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| Why
MP3s can lead to deafness |
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MP3
players have revolutionised the way people listen to music
on the go. The choice of music is matched by the clarity
of sound. Cranking up the volume of your favourite tracks
can wile away any commute or gym session.
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| Hearing
experts around the world worry that the number
of people with hearing loss will become as commonplace
as MP3 players themselves. |
It may sound great, but to hearing experts the MP3 revolution
sounds like trouble in the making for young ears. Hearing
experts around the world worry that the number of people
with hearing loss will become as commonplace as MP3 players
themselves.
Hearing experts are concerned that hearing loss will take
place because exposure to music through MP3 players can
be both loud and long. With the new MP3 players, such
as the iPod, significant improvements in sound quality
are possible in smaller and more portable players. Sound
quality, portability and convenience translate into more
time spent listening to music, which makes the potential
for damage even greater.
In the old days on tape-loaded Sony Walkmans, the sound
became distorted when listeners turned up the volume.
The poor sound quality at loud levels simply meant that
people kept the volume at a sensible level. The technological
developments in portable music players since has allowed
for people to download a substantial percentage of their
music collection, which can be listened to at the max.
The main problem is that hearing loss tends to occur after
a number of years. The damage is cumulative and takes
its time to show, and once damage occurs, it’s permanent
and irreversible.
Music and other loud noises cause hearing loss by damaging
the hair cells in the cochlea, a part of your inner ear
that helps transmit sound information to your brain. These
hair cells can often recover from temporary damage. When
you experience loud ringing or muffled hearing after a
concert or club, this is evidence of temporary damage
to these hair cells and your hearing will usually return
to normal. However, moderately loud noise that continues
for long periods of time can permanently damage these
hair cells.
Once these hairs are destroyed, they cannot rejuvenate
and partial hearing loss occurs at the very least. Experts
estimate that around one-third of people with hearing
loss is caused by exposure to loud noises.
Any sound above 90 decibels (db) may cause some hearing
loss if the exposure is prolonged. Worryingly, most portable
music players can produce sounds up to 120db: that’s
louder than a chainsaw and equivalent to an ambulance
siren.
You won’t feel hearing loss occurring and you won’t
know until years later that some of your hearing has been
permanently destroyed.
To address such stark warnings, some MP3 manufacturers
have been working on products such as background noise-cancelling
earphones. The theory is that if you don’t hear background
noise, you won’t need to turn up the volume to block
out those sounds.
One study found that in-ear earphones can increase the
decibel level between seven and nine db. Earphones that
sit over your ear, with their lower decibel range, may
therefore be slightly safer.
Experts aren’t advising that you listen to your MP3
player at a hush, but they do advise you to keep the volume
at a level where you can still comfortably carry on a
conversation. As a rule, set the volume no more than 60
per cent of the maximum range.
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