Headphones and Hearing Loss: Quick Read

Most people ranging from kids, teenagers and adults commonly use headphones. Whether it’s for school, work, or casually listening to music, approximately 80% of people use headphones daily! Although headphones are great and convenient for everyday life, there are downsides to constant usage on hearing. The following blog will dive into the facts and dangers of headphone use.

How are Headphones Dangerous?

The truth behind headphones is they aren’t dangerous; it comes down to the volume of the sound that comes out. Hearing loss is becoming more common earlier in life due to the impacts of listening to loud sounds for significant periods of time. Sustained exposure to moderately loud noise (85 decibels for eight hours) and short-term exposure to very loud noises (15 minutes listening to sound above 100 decibels) is proven to impact hearing. A study done in 2010 by Harvard Medical School found that the rise in popularity of headphones has significantly increased the rate of hearing loss diagnosis in individuals under the age of 20. Being aware of the consequences of headphone use is so important to keep hearing from declining.

Science Behind Hearing Loss

Sound is created as a sensory reaction in the brain following the vibration of tiny hairs within a chamber in the inner ear. Friction between different surfaces results in movement in the air, and this movement causes these hairs to vibrate in different ways, creating different sounds. Loud sounds increase the strength of these vibrations. If the vibrations are too intense for too long, the hairs are unable to cope with the loud sounds and stop working properly. There are two main kinds of hearing loss, sensorineural hearing loss and conduction hearing loss.

●      Sensorineural hearing loss (Nerve deafness): The inability to hear due to damage to the cochlea’s receptor cells or to the auditory nerves. This can be caused by repeated and prolonged exposure to loud sounds, but it can be helped by a cochlear implant

●      Conduction hearing loss: The inability to hear due to damage to mechanical elements of the ear (parts other than the cochlea), but it can be helped by a hearing aid

Hearing Loss Solutions and Preventions

Once the hairs in your inner ear are destroyed to the point, they cannot repair themselves, they are lost for the rest of your life. Certain medical treatments are helpful for hearing loss (ex. hearing aids and cochlear implants), but there are no ways to get the hair in the inner ear to work properly again. Some common hearing devices include hearing aids and a cochlear implant.

• Hearing Aids- A hearing aid is a small electronic device that you wear in or behind the ear. It has three basic parts: a microphone, amplifier, and speaker. The hearing aid receives sound through a microphone, which converts the sound waves to electrical signals and sends them to an amplifier. The amplifier increases the power of the signals and then sends them to the ear through a speaker.

• Cochlear Implant- A cochlear implant is a small, complex electronic device that can help to provide a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard-of-hearing. 

Some ways to prevent the loss of hearing include of

1. Turning the Volume Down

Keeping the volume controlled is the easiest way to avoid any problems with hearing loss that relates to headphones to prevent loud sounds from damaging the hairs in the inner ear.

2. Set Controls on Phones

Most phones have settings that allow you to set a maximum volume so someone doesn’t accidentally exceed a limit that can damage their hearing.

3. Limit Noise Exposure

A person can listen to music at 102 decibels for around ten minutes before it becomes dangerous. Set yourself a time limit and stick to it. It’s advised you stop well before the time limit to protect your hearing.

4. Use Over-The-Ear Headphones

Over-the-ear headphones, as compared to inner-ear earbuds, are gentler on the ears as the sound is applied in a less direct way to the eardrum. Inner-earbuds are closer to the eardrum and can damage it more easily.

There are many ways to save your hearing and so many ways worth saving. Hearing is the only sensory system that allows us to know what is going on everywhere in our environment. Hearing allows one to identify and recognize objects in the world based on the sounds they produce, and hearing makes communication using sound possible. Without the sense of hearing, our world would not be the same!

relates to headphones to prevent loud sounds from damaging the hairs in the inner ear.

2. Set Controls on Phones

Most phones have settings that allow you to set a maximum volume so someone doesn’t accidentally exceed a limit that can damage their hearing.

3. Limit Noise Exposure

A person can listen to music at 102 decibels for around ten minutes before it becomes dangerous. Set yourself a time limit and stick to it. It’s advised you stop well before the time limit to protect your hearing.

4. Use Over-The-Ear Headphones

Over-the-ear headphones, as compared to inner-ear earbuds, are gentler on the ears as the sound is applied in a less direct way to the eardrum. Inner-earbuds are closer to the eardrum and can damage it more easily.

Citations

Fletcher, Lee. “Can Headphones Cause Hearing Loss and Damage?” Regain Hearing, 7 Nov. 2024, https://www.regainhearing.co.uk/blog/can-headphones-cause-hearing-loss/#:~:text=Yes%2C%20prolonged%20exposure%20to%20loud,are%20damaged%2C%20they%20cannot%20regenerate.

“Cochlear Implants.” National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/cochlear-implants

“Headphones & Hearing Loss.” American Osteopathic Association, 22 Jan. 2021, https://osteopathic.org/what-is-osteopathic-medicine/headphones-hearing-loss/#:~:text=Foy%2C%20DO%2C%20an%20osteopathic%20pediatrician,and%20language%2C%E2%80%9D%20he%20cautions.