The Effects of Headphones on Our Ears

When we look around at the city, it's hard to ignore the fact that everyone is wearing headphones. For hours at a time, they listen to music, podcasts, and other sounds without giving much thought to how their ears are affected. But is it really necessary to worry about our hearing? Dr. Samantha Anne, an ENT who specializes in pediatric care, says "yes", we should be concerned.

Dr. Anne explains that loud music can damage the sensory hair cells in the inner ear or the nerves that carry sound from the hair cells to the brain. If you listen to sounds that are too loud, they die and don't regenerate. This is a serious concern because once hearing loss occurs due to noise exposure, there's no going back. You cannot fix it or repair it.

Dr. John Oghalai, an ENT and chair at USC, also agrees that listening to loud music can have severe consequences for our ears. He notes that the nerve carrying sound from the hair cell to the brain is a crucial part of this process. If you listen to sounds that are too loud, they die and as far as we know, they don't regenerate. This can lead to significant damage to hearing.

Dr. Oghalai also suggests that we may not even notice that our hearing is being damaged because it often happens slowly and subtly. Doctors often recommend a hearing test to establish a baseline, but many people haven't had one recently, including Dr. Anne herself. The only real obvious sign of damage is once you have ringing in your ears, aka tinnitus. This means that your hearing has been significantly damaged, and the sound can be very annoying.

But is all sound bad for us? No, not everything is bad for our ears. There are some guidelines to keep in mind. For example, if you listen to something at 85 decibels, you can safely do so for eight hours. This is like hearing a garbage disposal, blender, or dishwasher for eight hours - it's not so bad. However, if you listen to something at 95 decibels, you only get four safe hours of listening. That's slightly louder than a motorcycle that's 25 feet away.

Imagine that for four hours - it's brutal. Now, many people don't think in decibel levels, but there are apps available to measure your decibel level outputs if you're curious. General guidelines suggest keeping the volume at a comfortable level and not exceeding what can be heard around you. If you take off your headphones and you're hearing ringing or the sound is a little bit muffled, like when you come out of a huge concert, that's a sign that you may have overdone it with the volume.

The Future of Headphone Technology

Dr. Oghalai thinks that better headphone technology could reduce the amount of damage we do to our ears. He believes that future headphones will get better and better, which means that the future might actually be bright when it comes to hearing loss. With improved headphones, we can enjoy music and other sounds without putting our ears at risk.

In fact, Dr. Oghalai thinks that headphones have gotten better over time because of technology advancements. He hopes that this trend will continue, making headphones safer for our ears. If he has hope, so do many of us who are concerned about the impact of loud music on our hearing.

Taking Care of Our Ears

In conclusion, it's essential to be mindful of how we use headphones and take care of our ears. We can easily overdo it with volume, especially when headphones are able to keep sounds out. As Dr. Oghalai suggests, it's okay to use headphones but just be smart about it and be sensible.

Dr. Oghalai also recommends that parents set volume controls for their kids so they don't exceed a certain decibel level. And if you're planning to attend concerts or other loud events, consider wearing earplugs as a precautionary measure. By being aware of the risks and taking steps to protect our ears, we can enjoy music and other sounds without putting our hearing at risk.

A Scientific Approach

The doctors mentioned in this article emphasize the importance of science and research when it comes to understanding how headphones affect our ears. They encourage us to learn more about sound levels and decibel measurements to make informed decisions about our listening habits.

Dr. Oghalai's hope for future headphone technology is a great example of how science can drive innovation and improvement. By staying up-to-date with the latest developments in this field, we can look forward to safer and better headphones that will protect our ears without sacrificing sound quality.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- Look around the city andyou'll notice the headphones.Everyone wears them,usually for hours at a time.And all our moms warn us, not to listento our headphones too loudly.But how bad is it reallyfor us to listen all day?How much do I really needto worry about my ears?So of course, our momsare right, it turns outloud music damages yourhearing but you likelywon't notice any tangibleeffects until it's too late.In fact, any persistentnoise effects your ears.- Can headphones cause hearing loss?Absolutely.- That's Dr. Samantha Anne,an ENT who specializesin pediatric care so ifyou're blasting musicor even podcasts all daylong, you're going tobe putting your ears at risk.And you can't fix hearing loss.- Once you lose to hearingloss because of noiseexposure, there's no going back.You don't repair it,there's no getting it back.- I called Dr. John Oghalai,an ENT and chair at USCto learn more about how we'reall ruining our hearing.- So you can damage the sensoryhair cells in the inner earor you can damage the nerves.The nerve that carries the sound fromthe hair cell to the brain.You know if you listen tosounds that are too loud,then they die and as far as weknow, they don't regenerate.- You also probably won'teven know you're damagingyour hearing because it oftenhappens slowly and subtly.Doctors often suggest ahearing test to establisha baseline but I'm sureyou haven't had a recenthearing test, I definitely haven't.The only real obvioussign of damage is onceyou have ringing in yourears, aka, tinnitus.That's not good becausethat means your hearinghas been significantly damaged.Plus ringing is obviously super annoying.Alright, so we're killingour baby ear hairsand maybe damaging ournerve endings, fantastic.But is all sound bad for us?That can't be possible, right?- If you're listeningto a really loud sound,the time you can listen tois less or if it's a mediumlevel sound, then you canlisten to it much longer.- He and the OccupationalSafety and Health Administrationhave some concretedecibel recommendations.If you listen to somethingat 85 decibels for example,you can safely do so for eight hours.This is like hearing agarbage disposal, blenderor dishwasher for eighthours, it's not so bad.At 95 decibels, you only getfour safe hours of listening.That's slightly louder thana motorcycle that's 25 feet away.Imagine that for four hours, it's brutal.You want to almost never hear a chainsawwhich can top out at 120 decibels.Now I recognize that most of usdon't think in decibel levels.I'm impressed if you dobut if you're curious,apps do exist to measureyour decibel level outputs,although, there are other ways to measureyour decibel outputsthat are more abstract.- General guidelines keepit at a comfortable level.Should not be heard around you.And then if you take itoff and you're hearingringing or the sound isa little bit muffled,like when you come out ofa huge concert, for exampleand you have that littlebit of ringing and muffledsound for awhile, that'sactually damage to the hearing.- Of course our headphonescan effect this problem too.Noise isolation, which iswhen our headphones blockout ambien sound becauseof the seal they createcan help reduce the need for louder music.Noise cancellation, which areelectronically counteractsoutside noise can help to.The two taken togethermight make a big difference.- When used properly, tolower the levels of decibelsthat you're playing,noise canceling headphonesare not a bad thing,they could be helpful.- Doctor Oghalai says regular old earbudsmight be the worst as does Dr. Anne.- The type of earbuds thatkind of sit in the bowlof your ear that you canstill hear outside soundsare probably in my mind, some ofthe worst ones you could have.- Both agree that noisecancellation can help,although, if you'reusing noise cancellationas an excuse to tune everything outand then turn up yourmusic, don't do that.That's really bad.Okay, so I wanted to see howloudly I listened to music.So we went out into theworld to see how loudNew York City truly is.We used a sound levelmeter to detect the outsidevolume level and thenlooked at how I adjustedmy volume on my iPhone in turn.We tested one over the earpair, one noise canceling,one noise isolating,Airpods, noise cancelingearbuds and on ear headphones.The subway was super loudwhenever trains were presentand sometimes evenreached up to 100 decibelsbut it wasn't too bad when there wereno trains in the station.The outside city was aboutas loud as when there wereno subways in the stationsbut sometimes it didget a little bit louder, likewhen an ambulance drove by.And the office was alwaysmore or less silent.Obviously, this all effected how loudlyI needed to turn up my music.But all the headphones stuckto a clear pattern of use,regardless of where I was.I had to turn my regular,over the ear headphonesup the highest as well as my Airpods.The noise isolatingheadphones and noise cancelingheadphones really did agood job keeping externalsounds out which led meto keep the volume lowerthan I had to with other pairs.But even with these noisecanceling and noise isolatingheadphones, the subwaystation volume was nearlydouble that of the office.This all makes sense butas the doctors warned,we could easily over do it with volume,especially when the headphonesare able to keep sounds out.All we can do to take careof our ears is be mindful.Maybe give up on your vanityand wear earplugs at concertsbecause you never, everwant to hear that ringing.If you're a parent, youcan often set volumecontrols for your kids so they don'texceed a certain decibel level.- It's okay to use the headphones but justbe smart about it, be sensible.- Dr. Oghalai thinks thefuture might actuallybe bright when it comes to hearing loss.Better headphone technology could reducethe amount of damage we do.- It's actually gonna getbetter over our lifetimesbecause I think headphoneshave gotten better.- If he has hope, so do I.Hey, do you have anythingyou've been wondering aboutrelated to tech and myths maybe?Leave them in the comments below becausewe're always looking for ideas.Also, we just launched a newaverge science YouTube pagethat you should absolutelygo check out so go do that.\n"