HOW TO PREVENT HEARING LOSS FROM HEADPHONES

We all love the escape music gives us but turning up the volume on your earphones may result in hearing damage.

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A World Health Organization (WHO) study estimated that in 2015 over a billion young people worldwide were at risk of developing hearing loss because of listening to loud music. About 50 percent of people aged 12 to 35 are putting their hearing at risk because of loud sound, mainly through personal audio devices like smartphones.

A 2021 WHO report predicted that one in four people (about 2.5 billion) will have some form of hearing loss by 2050. Since prevention is better than cure, take action now.

EARLY HEARING LOSS
Audiologist Roxanne Kohne, branch manager of the Ear Institute, Cape Town, says hearing loss is rising worldwide. In terms of early hearing loss, she says she mainly sees young adults with noise-induced hearing loss from their youth. ‘Some parents do bring in their younger children (aged seven to 16 years) for hearing tests as they’re concerned about excessive noise exposure. But, most of the time, their hearing is still within normal limits, and that is the perfect opportunity to educate and advise the youth about healthy listening habits.’



THE DANGERS OF TOO LOUD, TOO LONG
The WHO campaign ‘Make Listening Safe’ states that it is not only the volume level but the length of listening time that causes the damage. They advise a maximum decibel (dB) level of 85 for any sound, but other studies suggest a range of 65 to 85 dB is safest. Roxanne says, ‘The loudness determines the time one can expose one’s ears to loud sound, without causing harm.

The louder the dB level, the shorter the exposure time. It’s difficult to give an exact “safe” period without knowing the dB levels, so I always inform parents that they shouldn’t hear the sound coming from their child’s headphones; if they can, then it is too loud. I encourage listening breaks as opposed to continuous listening. I think two hours continuously is safe at a low level before a break.’

Headphones are better as they do not exert as much sound pressure into the ear canal as the insert earbuds do.

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EARBUDS VS HEADPHONES?
Is there a difference between earbuds and headphones in terms of hearing damage? ‘Headphones are better as they do not exert as much sound pressure into the ear canal as the insert earbuds do,’ says Roxanne. So, when using earbuds, be aware that the volume should be lower and listening period shorter.

SETTING HEALTHY NOISE-LEVEL LIMITS
Try using sound-level measuring apps to set noise-level limits. You can download Sound Meter and Noise Detector for Android or NIOSH Sound Level Meter for iOS for free. ‘While not 100% accurate, the apps do provide insight into dB levels,’ says Roxanne.

Asking a young adult to refrain from visiting noisy entertainment environments isn’t completely realistic. Instead, educate them about earplugs and other excellent custom noise protection that is available.


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