With all of the technology and gadgets we use today, headphones are a must for most people. Headphones allow a personalized and mobilized listening experience without disturbing others. After the iPod was introduced in the early 2000’s, millions of headphones have been sold. In 2017, 368 million headphones were sold worldwide. Here are some statistics to demonstrate how much we use headphones,
- 87% of people use headphones to listen to music
- 49% use them to watch TV or movies
- 36% use them to listen to the radio
- 28% use them to listen to audiobooks
- 25% use them on phone calls
(Source: Statista.com)
That is a lot of opportunities to risk noise exposure hearing loss.
This type of hearing loss damages the inner ear. Listening to music at volumes louder than 85 decibels (dB) for prolonged periods of time can and will cause permanent hearing loss and possibly tinnitus (ringing in your ears). Decibels are on a scale from 0 to 140. The risk of damaging your hearing from noise exposure is based on how loud and how long and once the damage is done, it is done.
So, how loud are some of the noises in our everyday environment?
Because many workplace environments have loud noise exposure, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) have issued safe limits for workers and instituted the need for noise blocking head phones. You can find more information about the regulations by clicking the link below.
Once your hearing is damaged-there is no undoing it. Listed below are some hearing protection tips you could use to protect your hearing on a daily basis.
- Turn it down! -Set your volume at no louder than 70% of the possible volume.
- Choose over-the-ear headphones over earbuds-Earbuds can be up to 9 dB louder than over-the-ear headphones.
- Don’t put up with work noise-If you are experiencing noise at work, talk to your Human Resources department or manager and ask for advice in reducing the noise or getting hearing protection.
- Use noise-cancelling headphones-If you are listening to your devices in a noisy environment, it is easy to dial up the volume in your earbuds to overcome the noise around you.
- Use earplugs when you are listening to live music
- Adjust the Bass So, when listening to music, try turning down the volume, and increasing the bass to get more enjoyment without more decibels.
Safe hearing levels are based on older research. It was thought at one time if you have muffled hearing and tinnitus after attending a rock concert, it was only temporary. We know now that even a limited amount of noise exposure can cause permanent damage to the hair cells in our ears. Just as skin damage/skin cancer doesn’t appear for decades down the road, hearing loss may not be noticed for a decade or more. Be safe and practice good hearing health habits.