If you have a smartphone, chances are you spend considerable time connected to headphones. Bluetooth or wired earbuds and over-the-ear headphones have become essential accessories. Most people use them daily for communication or listening to music or videos to exercise, relax, and more.
But are your headphones harming your hearing? Given their popularity and widespread use, some health professionals have concerns. Here’s what you should know about headphones and hearing loss and how to reduce your risk.
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Common Signs and Causes of Hearing Loss
Hearing loss is common with aging, but it can happen to younger people, too. Signs of hearing loss aren’t always evident but can include:
- Difficulty understanding people on the phone or conversing with several people.
- Feeling like others are mumbling or not speaking clearly.
- Frequently asking people to repeat themselves.
- Needing to turn up the volume on the television so that other people complain it’s too loud.
- Problems understanding children or people with higher-pitched voices.
- Problems understanding voices when there is background noise, like in a restaurant.
- A roaring or hissing sound in your ears.
Hearing loss happens because of:
- Aging. This type of hearing loss affects both ears equally. It happens because of age-related changes to the nerves that send signals from your ear to your brain.
- A blocked ear canal due to earwax or fluid. Your doctor can treat this, and your hearing should return to normal.
- Certain medications. Tell your doctor if you have hearing changes while taking medication.
- A family history. Genes can play a role in hearing loss.
- Health conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, or a brain injury.
- Loud noise, like frequent exposure to lawnmowers, leaf blowers, machinery, or loud music.
- Injuries to the head or direct ear trauma can harm the inner ear structures or cause eardrum damage, leading to hearing problems.
- Exposure to certain chemicals, like solvents or heavy metals, can harm the inner ear and cause hearing loss over time.
- A ruptured eardrum. Objects like a cotton-tip swab can damage your eardrum, as can an untreated ear infection.
Are Headphones Bad for Your Hearing?
Headphones pose a risk of noise-induced hearing loss, which is permanent and can affect your quality of life. What’s more, this type of hearing loss isn’t age or health-related. It can affect all ages, including children and teens who use headphones often.
It’s not headphones themselves that harm your hearing. Instead, it’s the audio volume you listen to and how long you listen. Experts recommend:
- Adults should limit noise exposure to no more than 80 decibels for eight hours a day or 40 hours per week. Eighty decibels is about as loud as a vacuum cleaner.
- Children limit noise exposure to no more than 75 decibels for eight hours a day or 40 hours per week. Seventy-five decibels is about as loud as the sound of landscaping equipment from inside your house.
Headphones and earbuds used with a smartphone can reach more than 100 decibels. The same is true for headphones used with video gaming devices or televisions. Even 15 minutes at this volume harms your ears.
A single episode of extremely loud noise, like an explosion, can permanently damage hearing. But long-term exposure to moderately loud noises, over 85 decibels, can also cause damage.
Noise-induced hearing loss occurs when exposure to loud noise damages or kills sensory cells in the inner ear. These sensory cells (called hair cells) help form electrical signals that the brain turns into sounds.
How to Use Headphones Safely
You don’t have to ditch your headphones; just use them wisely. The following tips can help.
Turn down the volume
When listening to music or other audio on a smartphone, set the volume at 50 to 60 percent of the maximum volume. Many phones have built-in audio detection functions that alert you if your volume is too loud. You can set this so your phone automatically reduces sound over a set decibel level.
Volume measuring apps are also available to download if your phone doesn’t have one built in. These can help you maintain your volume in a healthy range when using headphones.
You can also ask someone next to you if they can hear your music or audio. If so, it’s too loud.
Parents should set device controls to limit volume for kids and teens. They should also discuss safe listening habits with younger users.
Limit headphone time
Give your ears a break every hour, especially if you’re playing video games or listening to anything at a high(ish) volume. Take your headphones off or turn your earbuds off for 10 to 15 minutes every hour.
The longer you expose your ears to loud noise, the greater your risk of hearing loss. Limit yourself to less than eight hours a day when using headphones or earbuds that fit in your ear.
Wear noise-canceling headphones
Instead of turning up the volume in a noisy location, use noise-cancelling headphones. These block out background noise, allowing you to listen to audio at a lower volume. These are especially helpful if you work in a loud environment, like with machinery.
Switch to over-the-ear headphones
The noise from earbuds that fit snugly in your ears is closer to your eardrums than headphones that fit over your ears. Switch to over-the-ear headphones if you listen to music or audio for long periods.
Buy lower-volume headphones
When purchasing headphones, consider models designed with a lower maximum volume output. Some brands make headphones specifically for safe listening, capping volume at around 85 decibels.
Schedule regular hearing checkups
Schedule routine hearing checkups, especially if you or your family use headphones often. Early intervention can help protect your hearing and prevent long-term damage.
The bottom line is that headphones can potentially harm your hearing, even if you’re young — and this type of hearing loss is often permanent.
Use common sense when using headphones or earbuds. If it sounds too loud, it is too loud. Any amount of hearing loss can impact your daily activities and quality of life.
If you have any concerns about your hearing, contact your doctor so you can address any problems early.
Sources
National Institutes of Health National Institute on Aging. Hearing Loss: A Common Problem for Older Adults. LINK
BMJ Global Health. Prevalence and Global Estimates of Unsafe Listening Practices in Adolescents and Young Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. LINK
World Health Organization. Safe Listening Devices and Systems: A WHO-ITU Standard. LINK
National Institutes of Health. National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Noise-Induced Hearing Loss. LINK