The widespread use of smartphones with built-in music players has made earbuds a staple. Music lovers know just how valuable a good playlist can be when you need to keep up your mood. However, the smartphones, and the earbuds that come with them, could be hurting our hearing (especially in young people).
People have listened to loud music for as long as there has been music. And the widespread use of smartphones with built-in music players has made earbuds a staple. Music lovers know just how valuable a good playlist can be when you need to keep up your mood. Podcasts are also very popular when going on walks or doing things around the house with your air pods or earbuds in. However, the smartphones, and the earbuds that come with them, could be hurting our hearing (especially in young people).
Of course, the big benefit of earbuds is that they send sound directly down your ear canal, meaning less outside noise to interfere with your music. But doctors have warned against this design for years, at least for people who like lots of volume. And now a disturbing number of young people and adults are reporting early signs of hearing loss. Audiologists now believe funneling loud sounds into one’s ear for hours on end is the problem.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 1 billion people aged 12 to 35 years of age risk losing their hearing due to prolonged and excessive sound exposure and are risking permanent hearing injury. The numbers show it. Approximately 40 million American adults may have hearing loss resulting from noise exposure.
“Noise-induced hearing loss causes damage to the hair cells found in the inner ear,” Holly Ralston, a clinical audiologist at Midwest ENT & Allergy explains. “Hair cells are small sensory cells that convert the sounds we hear (sound energy) into electrical signals that travel to the brain. Once damaged, our hair cells cannot grow back, which results in permanent hearing loss.”
Too much sound is dangerous, Holly warns.
“Patients admit that they are listening with their earbuds or air pods louder and longer – We discuss the correlation between extended earbud use and hearing issues with our patients - that the louder the noise, the less time you can listen safely to that noise.”
But when is sound dangerous?
“If you have to shout over background noise to be heard, if the noise is painful to your ears, the noise makes your ears ring, or you have decreased or ‘muffled’ hearing for several hours after exposure,” she said.
Ralston recommends that parents take precautions, including monitoring the volume of the music as well as how long their child is listening to it. “If you are unable to monitor the level of sound coming from a child’s earbuds, a safe rule of thumb is: if you can hear it when close to their head, it is too loud.”
It’s not surprising the audiologists and physicians at Midwest ENT & Allergy have been seeing more young people with hearing problems. “It is now estimated that one in eight children and teens will have noise-induced hearing loss,” she said. “It is all about protecting the hearing health of our children. The amount of time a young person spends with loud noise in their ears increases the risk of permanent hearing loss and tinnitus”
It’s a great idea to schedule a baseline hearing test to be proactive against hearing loss for yourself or your children.
If you think you, or a family member, may already have hearing loss, contact one of the expert audiologists at Midwest ENT & Allergy and set up an appointment today.
Sioux Falls Woman Magazine