Have you ever forgotten your Earbuds in your pocket and they ended up going through the wash or maybe lost them altogether? Now it’s so boring going for a jog in the morning. Your commute or bus ride is dreary and dull. And the sound quality of your virtual meetings suffers substantially.
Often, you don’t grasp how valuable something is until you’ve lost it (yes, we are not being subtle around here today).
So you’re so relieved when you finally get a working pair of earbuds. The world is suddenly vibrant again, full of music, podcasts, and crystal clear audio. Earbuds have a lot of uses other than listening to tunes and a large percentage of people utilize them.
Regrettably, partly because they’re so easy and so common, earbuds present some substantial risks for your hearing. Your hearing might be in jeopardy if you’re wearing earbuds a lot every day.
Earbuds are different for a number of reasons
In previous years, you would need bulky, earmuff-style, headphones if you wanted a high-quality listening experience. That’s not necessarily the situation now. Incredible sound quality can be created in a very small space with modern earbuds. Back throughout the 2010s, smartphone manufacturers popularized these little devices by supplying a pair with every new smartphone purchase (Presently, you don’t see that so much).
Partly because these high-quality earbuds (with microphones, even) were so readily available, they began showing up all over the place. Whether you’re taking calls, listening to tunes, or watching movies, earbuds are one of the chief ways to do that (whether you are on the go or not).
Earbuds are useful in a number of contexts because of their reliability, mobility, and convenience. Because of this, many consumers use them pretty much all the time. And that’s become a bit of an issue.
It’s all vibrations
Essentially, phone calls, music, or podcasts are all the same. They’re just waves of vibrating air molecules. It’s your brain that does all the work of translating those vibrations, grouping one type of vibration into the “music” category and another into the “voice” category.
Your inner ear is the intermediary for this process. Inside of your ear are tiny little hairs called stereocilia that vibrate when subjected to sound. These vibrations are minute, they’re tiny. These vibrations are recognized by your inner ear. Your brain makes sense of these vibrations after they are converted into electrical signals by a nerve in your ear.
It’s not what kind of sound but volume that causes hearing loss. So whether you’re listening to NPR or Death Metal, the risk is exactly the same.
The risks of earbud use
The risk of hearing damage is prevalent because of the popularity 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 utilize earbuds at high volume, you raise your danger of:
- Developing sensorineural hearing loss with continued exposure.
- Developing deafness due to sensorineural hearing loss.
- Hearing loss contributing to cognitive decline and social isolation.
- Needing to use a hearing aid so that you can communicate with family and friends.
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 funneled directly toward the more sensitive components of your ear. Some audiologists believe this while others still aren’t sure.
Besides, what’s more important is the volume, and any pair of headphones is able to deliver hazardous levels of sound.
It’s not only volume, it’s duration, also
You might be thinking, well, the fix is easy: I’ll just lower the volume on my earbuds as I binge my new favorite program for 24 episodes straight. Naturally, this would be a good plan. But it might not be the complete solution.
This is because how long you listen is as crucial as how loud it is. Think about it like this: listening at max volume for five minutes will damage your ears. But listening at moderate volume for five hours might also damage your ears.
So here’s how you can be somewhat safer when you listen:
- If your ears start to experience pain or ringing, immediately quit listening.
- If you don’t want to worry about it, you might even be capable of changing the maximum volume on your smart device.
- If you’re listening at 80% volume, listen for a max of 90 minutes, and if you want to listen more turn the volume down.
- Make sure that your device has volume level alerts turned on. These warnings can inform you about when your listening volume goes a bit too high. Naturally, 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.
- Give yourself plenty of breaks. The more breaks (and the longer length they are), the better.
Earbuds particularly, and headphones generally, can be pretty stressful for your ears. So try to cut your ears some slack. After all, sensorineural hearing loss doesn’t (typically) develop all of a sudden; it progresses gradually and over time. Which means, you might not even recognize it occurring, at least, not until it’s too late.
There’s no cure and no way to reverse sensorineural hearing loss
Usually, NHIL, or noise-related hearing loss, is permanent. That’s because it’s sensorineural in nature (meaning, the cells in your ear become irreversibly damaged due to noise).
The damage is hardly noticeable, particularly in the early stages, and develops gradually over time. NHIL can be hard to detect as a result. It might be getting slowly worse, in the meantime, you believe it’s just fine.
Regrettably, NIHL cannot be cured or reversed. But strategies (hearing aids most notably) do exist that can reduce the impact sensorineural hearing loss can have. But the overall damage that’s being done, regrettably, is irreversible.
This means prevention is the most useful strategy
This is why prevention is stressed by so many hearing specialists. And there are several ways to decrease your risk of hearing loss, and to practice good prevention, even while listening to your earbuds:
- If you do need to go into an extremely noisy environment, utilize hearing protection. Ear plugs, for instance, work quite well.
- Make routine visits with us to get your hearing checked. We will be capable of hearing you get tested and track the overall health of your hearing.
- Change up the types of headphones you’re using. That is, don’t use earbuds all day every day. Over-the-ear headphones can also be sometimes used.
- When you’re not using your earbuds, reduce the amount of noise damage your ears are subjected to. This could mean paying additional attention to the sound of your surroundings or avoiding overly loud scenarios.
- Use volume-controlling apps on your phone and other devices.
- Use earbuds and headphones that have noise-canceling tech. With this feature, you will be able to hear your media more clearly without needing to crank it up quite so loud.
Preventing hearing loss, especially NIHL, can help you preserve your sense of hearing for years longer. And, if you do wind up needing treatment, like hearing aids, they will be more effective.
So… are earbuds the enemy?
So does all this mean you should find your nearest set of earbuds and throw them in the trash? Not Exactly! Not at all! Brand-name earbuds can get costly.
But your approach could need to be changed if you’re listening to your earbuds regularly. You may not even realize that your hearing is being harmed by your earbuds. Your best defense, then, is knowing about the danger.
When you listen, regulate the volume, that’s the first step. The second step is to speak with us about the state of your hearing right away.
If you think you might have damage caused by overuse of earbuds, call us right away! We Can Help!