Hearing Loss Risks of the iPod Generation – Is the Damage Already Done?
The UK private hearing health care company, Hidden Hearing, has pointed out two dangers of listening to music too loudly. There is the risk of long-term damage to hearing - a blog on its website states that a study by the University of Michigan noted that one in ten commuters in New York City (4,500 participated) were exposed to noise that exceeded the daily limit of 70 decibels. That is the noise level deemed acceptable according to the World Health Organization.
But there is also another issue - commuters walking around busy cities listening to music so loud it drowns out the noise of oncoming traffic. For a guide as to what is considered too loud, the NIDCD has a handy interactive sound ruler which advises on volume levels.
A life without music would be joyless but some simple measures can ensure your hearing remains healthy. Set a maximum volume control on the iPod or MP3 player you use - or buy a new one if your existing model doesn't have a setting - and don't override it. Instead of blasting up the volume if you're in a crowded environment, get some noise-cancelling headphones: block out the outside noise rather than increasing the sound of the music.
Above all else, take regular breaks. If the music you're listening to sounds distorted, it's too loud. And if your ears are ringing, the noise is definitely too loud. Repeated exposure will place you at risk, so be kind to your hearing and protect your ears. This article suggests a five-minute rest for every hour you listen to music through an MP3 player.
Even discounting that (I'm wary about statistics especially when no raw data, like sampling, standard deviation, standard error and distribution that actually truly qualifies statistics, the comparison was to 1971. The Walkman became available in 1979. I was visiting Japan for the first time on a school trip, and came back with one, they were available in Japan before being available anywhere else (electronics makers used to test domestic marketability before releasing to the rest of the world). Also at that time, boomboxes (ghetto blasters) were also popular in Japan since space is an issue in Japanese houses, these portable all-in-ones were popular, again not so much in the Western world at that time. I also came back with one of those.
In very early 1982, with the rising popularity of the Walkman, there was some evidence that having the headphone transducers in close proximity to the eardrum and that high sound volume was likely causing teen hearing problems. Basically, you wouldn't give a roughly $200 fragile item to a preteen or lower. $200 back then would fill up your gas tank roughly 30 times, so nearly a years worth of gasoline, so to be in the affect group you would have had to be rich or be born in 1969 or before. So, there was a correlation between the high volumes of these first personal music devices and hearing loss. So, previous to any iPod or MP3, (nor where there any earbuds - just earphones that were used for the early transistor radios) there was already mounting evidence that those personal devices with headphones were a cause for concern. In other words, in the "iPod Age" it was already old information. i.e. already well known way before the iPod and MP3. The MP3 players were in the late 1990s and the iPod was released in October 2001. In the high tech world, 8 years (MP3) to nearly 2 decades prior to the iPod's introduction this was already widely believed that hearing loss due to personal entertainment devices where a prime culprit. This is not news, it is history.
My nieces and nephews constantly walk around with earbuds in, oblivious to their surroundings. I'm going to point their parents to this article.
It's hard to fight the urge to "pump up" the volume when your favorite songs come on. I will be much more aware of the impact now.
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