Are Earphones Hip or Harmful?
July 22nd, 2010 -- Posted in Health | Comments OffIt is quite common to see people with earphones plugged in around us. It is one of the latest trends. It is considered as a sign of fashion and style. People use earphones and listen to their favorite music while jogging, working, reading, and traveling. Such intense lovers of music keep the earphones on for many hours a day. It may appear to be trendy. However, the truth is that it is very dangerous to human ears.

A recent study was conducted by scientists in Europe. According to it, playing loud music everyday for five years might cause permanent and irreversible hearing problems. Listening to music through earphones for longer hours each day could cause the same effect in a much shorter period of time. The current Health and Safety legislation restricts the maximum noise output of music players to 100 decibels. However, listening to music at 89 decibels has also seen to be dangerous.
The ‘earbud’ design of earphones that are inserted into the ear rather than just sitting on top of the pinna are thought to be more dangerous. This is because they force the sound directly towards the eardrum. Earbuds, which are often described as noise canceling earphones, do not allow the escape of sound into the environment close by. By doing this, they allow the user to listen to music without disturbing people around.
Such noise-induced hearing loss begins with the patient’s inability to hear higher frequencies. It is evidenced at times by mild ear-ringing or trouble following conversations in noisy situations.