Do headphones damage a person's hearing ability?
According to WHO, 466 million people in the world suffer from hearing impairment. This number is expected to go to 900 million by 2050. The numbers are quite dramatic locally as well. According to a report by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, there are total 3,286,630 disable people in the country. Out of this total population, 7.43% are deaf and mute.
Hearing is a basic sense and a person’s life quality depend upon it. Unfortunately, people have started to take this blessing for granted. They indulge in activities that are potentially damaging. Although a lot of things can cause hearing damage, technology is by far the most probable cause of the rising hearing loss in the world.
Headphones are a tech product which is directly linked to hearing. People spend hours listening to loud sounds through headphones these days. Although there has been a word that excessive use of headphones is dangerous for ears, no warning has been drastic enough. In this article, we are taking a look at what research says about headphones and their impact on hearing.
What is an appropriate volume for ears?
The human ear has its limits. Firstly, it can only hear sounds that are between a 20Hz and a 20000 Hz frequency. Secondly, there are also restrictions on the amplitude of the sound. In other words, the volume of the sound also has an impact on the ears.
The human ear can listen to a sound at any amplitude, but it cannot bear very loud sounds. In extreme cases, the eardrum may shatter because of the loudness of the sound. The reason is that loud noises vibrate the eardrum aggressively. When the exposure is prolonged, the thin tissue of the ear might rupture. Sounds that are higher than 85dB are dangerous for human ears and can thus cause permanent hearing damage.
Why headphones are potentially damaging?
Headphones are volume adjustable but that does not mean that they will not cause any harm. The thing with sounds is that their loudness is not the only thing that can damage ears. The time of exposure also plays a big role. For example, a sound of 105 dB can start damaging your ears in under five minutes. On the other hand, a sound of 90dB will start damaging your ears in around 3 hours but it will damage.
Headphones are dangerous because they are usually used for hours by people. With such long exposure, the ears are likely to get damaged eventually. In addition to this, many headphones have different ratings and most of them are very loud even at lowest volume settings. Therefore, it is necessary to use them as less frequently as possible.
What does the research say?
Research has also confirmed the damaging impacts of headphones. A study was published in 2017 in an International Journal known as Noise & Health. According to this study, longer exposure hours and a tendency to listen to high frequencies were associated with hearing problems among headphone users.
The study also showed that people who used headphones for more than 3 hours were more likely to have tinnitus and people listening at more than 85dB had poorer hearing thresholds.
Headphones are a great technological invention but their unrestricted use can cause long term damage to hearing. It is thus necessary to control the volume as well as the time period of usage. In case, you are already experiencing some hearing problem because of frequent headphone usage, visit an Ent specialist as soon as possible.
My name is Usman and I am working with oladoc — Pakistan’s premier digital health company. Using oladoc, you can find best ENT specialist in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad and seek appointment online.