Why Your Headphones Are Too Loud

WHY YOUR HEADPHONES ARE TOO LOUD The Magnitude of Music & Millennials Rate of hearing loss among teens today is about 81% 30% higher than it was in the 1980s and 1990s. Some experts attribute this to the increased use of headphones with teenagers. of teens listen to music with earphones. 30% 1980 1990 2000s Only 8% of adolescents 46% of teens show potential signs of hearing loss with occasional ringing, roaring buzzing, or pain in their ears. believe that hearing loss is a major health concern. DOCTOR'S NOTE Teens need to remember that we only have a set number of these hair cells. They do not grow back. Listening to loud music right now may not seem like a big deal but hair cells are still dying. As they get older they may experience hearing loss in middle age caused by activities when they were teenagers. - Dr. Cherukuri Teens Who Report Hearing Loss Symptoms 20% 19% 17% 1 in 6 teens 15% 12% report that they experience symptoms often or all of the time. 10% 5% 0% 13- 14 15-17 18 - 19 (Age) Stats and Facts Approximately 26 million Americans between the ages of 20 and 69 have noise induced hearing loss (NIHL). Hearing loss is consistently one of the most commonly reported injuries amongst US Veterans due to intense exposure to explosions and gunfire. That's the same amount of people that use the Great Lakes for drinking water. 85 IS TOO HIGH: Long term ex posure to sounds over 85 decibels can cause hearing loss. Some variables include a person's distance from the noise and length of ex posure. BAM! llln. the NIHL can be caused either by A one-time exposure to an intensely loud noise OR Long term exposure to less loud noises DOCTOR'S NOTE HOW DOES NOISE CAUSE HEARING LOSS? Excessive noise causes hearing loss by killing the hair cells in our inner ear. When enough of Sound travels into the ear and vibrates through various passageways, ultimately rippling across hair-like cells in the inner ear, sending electrical impulses to recognize sounds in the brain. Most hearing loss is caused by damage to these hair cells. these hair cells di we experience hearing loss. This can happen over prolonged exposure to loud noise or instantaneously if a noise is loud enough. - Dr. Cherukuri Some examples of sounds that are 85 decibels or higher decibels FIREWORKS 115 decibets MP3 PLAYER PLAYED AT MAXIMUM VOLU ME 85 decibels HEAVY CITY TRAFFIC POLICE 120. 95 decibels decibels POLICE/AMBULANCE/FIRE SIRENS MOTORCYCLE ENGINES Headphones and Damage At full volume, MP3 players and other digital music devices can produce as much noise as a live rock concert. One study showed that around 89% of people will tum the volume on their MP3 players up if ambient noise such as subways or street noise are too loud. Studies have shown that at very high volumes, DOCTOR'S NOTE hearing loss can occur after as little as 8 minutes of listening. Headphones are great! However, you need to watch. the volume of whatever you are listening to. You should be able to hear someone THE 60 RULE A good rule of thumb for using MP3 players and speak at a conversational level from three feet away while listening with head phones. If you cannot, the volume is too loud. headphones without damaging hearing is to listen for no more than 60 minutes a day. at no more than 60% volume, Dr. Cherukuri Earbud Headphones and Hearing Loss Earbuds have the potential to cause more damage to hearing than traditional headphones. They are worn directly in the ear canal and have the potential to produce 7-9 decibels higher sound. DOCTOR'S NOTE They also filter less ambient noise, contributing to the tendency to tum volume up in situations I personally prefer over the ear headphones. In the ear headphones can increase the sound pressure level in the ear very quickly. With either kind of headphone, watch the volume of whatever you are listening to. There are apps to prevent the volume from exceeding a preset decibel level and I am a big fan of those. - Dr. Cherukuri that may already be high risk for hearing loss. SOURCES: MDHearingAid nidodnihgowheaitatistica/pages/quick.asp hearingioss.org/content/veterans ron ArronnAnrTAnINC A nidodnihgowheahearing/pageholse.asps enttoday.org/articieimpa-generationrnolse-induced-hearing-lossrtsing-among-chlidretrand-adolescenta/2 csteopathic.orgfosteopatnie-healthabout-your-health/health-conditions-ibrarylgenerathealth/Pages/headphonesatety.aspa enttodayorg/articeimpa-ge a-generationrnolse-induced-hearing-losrtaing-among-chlidrenrand-adolescents electronicshowstuttworks.com/gadgets/audio-musicarbuds vheadphoeshtm entnetorg/content/holse-induced-hearing toss-children contenttime.com/lime/healtartic/0,850,1881130,00ntmi weemd.com/cNaren/teatures/hearingtosmpspage2