Music is a major part of Aiden’s life. He listens to Spotify while working, switches to Pandora while jogging, and he has a playlist for everything: gaming, cooking, gym time, and everything else. His headphones are pretty much always on, his life a fully soundtracked affair. But lasting hearing damage might be happening due to the very loud immersive music he loves.
There are ways to enjoy music that are safe for your ears and ways that are not so safe. But the more hazardous listening option is often the one most of us use.
How can hearing loss be the result of listening to music?
Your ability to hear can be compromised over time by exposure to loud noise. We’re used to thinking of hearing loss as a problem related to aging, but more and more research suggests that it’s actually the accumulation of noise-related damage that is the issue here and not anything inherent in the process of aging.
Younger ears which are still developing are, as it turns out, more vulnerable to noise-induced damage. And yet, younger adults are more likely to be dismissive of the long-term dangers of high volume. So because of widespread high volume headphone usage, there has become an epidemic of hearing loss in younger people.
Is there a safe way to listen to music?
Unlimited max volume is obviously the “dangerous” way to enjoy music. But merely turning the volume down is a less dangerous way to listen. The general recommendations for safe volumes are:
- For adults: Keep the volume at no more than 80dB and for no more than 40 hours per week..
- For teens and young children: You can still listen for 40 hours, but keep the volume level below 75dB.
About five hours and forty minutes a day will give you about forty hours every week. That may seem like a lot, but it can go by fairly quickly. Even still, most people have a fairly solid concept of keeping track of time, it’s something we’re trained to do successfully from a very young age.
Keeping track of volume is a little less user-friendly. On most smart devices, smartphones, and televisions, volume isn’t calculated in decibels. Each device has its own arbitrary scale. Maybe it’s 1-100. Or it might be 1-10. You may have no idea what the max volume on your device is, or how close to the max you are.
How can you listen to tunes while monitoring your volume?
It’s not very easy to tell how loud 80 decibels is, but thankfully there are some non-intrusive ways to know how loud the volume is. It’s even more difficult to determine the difference between 80 and 75dB.
So utilizing one of the many noise free monitoring apps is greatly suggested. Real-time readouts of the noise around you will be available from both iPhone and Android apps. In this way, you can make real-time alterations while monitoring your real dB level. Or, when listening to music, you can also modify your settings in your smartphone which will automatically let you know that your volume is too high.
The volume of a garbage disposal
Typically, 80 dB is about as noisy as your garbage disposal or your dishwasher. That’s not too loud. It’s an important observation because 80dB is about as loud as your ears can take without damage.
So pay close attention and try to avoid noise above this volume. If you do listen to some music beyond 80dB, don’t forget to limit your exposure. Maybe listen to your favorite song at full volume instead of the whole album.
Over time, loud listening will cause hearing problems. You can develop tinnitus and hearing loss. The more you can be aware of when your ears are entering the danger zone, the more educated your decision-making will be. And ideally, those decisions lean towards safer listening.
Give us a call if you still have questions about keeping your ears safe.
