A study from the Netherlands suggests that 20 percent of teens have damaged their eardrums permanently—stats reflecting a previous study done in England.

For the new study, researchers polled more than 4,000 Flemish high schoolers about their hearing. About three in four said they sometimes experienced ringing in their ears, known to doctors as tinnitus. About one of every five say they hear that ringing all the time.

Tinnitus typically is caused through exposure to loud noises. Too much exposure, and the tinnitus becomes permanent.

“Tinnitus on its own can be very troublesome and have dramatic effects on individuals,” says Dr. Josef Shargorodsky, a fellow at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore. “Many of the teens in this study likely also have associated hearing loss, which really exacerbates the problem.” Indeed, other doctors say tinnitus can hurt the sufferer’s sleep and concentration, leading to lower performance in school.

Perhaps tellingly, only 5 percent of teens polled said they ever used any sort of hearing protection. (Reuters)

Paul Asay has covered religion for The Washington Post, Christianity Today, Beliefnet.com and The (Colorado Springs) Gazette. He writes about culture for Plugged In and wrote the Batman book God on the Streets of Gotham (Tyndale). He lives in Colorado Springs with wife Wendy and his two children. Follow him on Twitter.