From Headphones to Hearing Aids: The Dangers Of Loud Music

Photo Credit: ALEXANDRA LEVINSON

BY BLUE KAUFMAN

People would like to believe that hearing loss is something that happens to “other” people, not to them. However, with 173 million I- Pod users listening to loud music, hearing loss is more common then ever before. It’s time to pull out those headphones, look at the facts and stop hearing loss before it’s too late.

Hearing loss is on the rise, and it’s mainly attributed to something that most people participate in every day: listening to loud music on I-pods. According to Time Magazine, the highest recommended volume level on I-pods is 70-80% for 90 minutes a day. However in reality, Americans, and particularly teens, jam out to their music a lot louder and for much longer then that.  A quarter of I- pod user between the ages of 8 and 54 listen at volumes that can cause impaired hearing. Don’t assume that “maximum” volume is safe just because I-Pod allows it. If anyone can hear “leakage” out of you headphones from several feet away, the music is dangerously loud.

The symptoms start with temporary hearing loss, and this can happen after you’ve been exposed to loud noises for only 20 minutes.Your hearing will sound muffled and you may have tinnitus, which is basically when you hear a  ringing you ears. This temporary hearing loss usually goes away in a day or two, but if repeated several times hearing loss can become permanent.

Your hearing is delicate.  Deep within the ear is the cochlea (area where hearing happens). The cochlea is lined with over 16,000 little hair cells that vibrate before being transferred into sound frequencies. Loud noise can damage these sensitive hairs and can even kill them.

“When you damage your ears they don’t heal,” hearing specialist Ben Jackson said in an interview with NPR. “They never get better they just get worse, slowly or quickly over time”.

In reality, the real problem isn’t the Ipods themselves. The real culprit behind hearing loss is the headphones you listen to music through. The ear bud is pounding dangerously high levels of volume less then an inch from inside your ear.   On top of that, they are not efficient at blocking out background sounds that can damage hearing further.

From rock concerts to the next door neighbor’s garage band, no music lover can deny that music is meant to be played loud. However, if you’re going to blast it at the maximum volume, you need to watch how long you are  listening. Also it’s a good idea to invest in cushioned headsets instead of ear buds. They make the music sound better and block out background noises making them are safer to wear. Preventing hearing loss is easy, but if this pattern continues, eventually the population is going to have to replace those headphones with hearing aids