People with headphones are a common sight nowadays. But while listening to your favorite music might be good for the soul, it could bad for your ears.
MetroHealth ear, nose and throat doctor Joe Carter said the number one cause of preventable hearing loss is noise exposure, and the biggest problem is that the effects of noise damage aren’t seen until years down the road.
And with the way mp3 players work, Dr. Carter warned, “They’re very capable of putting out very high volumes and with the long battery life they have now it is very possible for a child to listen to that for 6, 8, 10 hours.”
Dr. Carter said volume and time listening are the two biggest variables when it comes to preventable hearing loss.
Add on top of that those earbud type of earphones that sit in your ear.
Dr. Carter said, “The thought is that earbuds just transfer it much more directly without any spread of the sound directly into the ear so it’s thought to be a little more dangerous.”
And while the trend now is going back to the bigger types of headphones, don’t assume they will spread out the sound going into your ear.
“Some fit over your head more like earmuffs where they’re really quite tightly coupled and that’s not necessarily good either,” said Dr. Carter.
Signs of noise damage can be seen as early as your late teens and early 20s.
To save your hearing, turn it down.
read full story
article courtesy of Newsnet5.com
