Have you ever lost your earbuds? (Or, perhaps, inadvertently left them in the pocket of a sweatshirt that went through the laundry?) Suddenly, your morning jog is a million times more boring. Your commute or bus ride is dreary and dull. And the sound quality of your virtual meetings suffers considerably.
Sometimes, you don’t realize how valuable something is until you’ve lost it (yes, we are not being subtle around here today).
So when you finally find or buy a working set of earbuds, you’re grateful. The world is suddenly vibrant again, full of music, podcasts, and crystal clear sound. Earbuds are everywhere these days, and individuals utilize them for so much more than only listening to their favorite music (though, of course, they do that too).
Unfortunately, in part because they are so easy and so common, earbuds present some significant risks for your hearing. If you’re using these devices all day every day, you could be putting your hearing at risk!
Earbuds are unique for numerous reasons
In previous years, you would need cumbersome, earmuff-style, headphones if you wanted a high-fidelity listening experience. That isn’t always the case anymore. Modern earbuds can provide amazing sound in a tiny space. Back throughout the 2010s, smartphone makers popularized these little devices by offering a pair with every new smartphone purchase (At present, you don’t see that as much).
These little earbuds (frequently they even have microphones) started to show up all over the place because they were so high-quality and available. Whether you’re out and about, or hanging out at home, earbuds are one of the principal ways you’re talking on the phone, streaming your favorite show, or listening to music.
Earbuds are useful in quite a few contexts because of their reliability, portability, and convenience. As a result, many people use them pretty much all the time. That’s where things get a bit challenging.
Vibrations are what it’s all about
Here’s the thing: Music, podcasts, voice calls, they’re all basically the same thing. They’re just waves of moving air molecules. Your brain will then sort the vibrations into categories like “voice” or “music”.
In this pursuit, your brain is given a big assist from your inner ear. Inside of your ear are very small hairs known as stereocilia that oscillate when exposed to sound. These vibrations are minute, they’re tiny. These vibrations are distinguished by your inner ear. Your brain makes sense of these vibrations after they’re transformed into electrical signals by a nerve in your ear.
This is important because it’s not music or drums that cause hearing damage, it’s volume. Which means the risk is the same whether you’re listening to Death Metal or an NPR podcast.
The dangers of earbud use
The risk of hearing damage is widespread because of the appeal of earbuds. According to one study, over 1 billion young individuals are at risk of developing hearing loss across the globe.
On an individual level, when you use earbuds at high volume, you increase your risk of:
- Hearing loss contributing to cognitive decline and social isolation.
- Continued exposure increasing the development of sensorineural hearing loss.
- Needing to use a hearing aid in order to communicate with family and friends.
- Advancing deafness caused by sensorineural hearing loss.
There’s some evidence to suggest that using earbuds might present greater risks than using regular headphones. The idea here is that the sound is directed toward the more sensitive parts of your ear. Some audiologists think this is the case while others still aren’t sure.
Besides, what’s more important is the volume, and any set of headphones is capable of delivering hazardous levels of sound.
It’s not just volume, it’s duration, also
Perhaps you think there’s a simple fix: While I’m binging all 24 episodes of my favorite streaming program, I’ll simply reduce the volume. Well… that would help. But there’s more to it than that.
The reason is that it’s not just the volume that’s the issue, it’s the duration. Think about it like this: listening at top volume for five minutes will harm your ears. But listening at moderate volume for five hours might also damage your ears.
When you listen, here are a few ways to make it safer:
- Give yourself lots of breaks. It’s best to take regular and extended breaks.
- Quit listening right away if you hear ringing in your ears or your ears begin to hurt.
- If you are listening at 80% volume, listen for a max of 90 minutes, and if you want to listen longer turn down the volume.
- Enable volume alerts on your device. These warnings can let you know when your listening volume gets a bit too high. Of course, then it’s up to you to adjust your volume, but it’s better than nothing!
- It’s a good plan not to go above 40% – 50% volume level.
- If you don’t want to think about it, you might even be able to change the maximum volume on your smart device.
Your ears can be stressed by using headphones, particularly earbuds. So give your ears a break. Because sensorineural hearing loss normally occurs slowly over time not immediately. Most of the time people don’t even recognize that it’s happening until it’s too late.
Sensorineural hearing loss is irreversible
Usually, NHIL, or noise-related hearing loss, is permanent. When the stereocilia (small hair-like cells in your ears that detect sound) get damaged by too much exposure to loud sound, they can never recover.
The damage accumulates slowly over time, and it normally begins as very limited in scope. NHIL can be hard to identify as a result. It may be getting progressively worse, in the meantime, you think it’s just fine.
Regrettably, NIHL cannot be cured or reversed. But strategies (hearing aids most notably) do exist that can mitigate the impact sensorineural hearing loss can have. These treatments, however, are not able to reverse the damage that’s been done.
So the best strategy is prevention
That’s why so many hearing specialists place a significant focus on prevention. And there are several ways to decrease your risk of hearing loss, and to practice good prevention, even while listening to your earbuds:
- Change up the styles of headphones you’re using. That is, don’t use earbuds all day every day. Over-the-ear headphones can also be used sometimes.
- Wear hearing protection if you’re going to be subject to loud noises. Use earplugs, for instance.
- Many headphones and earbuds incorporate noise-canceling technology, try to utilize those. This will mean you won’t have to crank the volume quite so loud in order to hear your media clearly.
- When you’re not using your earbuds, limit the amount of noise damage your ears are subjected to. Avoid excessively loud settings whenever you can.
- Use volume-controlling apps on your phone and other devices.
- Schedule routine visits with us to have your hearing checked. We will be capable of hearing you get assessed and track the overall health of your hearing.
Preventing hearing loss, especially NIHL, can help you protect your sense of hearing for years longer. It can also help make treatments such as hearing aids more effective when you do ultimately require them.
So… are earbuds the enemy?
So does all this mean you should grab your nearest pair of earbuds and throw them in the garbage? Well, no. Particularly not if you have those Apple AirPods, those little gizmos are expensive!
But it does mean that, if you’re listening to earbuds regularly, you may want to consider altering your approach. These earbuds could be damaging your hearing and you might not even notice it. Being aware of the danger, then, is your best defense against it.
When you listen, regulate the volume, that’s the first step. The second step is to talk to us about the state of your hearing today.
If you believe you might have damage due to overuse of earbuds, call us right away! We Can Help!
