Everyone at some point in their life has used headphones, maybe either to listen to music, watch a Youtube video, or even talk on the phone. It’s extremely common to see college students walking around with headphones practically glued to their ears. I know I am a victim of this because it’s most convenient when I want to listen to music while studying so no one can be bothered by their music or maybe when I’m Facetiming, over even at the gym. Overall, headphones are extremely useful and almost necessary in majority of people’s lives. However, are headphones a good or bad thing? Can they actually be negatively affecting our hearing?
According to osteopathic.org, “one in five teens has some form of hearing loss, a rate about 30% higher than it was in the 1980s and 1990s”. This shocks most to hear because of how popular headphones really are. Not only just listening to headphones affects one’s hearing, but even constantly being around extreme noises that are louder than comforting can result in delays in speech and language. What happens is the loud noises lead to hearing loss by damaging the stereocilia, which are tiny hairs that sit on top of hair cells in inner ear. Stated in thegaurdian.com, “noise makes them vibrate which change the voltage in the hair cells, then sends chemical messages through nerves to the brain, battering your stereocilia will damage hearing”. Who knew that damaging the tiny hairs on our ears could have such an effect on us.
So at what point is the loudness too loud? Dr. Foy admits “if you can’t hear anything going on around you when to listening to headphones, the decibel level is too high”. This strikes me because I have listened to music or watched Netflix at a volume that has been able to block out any noise in my surroundings. “When listening through headphones, one should not exceed 60% of maximum volume” Dr. Foy informs us. Hearing loss can occur after an hour and fifth teen minutes. Not only does the volume of music or noise headphones contribute to hearing loss, but also the exposure to music. So, how long is too long? One should only use music devices for a total of 60 minutes a day. Dr. Foy states, “The louder the volume, the shorter your duration should be. At maximum volume, you should listen for only about five minutes a day.” I definitely agree with his conclusion because it makes sense, if one is listening to music on a loud volume that is over 60% for a long period of time a day, it definitely can be negative affecting your hearing. Our ears are not meant to hear loud noises directly placed in our the depths of our ears. Even for a small amount of time if I had headphones at a 100% volume, it would not even be enjoyable because it’s simply too loud to handle for even a long period of time.
Signs of hearing loss include ringing, roaring, hissing, or buzzing, difficulty understanding speech in loud places, muffled sounds and feeling like your ear is plugged. These all contribute to hearing loss warning signs. Dr. Foy suggests that if these signs occur to visit a physician to correctly diagnose a hearing damage. Overall, suggesting that to prevent a hearing loss, one must cut down the use and sound of headphones in a day to remain able to hear efficiently.
Sources:
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/jan/26/will-headphones-damage-my-hearing\
This is definitely a relatable topic but made me think about whether it’s just loud music in headphones that cause damage or if it is loud music in general such as in a car or at a music festival which are known to have excruciatingly loud, beating music. How does the harm in both of these settings compare to one another? Anyway, this is a site discussing just how loud you can play your music until it becomes harmful to you. Check it out if you’re interested!
http://www.livescience.com/32783-how-loud-can-you-play-music-without-damaging-your-hearing.html
This article is very interesting, but I disagree with your statement on how listening to music “too loudly” is bad for you. After doing a little bit of research I found an article which clearly states how loud music is good for you. According to researchers at Manchester University, “…the inner ear, known as the sacculus… responds to the beat in music. This gives the brain pleasure and makes us feel good — during the music and afterwards.” This quote is stating how loud music enhances one’s mood and makes one happy or happier. You also mentioned that Dr. Foy said that “When listening through headphones, one should not exceed 60% of maximum volume”. This article is recommending that you listen to your tunes at a volume above 90 decibels (which is way above 60%). So, maybe listening to music loudly is not so bad after all?
http://lifehacker.com/5350990/boost-your-brains-health-with-loud-music