You can go deaf from headphones: here's what you need to know

You can go deaf from headphones: here's what you need to know

Do you have strange buzz in your ears? Maybe it's time to check if you're overusing the volume on your headphones.

We don't just turn up the volume on our headphones when we listen to our favorite rock or techno music during our daily run. When we use headphones to listen to some audio content or talk to someone while in a noisy cafe or on the street, we have to raise the sound level in the headphones. At the same time, we often do not feel that this sound is very loud. But our ears feel it. Excessive use of loud sound in headphones can have a bad effect on your hearing. Usually the problem develops gradually and unnoticed until the consequences become more noticeable, when one day we notice that our hearing has become worse.

How can headphones damage your hearing?

Ears are a very delicate instrument of our body. The auricle collects sound waves and directs them to the eardrum, which vibrates due to sound. It transmits vibrations to tiny bones in the ear area called the middle ear, which in turn transmit sound vibrations to the inner ear. There are special sensory cells that capture these movements and convert them into electrical impulses, which are then "decoded" by our brain. It is these cells that can be overloaded and suffer when too loud a sound wave rushes into our ear.

Our normal speaking voices fall within the range of 40 to 60 dB. The maximum volume of most headphones is approximately 105 dB. Noise levels in the 85-100 decibel range are already considered harmful over long periods of time, and under certain conditions, exposure to sounds above 110 decibels can cause immediate hearing loss. Meanwhile, most headphones can produce volumes up to 100-105 dB. There is definitely something to think about.

How to check if your headphones are too loud?

There is a very simple way to check if the sound in your headphones is too loud. Place your headphones on the table next to you. If you hear music loudly, then the sound is too loud. Reduce the volume until you find it difficult to hear the sound from your headphones. Put on those headphones and check if you can hear well.

There is a level for the volume control of your smartphone, above which it is usually not recommended to increase the volume when you are wearing headphones - 60%. Higher volume is not good, especially over a long period of time.

How to avoid hearing loss from headphones?

To prevent hearing damage from headphones, it is enough to follow simple precautions:

  • Don't turn your headphones up too loud. You've probably noticed that your smartphone or audio player warns you that you've been listening to very loud sound in your headphones for a long time. DO NOT ignore these warnings. As mentioned above, the sound volume should be below 60% of the maximum possible.
  • Don't listen to music on headphones for too long. Doctors advise using smartphones and MP3 players at levels up to 60% of maximum volume for no more than an hour a day. And at maximum volume it is recommended to listen for no more than five minutes a day.
  • Choose quality headphones. The headphones are not very good quality and do not have a noise canceling system, and in them you have to turn up the volume to drown out the noise of the street or people talking around you in a cafe. For example, AirPods Pro, AirPods Max and headphones from other brands have this function. Here we have collected some tips for you about headphone models. However, the noise cancellation system does not handle all types of sounds and noise equally. This technology is effective at eliminating low-frequency and monotonous sounds, such as the hum of ventilation, but is not able to capture and cut out mid- and high-frequency sounds of people talking in a cafe. Therefore, you need to monitor the volume level yourself.
  • For your children, choose smartphones and headphones with a pre-installed safe listening feature. Children's hearing is still developing, and it is more difficult for them to independently understand that the music is too loud. And teenagers usually love the loud sound of music. It will be easier for you not to give them the physical opportunity to turn the volume up to maximum. Headphones that come with a listening safety feature automatically limit the sound volume. Most children's headphones do not allow the volume to be louder than 70–85 dB.
  • You can try a mobile app to optimize sound in headphones. There are mobile apps that send you a notification if there is a lot of noise around you or if the sound in your headphones is too loud. Such applications are available for Android and iOS.