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Earbud Headphones May Cause Hearing Loss
benr writes "According to an AP report, the earbud headphones that are so popular for ipods and other portable devices may lead to hearing loss. From the article: "The big culprits aren't the devices themselves, but the tiny 'ear bud' style headphones that the music players use. 'Unfortunately, the earbuds are even more likely to cause hearing loss than the muff-type earphones that were used on Walkman and portable CD players'""
This issue basically boils down to common sense. If you listen to your music at excessively high volume, you will eventually suffer hearing loss. People also need to realize that their hearing adapts to different sound levels. European iPods ship with a volume limiter for this reason.
No matter how loud you can crank your stereo, several months of a crying baby in your house will make you appreciate the little bit of the quiet time you get.
As someone who works in the live audio industry, it pains me to see the people who stand directly in front of the speakers with no protection. Hearing loss is permanent and unpleasant. It's not something that just comes back.
Flying the other day, the guy sitting two seats across from me had his iPod turned up so loud that I could hear the drum rolls clearly, despite having 27dB drop earplugs in. For comparison's sake, when I listened (without the earplugs) to music for a little while when I worked on some code, I used a pair of Sony cheapie headphones. Held six inches from me, I couldn't hear the music above the noise of the airplane (again, without the earplugs).
The use of loud audio sources, both with portable audio devices and cell phones (I can often hear the sending side of a cell phone conversation from 15 feet away) is going to cause significant damage to the hearing of the "with it" generation.
For those curious why people are so intent on damaging their hearing, I'll give two facts:
1. People associate louder sound as being more impressive.
2. (partially related to 1) People perceive louder sound differently than softer sound. Our hearing system changes its frequency response based on how loud the source is, refered to as the Fletcher-Munson Curve(s).
The bottom line? Be aware of how loud you're listening to audio sources and protect yourself. Tinnitus is horrible (ringing in the ears), but it's also common to suffer damage in the 3-6 KHz range, where much of the understandability of speech is, leading to the situation of being able to hear but not make out what someone is saying. Turn down your cell phone and personal audio device, as well as your car stereo. If you're curious just how loud the audio in you life is, an SPL meter can easily be aquired at your local Rat Shack or online source. You might be surprised.
I think the real culprit here is improper Volume (loudness) settings and not headphones/earbuds.
I have some real nice Princess Leia style headphones, and even though they totally surround the ear, I never set the volume so high that I can't hear someone speak to me with a normal tone of voice. Hearing loss runs in my family, so keeping a reasonable Volume setting is very important to me.
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I have to disagree. I have some serious hearing loss due to listening to handheld music devices for most of my life. The nice incessent ringing in the background is a joy. Plus saying, "What did you say" about 100 times a week is rather bothersome. The worst part is the inability to hear when you're in a place with a lot of background noise. For example you cannot have a conversation in a restaurant without the people with you speaking very loudly. Not to mention people are always saying "tone it down" since I speak normally with an elevated level to hear myself (not intentionally).
Hearing loss is horrible, don't fuck with it.
First off, because they are custom molded to my ear, they don't put pressure on the ear canal in order to stay in place. Much more comfortable. The coolest thing is how they work though. When I first tried them on, I thought they weren't working very well. I could still hear everything just fine. It was rather odd. However, after wearing them a few times in high noise situations, I noticed something. When I left the noise...my ears weren't ringing. And that's the best part. I can hear everything and it sounds normal, and yet my ears are protected. Give 'em a try. Yes, they are expensive But they're protecting something you can't get back once you lose.
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