How often do you listen to headphones in a day and how loud? If your neighbor can hear your music, it is probably a good idea for you to turn your music down. A statistic, according to the article “Hearing Loss and Headphones- Is Anyone Listening?”, says that “1 in 5 teens has some form of hearing loss, a rate about 30% higher than it was in the 1980s and 1990s”-this may be due to the increased use of headphones.
In James E. Foy’s study, he concluded that “after about an hour and 15 minutes” hearing loss can occur if headphones are played up to 120 decibels. He says that if you cannot hear sounds around you, the level of music is too high. This is interesting because most people turn up their headphone volume to block out the sounds around them. Foy recommends listening to music at a level a little over 50% for no more than an hour a day. To put it in perspective for you again, Foy also says that a person should only listen to their music for five minutes if they turn the volume all the way up to avoid hearing issues.
Once a person has hearing damage, they cannot fix it unless he or she gets a device to help with hearing. People, according to Foy’s study, should be more cautious when listening to headphones and use moderation when doing so.
While this study seems logical, correlation does not mean causation. Just because headphone use has increased while hearing loss has increased does not mean that headphones are the reason for this. There are many third variables that should be taken into consideration. For examples, if there has been an increase in number of concerts individuals attend, if there were valid tests of hearing made in the 1980s and 1990s to compare statistics with, if the increase of loud speakers is what is causing more hearing loss, and if loss of hearing is actually due to genetics.
While loud headphones may be a factor in hearing loss, it is not the reason for overall hearing loss. People should use headphones in moderation to avoid the chance of damaging their hearing. Seek a health care adviser if you have a ringing/buzzing noise in your ears, if you notice you cannot hear others, the radio, or television as well on your usual settings; and if you have trouble identifying high-pitched noises. Click here for a list of more symptoms.
Sources:
http://bindapple.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/ipod-earbud-headphones-2.jpg
http://www.osteopathic.org/osteopathic-health/about-your-health/health-conditions-library/general-health/Pages/headphone-safety.aspx
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/patientinstructions/000495.htm
Walking to class on this huge campus can get boring. You see tons of students walking with their headphones in listening to their music of choice. It seems logical that loud music going directly into our ears can cause hearing loss, and the facts behind the theory prove that it is true. Stony Brook School of Medicine posted facts that shows how loud you should listen to your music for and how long. Hearing specialist David A. Schessel says that “If you can hear the music your child/teenager is playing through their headphones or earphones, it means the sound is too loud and can lead to permanent hearing loss.” Next time someone by you is playing their music through their headphones and you can hear it, do them a favor and tell them to lower it so they can have their hearing in the future!
http://medicine.stonybrookmedicine.edu/surgery/blog/headphones-and-earphones-can-cause-permanent-hearing-loss-what-you-need-to-know
I agree that there is a correlation between listening to your music too long and hearing loss. However, I think there are too many third variables that come into play in this study. People are more susceptible to hearing loss than others. Other factors such as hearing loss running in the family, if someone has hearing aids, if someone has attended several concerts recently, how much someone listens to music compared to another, how loud someone listens to music compared to another, what kinds of headphones the individual is using, etc. can all contribute to significant hearing loss. I think if researchers did a study on a large sample of people in which they divided the people up into three groups and they all listened to the same song or few songs over and over at different volumes (Group 1 – low volume, Group 2- moderate volume, Group 3- blasting music volume) it would be easier to find a causation for this dilemma. Like you said, correlation does not cause causation. The link below discusses different damage factors of listening to your music too long and talks about these third variables.
http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/healthy-living/wellbeing/keeping-your-ears-safe.htm
I think this is one of those things where our intuition is just “lousy” as Andrew would say. It definitely makes sense that if you listen to your music at full blast all the time you’re going to ruin your hearing, but also the world around us has changed so drastically over the past decade where we are always in contact with electronics and there is barely a time in the day when you are only hearing natural sounds. This could be hugely affecting everyones hearing because our bodies are not yet used to all of the unnatural sounds around us. It’s going to be interesting to see if the next generation of kids will lose their hearing faster than previous generations.
I’m not a fan of Foy’s study. I listen to my headphones for hours every day, at a volume level I believe is reasonable.
First of all, he states that “if you cannot hear sounds around you, the level of music is too high.” Well, different headphones have different levels of noise cancellation. When I was wearing my old Apple earbuds, I could hear noises around me when my music was cranked up to painfully loud levels. On my current Sony headphones, I can’t hear noises around me if the music is on the lowest setting. Is the lowest setting too loud? I don’t think so.
Secondly, he recommends “listening to music at a level a little over 50% for no more than an hour a day.” What on earth is 50%? Is it 50% of my iPhone’s volume control? Different songs can reach different max volumes, as well as different types of earbuds and headphones. 50% could mean absolutely anything.
While I agree that people should use headphones with caution, a better study must be done before drawing any conclusions about the correlation between listening to music using headphones and hearing loss.
I think people have always assumed, loud music causes hearing loss, but something that would’ve been interesting to know from this study is what kind of headphones cause the most hearing damage. Do my little headphones that came with my iPhone do the same amount of damage as the $400 beats headphones? What’s the difference between listening to my iPhone headphones on full blast vs. my beats on full blast? A comparison on this level would really hit home for many people, and learning how long we should listen to full blast music would put listening to music into perspective for people, including myself.