Today 1 in every 5 teens in the US has some form of hearing loss. This is 30% higher than it was twenty years ago. This is due to the increased use of headphones and other variables. The latest research shows using headphones that go inside the ear canal is incredibly hazardous to your hearing.
According to otologist Dr. Foy music players make sounds that reach up to 120 decibels. This sound level is the same as the sound level at a rock concert. You can start losing your hearing listening to sounds at that decibal after about an hour and 15 minutes.
The cochlea is the auditory inner ear chamber where hearing occurs. The cochlea is lined with hair cells that vibrate at different sound frequencies. Those vibrations get translated into nerve signals hence; sound. But loud noise can damage them. And unlike the hair on your head, once damaged those hairs don’t grow back.
Researchers at the U.S. CDC The CDC reported that 12.5 percent showed signs of hearing loss. A credible scientist doesn’t support the thesis of earphones increasingly causing hearing loss. William Clark an audiologist, conducted research collected data between 1970 and 1985 that showed no hearing loss has elevated during that period. A similar study looked at young workers with Alcoa between 1985 and 2004. Again, Clark says, there was no evidence of a decline in hearing. He said as quoted “But these findings do not mean that Walkmans or iPods or other personal stereos are not hazardous,”. So we should still be cautious with how loud our music is.
According to hearing experts, you can reduce the risk of hearing loss by listening to music at no more than 60% of the highest volume for no more than an hour a day. Also using headphones instead of earbuds can help prevent damage to your ears. Hearing loss is irreversible so take note! Feel free to comment. Thanks for reading.
This post is very interesting and very relevant. I am constantly listening to music, and I try to keep the volume relatively low, but there are still a lot of times in which I have the volume high. Also I think that when people are in a car with their friends they often blast the music which may also have an impact on their hearing. I think I have a little bit of hearing loss. There are some days where I am constantly asking people to repeat what they said. After looking at this post I am going to try and be much more careful with listening to music to loud.
When I was younger I always listened to music as loud as possible every time I got new headphones. I did this until I learned that this was clearly a mistake. Even now, I hear a lot of loud music whether in my apartment or at a party. This difference is now that i’m much more conscious of my hearing because I’m sure its damaged more than it should be at this point. NHS.uk put together a good article on this topic and gave some great tips to measure your volume considering the average person cant measure decibels. Check it out.
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/hearing-problems/Pages/tips-to-protect-hearing.aspx
I don’t believe I have experienced hearing lose yet but I do listen to my music in headphones often. This post worries me about my future of being able to hear. Every time I go to the gym I find myself eventually having to turn the volume all the way up on my head phones, I’m not sure why…. If you are worried too I would reccomend checking some of these headphones out: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/fear-hearing-loss-five-headphones-designed-to-protect-your-ears-183042
I don’t think we as a generation of avid music players will suddenly go deaf. However i do believe we will have far worse health implications in regards to hearing then our parents or grandparents. The ability for a small device to emit music yet cost us our hearing is just another problem the advancement of technology brings.
It’s funny, I knew this article was going to involve headphones, but I’m honestly surprised both at the power behind the headphones and the short amount of time it takes for headphones to actually damage your ears. I also find it very interesting between the comparisons of old rock and roll bands at the BJC performing.
I have yet to experience any hearing loss, but like most people our age I do listen to music through my headphones during an extremely large portion of my day. This post was very interesting for me to read, as I’m glad my headphones aren’t doing as much harm as I worry about. I do have headphones as opposed to ear buds, and I don’t generally listen to my music any higher than at half volume. I will continue to be cautious about my headphone use in the future.