Always on Headphones? You Might Become Deaf Soon

Teens these days are glued to their tunes by cranking up the volume as they listen to their favorite music. Unfortunately, the World Health Organization (WHO) believes that this habit could affect their inability to hear in the future. The popularity of mobile devices is so difficult to ignore, which is why many young adults are so attached to them. Listening to songs using their headphones could have a bad impact on their hearing ability.

The WHO Warning

WHO cautions young people to limit their headphone use to just an hour in order for them to avoid going deaf in the future. Some teens though will not take this seriously, but according to WHO, there are 1.1 billion teens and young adults all around the world who have a high risk at losing their hearing ability because of their excessive use of headphones as well as their love for concerts and clubs that produce very high noise.

Those who are 12 to 35 years of age are the ones who are exposed to this risk. In just the past decade, the number of people who have lost their hearing ability has increased because of the use of music players and phones to listen to music. To be specific, in 1994, 3.5% of the total American teen population experienced some kind of hearing damage. However, this number increased to 5% in just 12 years.







The WHO Recommendation

Due to the upsurge in number of teens who experienced hearing loss, WHO mentions it is critical for young adults to act now in order to combat the issue. The best solution offered is to listen to mobile devices for just an hour every day, while maintaining the volume percentage to just 60.

This recommendation should be followed by teens today, so as to minimize unsafe practices when it comes to listening to music. The loudness and the length of time young people use their devices affect the hearing ability of teens today.
Think of it this way: a typical conversation is 60 decibels, so this level will not cause problems with hearing. However, if the user increases it to 85 decibels, this is equivalent to an idle bulldozer. Exposure to the sound for eight hours can already cause permanent hearing damage. When a person is exposed to 120 decibels of noise, this can cause hearing damage in just nine seconds.

Neglecting to protect your ears and continually listening to music in loud volumes while using your headphones can damage your eardrum. Hearing damage can impact your education, employment, and daily life. Guard your ear health today before it’s too late; limit your headphone use to an hour and maintain a decent volume to enjoy healthy hearing capabilities.






source : http://www.stethnews.com