences performance in other areas．Slight hearing loss, for instance, makes it difficult to distinguish between high-frequency consonants like "s" and "f"．

　　The science is less clear for adolescents, but it is easy to imagine how being hard of hearing could influence learning, said Grimes．"We know from a lot of data that noisy classrooms are one of the biggest challenges to learning．" ③

　　The reasons for the rise are still uncertain．When asked about noise exposure-on the job, from firearms of recreational activities, for instance-the teenagers didn't indicate any change．But Shargorodsky said, "We knew from before that it is difficult to ask this age group about noise exposure-they underestimate it"．④ Although it's not clear that these devices are to blame, Grimes said it was still a good idea to turn down the volume．But she pointed out the advice would likely fall on deaf ears．She said the American Academy of Hearing had also contacted Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple, about adding a volume limiter on iPods．But they never heard back．

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　　In the United States, most children begin attending school when they are five years old．Public education is free and most children go to school near their homes．School in these early years is fun．The children learn to read and write．But they also play games and go on trips．There is no reason at such an early age for them to hit the books．

　　The situation changes as children become older．The subjects become more difficult．Students must learn about world history, algebra(代数), and the life sciences．Tests become more common．Pressure is growing to hit the books, study hard, and advance．However, most serious students only really begin hitting the books for long hours when they reach high school．

　　High school students who hope to continue their education at a college or university must take a special test called the S-A-T．The test has two parts．The first part tests the student’s ability with numbers and mathematical skills．The second part tests the student’s ability with the English language．

　　The S-A-T test is very important．A high school student who gets a high score on the two parts of the test has a good chance to enter a top American college．For this reason, many students hit the books for months to prepare for the S-A-T．

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