Keep it down, for ears’ sake

Cedric Cruz, Staff Writer
Featured image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

They are everywhere.
In that endless lineup of people trying to catch the bus, in the library, and often enough, even in the lecture hall while the professor is lecturing. Two slim wires coming out of a person’s ears, slowly coming together to form one wire, the end of which is plugged into a smartphone or laptop.
And yet, few students realize just what kind of effect blasting music through their earbuds can have on their hearing. In fact, the World Health Organization released a report in 2015 suggesting that nearly a billion young people around the world are at a risk of permanent hearing loss. Listening to music on smartphones is one of the main culprits.
“I listen to music on a daily basis,” says kinesiology student Daniel Lee.

“Music helps me get through my days. The type of music usually depends on my mood.”

But while the type of music one listens to may be a response to their mood, the volume at which they are listening may be damaging their ability to hear properly. Research shows that listening to music at a high volume through earbuds or headphones for more than one hour per day for five years will leave one in 10 people at a serious risk of suffering from hearing loss. This is called noise-induced hearing loss.
So, when is the music too loud? Dr. Shelly Chadha of the WHO suggests a simple way to check that doesn’t involve complicated ratings of decibels. Sit in a quiet room with a friend and listen to music at a volume that is about half of the device’s maximum volume. Try to have a conversation with that friend. If you can’t hear what that friend is saying, it’s time to turn down the volume.
Other helpful tips include using noise-cancelling headphones, which will reduce the amount of background noise you hear so that you can listen to your music at a lower volume, and to give your ears lots of rest, which is best done by getting a good night’s sleep.

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